Florida bill aimed at stopping the arrival of immigrants received first legislative approval

All Florida government agencies will be prohibited from doing business with companies that help smuggle immigrants into the country illegally under a priority bill proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis, which received its first legislative approval on Monday.

The bill aims to prevent the federal government from sending undocumented migrants who have crossed the border illegally to Florida. It would prohibit any government agency from doing business with any transportation company paid by the federal government to bring undocumented migrants to the Sunshine State.

In recent months, DeSantis has accused the Biden administration of sending planes full of migrants to Florida “in the dead of night” without informing state authorities.

“We don’t know who these people are, and the crimes they’re committing are very real,” said Senator Aaron Bean. “We think it’s time to say no to the federal government running this human smuggling operation.”

Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky said that most of the immigrants taken to Florida are children who are being reunited with their families or being resettled with sponsors.

“Clearly, this is a statement about the federal government and its immigration policy that we would not have heard two years ago,” Polsky said. “This is not an issue of public safety. ... This bill makes no sense. It is unconstitutional; it is wrong on a human level.”

The bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote. DeSantis’ bill also seeks to expand a 2019 law that would ban local sanctuary policies and require local law enforcement to work with federal immigration enforcement authorities.