Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed confidence on Monday that his ongoing dispute with Florida’s Republican legislative leadership over the state’s proposed immigration reform bill will soon be resolved.
“We’ve had great discussions,” the governor said. “I don’t necessarily have an announcement now, but I’m pretty sure we’re going to get there, and I always thought we would.”
The disagreement centers on the “Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy” (TRUMP) Act, which DeSantis has criticized for assigning oversight of immigration enforcement to the Department of Agriculture, led by Commissioner Wilton Simpson. DeSantis has argued that the transfer of authority creates a conflict of interest, given the agriculture industry’s alleged reliance on undocumented labor. He has also raised concerns that the bill lacks sufficient penalties for undocumented immigrants and does not require strong cooperation between state and federal law enforcement.
Legislative leaders, including Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez, have pushed back in recent days, defending the bill and its revisions, which align more closely with federal priorities after input from the Trump administration. These changes include stricter penalties for undocumented immigrants and enhanced law enforcement cooperation.
While DeSantis has repeatedly called the bill inadequate, his tone Monday suggested a shift toward cooperation.
“I do think we’re going to get the job done, and I look forward to working a lot of these guys,” DeSantis said. “I endorsed most of these people to be able to get in, and I wouldn’t have done that if I didn’t think that they were good conservative members that would support conservative policy.”
Sen. Randy Fine, a vocal critic of the governor in recent days, expressed approval of DeSantis’ willingness to work with lawmakers. In a tweet, Fine praised the governor for moving away from a “take it or leave it” approach.
“Appreciate [Gov. DeSantis] ending his “take it or leave it” strategy and offering to work with lawmakers,” Fine said on X. “Also appreciated him noting that a big part of the reason he is successful as an executive is he has the most conservative legislature in the country. Let’s see where we go from here.”
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