By Matt Dixon —
NBC News
The Florida Congress, at the request of the governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, and thanks to the conservative majority, is preparing to approve an ambitious immigration bill that, among other measures, will provide millions of dollars to the controversial migrant transfer program from the border to democrat cities.
DeSantis has increasingly used immigration as a political weapon in recent months to hit the policies of President Joe Biden and entrench his position among conservatives ahead of his likely 2024 presidential run.
[Biden announces that he is running for re-election in 2024, stating that it is at stake if there are “more or less rights”]
His latest initiative is a 50-page legislative deal, SB 1617, filed Sunday night after weeks of negotiations between House and Senate Republicans.
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The Florida House of Representatives approved it in committee on Monday, just hours after its presentation, and this Tuesday it reaches the Senate, with the expectation of going to the Plenary at the end of the week.
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The measure would provide $12 million to DeSantis' migrant flight program, which received national attention in September with the transfer of 50 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
The bill also provides for:
Ban local governments in Florida from spending taxpayer money on identification cards for people who cannot prove their citizenship.
Voiding a driver's license issued by another state to someone who cannot prove their citizenship.
Require hospitals that accept Medicaid to include a question about the patient's citizenship status on intake forms.
Remove a provision signed into law by former Governor Rick Scott that allows undocumented law graduates admission to the Florida Bar.
Increase the penalties for crimes related to human trafficking to a second degree felony.
Require anyone in law enforcement custody who is subject to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) immigration hold to submit a DNA sample to a state database.
"Let's be clear," said Republican Rep. Chase Tramont, "this bill doesn't deal with legal immigration, it deals with illegal immigration."
"Too often people like to confuse the two," criticized the state congressman.
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Democrats in Florida, however, consider the bill
petty
, arguing that immigration reform of this caliber should be managed by the federal Congress.
[Exclusive Interview with President Biden: Discuss DeSantis as a Possible Challenger in 2024]
“This bill doesn't address the real problem of immigration, it's a poor solution to a very real problem, not just for Florida, it's a problem in our nation,” said Democratic state representative Christopher Benjamin.
“We should do more to put pressure on the federal government to fix this problem.
But this bill hurts more than it helps,” he added.
Democrats introduced a series of amendments to try to qualify the most controversial provisions, but all were easily dispatched by the Republican majority in the state House of Representatives Commerce Committee.
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One of the most controversial provisions is the requirement that all employers use E-Verify, a federal database that checks the immigration status of workers.
Conservatives have long urged the state to force all employers to use the system, dubbed "mandatory E-Verify."
But the influential business lobby has so far successfully resisted, fighting over costs and fearing they would have to give up the irregular immigrant effort.
Florida tried to make E-Verify mandatory in 2020, but the proposal was softened to require it only for public companies.
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The new bill would force companies with 25 or more workers to use E-Verify.
Current law allows private companies to use E-Verify or federal I-9 forms, which require them to explicitly state that they have reviewed the documents that allow an employee to legally work in the country.
Lobbyists for state business groups told the committee it was a step in the right direction, but said they wanted the E-Verify exemption to be larger than 25 people.
Consideration of the bill comes just two weeks before the end of the Florida legislative session.
In recent weeks, DeSantis has held political rallies in other states, including New Hampshire and South Carolina, anticipating presidential primaries, and spoke at the Heritage Foundation's 50th Anniversary Celebration leadership summit in Maryland.
The governor has now embarked on an "international trade mission" to Japan, South Korea, Israel and the UK.
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He met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday, a visit that was overshadowed by a response DeSantis gave to reporters who asked him about trailing former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential polls. polls have fallen amid a wave of attacks from Trump, and criticism from Republican congressmen.
Video of DeSantis answering the survey question went viral on social media, amplifying DeSantis' growing national reputation as a goofy personality.
"I'm not a candidate," he said, "so we'll see if and when that changes."
