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The Florida legislature passed a bill Friday pledging $10 million to expand Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’s efforts to relocate migrants and asylum seekers from anywhere in the U.S. to Democratically-controlled destinations.
DeSantis still has to sign the measure before it goes into effect, but it would open the door for more controversial moves, much like the conservative governor’s decision to fly 49 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, which many called a political stunt.
The bill, Senate bill 6-B, passed with a 77-34 vote in the Florida House and is expected to receive gubernatorial approval, but faces legal action and backlash from immigration reform advocates who allege that the policy treats migrants as political pawns. It would allow DeSantis to transport migrants, not just from Florida, but from anywhere in the country.
“The Legislature finds that the Federal Government has failed to secure the nation’s borders and has allowed a surge of inspected unauthorized aliens to enter the United States,” the bill says.
“Without such action detrimental effects may be experienced in Florida, including increased crime, diminished economic opportunities and wages for American workers, and burdens on the education and health care systems,” it adds.
Here’s what to know:
Controversy surrounding the bill
Democrats and activists are calling out the bill as highly unethical for its treatment of migrants, but also unreasonable since it aims to grant the state the right to transport migrants from any state, not just within Florida. Many condemned DeSantis’s move last year to charter two planes full of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard—a wealthy New England island community. Authorities on the island were shocked at the migrants…
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