Gov. Ron DeSantis is signing new legislation designed to solve a familiar problem, and warning refugees to avoid Florida.
In Winter Haven, DeSantis stood behind a “Stop Illegal Immigration” placard as he announced the legislation he was ready to sign and outlined the state’s response to the crisis in Haiti.
HB 1589 enhances penalties for driving without a valid license. First offenses are second-degree misdemeanors. A second offense merits a first-degree misdemeanor, as does the third, but with at least 10 days in jail.
“One of the biggest deterrents we can do for illegal immigration is to make sure people who are doing that face serious consequences,” DeSantis said. “This is going to be a deterrent for illegal immigration in the state.”
SB 1036, per DeSantis, “enhances penalties for crime committed by an individual who returns to the country illegally following deportation.”
HB 1451 bans local governments “from accepting certain ID cards or documents that are knowingly issued to individuals who are not lawfully present” in the U.S.
The Governor called those ID cards “rogue.”
He also lauded SM 1020, a memorial bill that holds that Mexican drug cartels are terrorist organizations.
Finally, DeSantis discussed moves to repel Haitian refugees, noting that the state has been assisting the Coast Guard since January 2023, with 670 vessels and 13,500 “illegal aliens … stopped from being able to come to Florida.”
“We have a lot more ability to stop on the sea,” DeSantis said, saying that’s preferable to refugees being “dumped” in the state.
The state has already launched Operation Vigilant Sentry, designed to keep Haitian refugees from making landfall and finding refuge in Florida, as part of its response.
More than half of those deployed this week are from the State Guard, which recently doubled its forces after a training class graduated.
In addition to that 133-member contingent, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will send 39 additional officers, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will deploy 23 additional officers with eight additional seacraft, the Florida National Guard will engage 48 additional Guardsmen with four additional helicopters, and the Florida Highway Patrol will allocate 30 additional officers with an additional aircraft and drones for surveillance.
“This is a significant augmentation,” DeSantis said Friday, saying “the last thing” refugees want to do is make that “hazardous journey” to Florida only to be returned to their homeland.
DeSantis said Florida had already intercepted a boat with 25 Haitian refugees, on a boat with “firearms” and “drugs,” by way of further underscoring the threat.
DeSantis contended later that “a lot of those folks” from Haiti likely will fly to Mexico and cross into the country anyway, thanks to President Joe Biden’s border policy.
The Division of Emergency Management is also launching an assistance portal for Floridians and other Americans trapped in the Caribbean country amid yet another round of domestic unrest.
The portal consists of a fill-in-the-blank form that requests the name, exact location, gender, birth date, cellphone number, email, information about Florida residency and the trapped person’s passport number, issue date, and expiration date. Additionally, the state wants to know if people are traveling with animals or as part of a group needing help, as well as contact information for someone stateside and the desired arrival location of the travelers who might need help.
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