Florida legislators may be heading back to Tallahassee as Florida governor Ron DeSantis is considering adding more resources to address migrants coming to Florida.
In a national podcast, Governor DeSantis suggested a special session may be in the works to discuss giving Florida law enforcement power to arrest and detain people attempting to come to Florida illegally. This comes on the heels of rising gang violence in Haiti.
Laisse Oscar moved to Florida from Haiti in the 1990s.
"My mom took us and put us on a boat and left with us," Oscar said.
She said so much has changed since her family left Haiti. As gang violence grows in the island, Florida has chartered multiple rescue flights, and more than 250 officers and soldiers are deployed to the Southern coast as DeSantis is anticipating an increase in people trying to enter south Florida illegally.
"If there's something we can do in a special legislative session to give our law enforcement more authority to arrest and detain, because I think that would be a huge disincentive for people to come if we can do it," DeSantis said.
House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell says this is not a good use of resources.
"This is not what the members of Florida state guard signed up for," Rep. Driskell said.
She said many of her colleagues don't think a special session is needed.
"There's so many more issues that the Governor could follow, like Medicaid for example. There are nearly a million Floridians who would benefit from Medicaid expansion and get access to healthcare," Rep. Driskell said.
But Oscar said she understands the governor's motivation.
"If it's your home, you do have to approve who comes in and who you want to stay in your space. So for me, I came in the same way, so, I feel bad for the good ones that are coming," Oscar said.
10 Tampa Bay reached out the governor's office for a comment and we have not heard back yet. As for the immigration law he is hoping to model from Texas, it is still being discussed and not in effect.