(The Lion) — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis wants to help President-elect Donald Trump stop illegal immigration.
The governor recently called on the Florida Legislature to hold a special session dedicated to combating illegal immigration as Trump takes office on Monday.
“This is the time to get it right once and for all,” DeSantis told the Tallahassee Democrat. “President Trump has a mandate, and the state of Florida is going to be there every step of the way.”
DeSantis and his office have been working with Trump’s transition team on this issue, and the governor recently spoke with Trump at the president-elect’s home in Mar-a-Lago.
Trump has said he wants to deport every illegal immigrant present in the United States, something that will likely require state and local law enforcement cooperation.
“President Trump will enlist every federal power and coordinate with state authorities to institute the largest deportation operation of illegal criminals, drug dealers, and human traffickers in American history,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman, told USA Today. “The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement these policies, and he will deliver.”
DeSantis wants the special session to start on Jan. 27.
However, state lawmakers would like more details.
Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton, both Republicans, said a special session would be “premature” without “meaningful details.”
“When we receive specific guidance that may necessitate our state’s legislative action to complement President Trump’s efforts, we stand ready to act at the appropriate time,” Perez and Albritton said in a joint statement. “While the Governor discussed fragments of ideas for a special session he plans to start in just fourteen days, he did not release any actual bill language or even meaningful details for legislators and our constituents to consider.”
DeSantis has said that enforcing federal immigration law will require new state funding and assurances that local governments will comply with federal law.
“I have a lot of sheriffs out there chomping at the bit,” he recently told reporters.
