Florida lawmakers are quickly advancing a bill and its companion through House and Senate committees so that the bill can be heard for a vote on each chamber’s floor. HB 1335 by State Rep. John Snyder (R-Stuart) has been described as an expansion to a 2019 Florida law passed that banned sanctuary cities.
“We’re trying to limit human smuggling that’s being conducted by the federal government and we’re updating common sense sanctuary policies,” Snyder said.
The bill would require Florida law enforcement to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as prohibit the state and municipalities from contracting with companies that transport illegal aliens.
“We’re trying to limit human smuggling that’s being conducted by the federal government and we’re updating common sense sanctuary policies,” Snyder said.
The Florida state Senate also fast-tracked the bill’s Senate companion legislation, SB 1808, sponsored by State Sen. Aaron Bean (R-Fernandina Beach). This week, the Senate Rules Committee was set to hear the bill, but that requirement was scrapped by the state Senate to advance it straight to Senate floor debate.
Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby) supported the fast-track measure saying, “We want to get it done.”
Back in December, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called on the Florida Legislature to take up this legislation, including ways to transport illegal aliens out of Florida while criticizing President Joe Biden’s “reckless” border policies.
“We have a responsibility to stand up for the rule of law, we have a responsibility to the Constitution, and we have a responsibility to stand up against an administration that has decided they don’t want to have a secure border,” said DeSantis. “These are a robust series of proposals and I believe we are going to get a lot of support from the legislature. The laws of our country require us to enforce the law and that is what needs to be done.”
DeSantis originally made the call for increased enforcement in Jacksonville after an illegal alien was indicted for first-degree murder.
Also in the bill is a provision that would add the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity as an enforcement agency for E-Verify, a system that employers would have to use to verify that their employees are legal citizens or at least legal workers.
Democrats and pro-immigrant groups have largely stood opposed to the bill. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) released a statement calling the legislation a “hate-fueled publicity stunt.”
Similarly, the Southern Poverty Law Center quickly announced opposition to the series of bills saying DeSantis is “yet again targeting immigrant communities across Florida, this time using children as pawns to further his anti-immigrant and xenophobic agenda.”
However, State Rep. Jason Fischer (R-Jacksonville) said opposition to this kind of legislation only makes America more dangerous.
“It seems like they’re taking a border crisis and trying to export it all over America and trying to create a crisis and a dangerous situation in hometowns everywhere across our country,” Fischer said.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at the Florida Capital Star and the Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
