Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted a "weak" new immigration bill by the Republican-led Florida Legislature, dubbed the TRUMP Act, after lawmakers rebelliously adjourned his special session and called their own.
Gov. DeSantis, who has engaged in a weeks-long power struggle with the GOP-dominated Legislature, took to social media Monday afternoon to attack the immigration bill as an "insult" to President Donald Trump's name.
His comments came hours after the Legislature unexpectedly killed 10 DeSantis-backed anti-illegal immigration bills in favor of a 75-page measure sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters, a Trump ally who has clashed with the governor in the past.
DeSantis thinks it's "weak."
"The Legislature’s bill is a bait-and-switch tactic trying to create the illusion of an illegal immigration crackdown, when it does anything but," he posted to X, formerly Twitter, on the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act. "It is an insult to name such a weak bill after President Trump, who has been so strong on this issue."
He slammed several of the bill's points, including one crowning the Florida commissioner of agriculture as the chief immigration officer. Currently, the position is held by Trump ally and potential gubernatorial candidate Wilton Simpson, with whom DeSantis has publicly feuded before.
"It unconstitutionally removes authority to enforce the law from the governor to a lower-level cabinet agency, the department of agriculture, that does not oversee state law enforcement and whose stakeholders often oppose enforcement measures," DeSantis said. "By giving enforcement power to the agricultural arm of state government, it ensures that enforcement never actually occurs.
"In short, it puts the fox in charge of the hen house."
Of note, Simpson over the past few years has advocated for a bill simplifying the agriculture working visa program for immigrant workers. The bill failed in 2023 and was vetoed by DeSantis in 2024, despite passing both chambers unanimously. This year, DeSantis ally Sen. Jay Collins refiled the bill ahead of the regular session in March.
The governor's objections follow a surprising mutiny by legislative leaders, who cautioned DeSantis in mid-January against calling a special session they considered to be "premature." But DeSantis pressed on, likening himself to a "junkyard dog" dedicated to getting what it wants.
On Monday morning, the Florida Legislature gaveled in the special session and gaveled out 15 minutes later, making it the first time since 2010 that lawmakers rapidly shut down a governor's special session call. Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Danny Perez, both Republicans, immediately called in their own special session dedicated to one bill: Sen. Gruters'.
Key points in Gruters' bill include the creation of a grant program for local law enforcement agencies cooperating with federal immigration authorities and continued funding for the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program, which can use public funds to relocate captured undocumented immigrants. In total, his bill attaches a $505 million appropriation from the state's General Revenue Fund.
It also creates more serious penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit crimes, sets up the Office of State Immigration Enforcement, and bans children without legal status from receiving in-state tuition.
The new special session will reconvene Tuesday at 9 a.m.
