TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida legislature has passed new legislation that strengthens Gov. Ron DeSantis' migrant relocation initiative. The proposal now moves to the governor's office to be signed into law.
The legislation, SB 6-B, puts forward an extra $10 million in state funding to fund the controversial migrant relocation program, and gives the governor the authority to fly migrants from any part of the U.S. to sanctuary cities or states.
The bill was, in part, intended to cut off a legal challenge to the governor's migrant relocation program, which began last year when DeSantis used taxpayer dollars to fly a group of South American migrants from Texas to the liberal enclave resort island of Martha's Vineyard.
The trip drew legal questions because the administration paid for the flight using money intended to remove migrants who were located in Florida, not migrants who were in any other state.
The legal challenge was put forward by Sen. Jason Pizzo (D-Miami) who told 10 Tampa Bay on Friday that he expects the state will file a motion to dismiss the case.
"Part of the new law that passed removed the section that speaks to last year's bill, takes it off the books, and they're going to say, 'there's really nothing to sue over anymore,'" Pizzo said.
Pizzo said the initiative does not address the core issues the state and country are facing in terms of the border crisis, and is a waste of valuable state resources.
"I have a rhetorical question," said Pizzo. "What the heck are we doing spending $32,000 per person sending people from San Antonio, Texas, to Massachusetts? What does that have to do with anything that actually matters and is important?"
While the new legislation all but guarantees, Pizzo's lawsuit will be thrown out; the same can't be said for the lawsuit filed on behalf of the migrants who were transported to Martha's Vineyard.
"This will have zero effect on our lawsuit," Oren Sellstrom, the lawyer for the migrants, said.
That's because their lawsuit does not just address the law, but also its consequences.
"The core of our lawsuit is that our clients were lied to and deceived into flying to Martha's Vineyard," Sellstrom said.
The legislation creates a dedicated program in the governor’s office on migrant relocation and specifies that future flights could move migrants from anywhere in the U.S. The measure increases the likelihood of additional trips as DeSantis continues his criticism of federal border policy along his path to an expected 2024 presidential bid.
Republicans have repeatedly said the bill would help migrants by taking them to sanctuary cities and states, while Democrats have slammed the program as a political stunt meant to serve the governor’s political ambitions.
DeSantis is expected to sign the bills into law. Lawmakers will return to Tallahassee in early March for their regular legislative session, where they are expected to approve another slate of DeSantis priorities on guns, education, capital punishment and abortion.