Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier aren’t pleased with a plan to block the use of emergency funds for immigration enforcement efforts, but the House moved forward with the proposal anyway on Monday.
The House Transportation and Economic Development Subcommittee voted unanimously in favor of a bill that aims to rein in how DeSantis can spend money from an emergency fund first set up by lawmakers in 2022. The measure requires the fund to be spent on natural disasters.
“This bill, all it does is ensure some accountability with taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Griff Griffitts, R-Panama City, the bill’s sponsor. “We are asking our local (governments) to do it every day, with every bill that we run up here, to tighten the budget and watch out. We are just asking to do the same thing within ourselves.”
Uthmeier expressed frustration with the proposal from the GOP-led House on Saturday.
“(Gov. DeSantis), in part through his emergency powers, has led the country in combatting illegal immigration and its dangers,” Uthmeier posted on X. “So…let’s take this authority away? Moronic. Florida is the #1 state in detaining and deporting criminal aliens, and our low crime rate keeps dropping.”
DeSantis spokesman Alex Lafranconi also chimed in, claiming House Republicans were trying to block funds for “Alligator Alcatraz,” the South Florida detention camp used to house undocumented immigrants.
“Pay attention to what is happening in the Florida House right now,” Lanfranconi posted on X on Sunday. “Florida House ‘Republicans' are trying to defund Alligator Alcatraz and other detainment centers across the state. Floridians did not vote for this.”
Griffitts, though, noted the Legislature approved $300 million apart from the emergency fund to spend on immigration enforcement during a special session last year, and lawmakers could do it again if necessary.
The House action came as the fund is set to expire at the end of Monday. The Senate voted last week to extend the fund to 2027, but without the restrictions included in the House plan. The dispute means the fund will expire and be defunct, at least until an agreement between the chambers can be reached, which will likely come as part of budget negotiations.
A report on the $4.77 billion in spending from the fund since 2022 was released earlier this month, showing $573 million was spent on immigration enforcement. DeSantis has said the federal government has pledged to reimburse the state for the spending, since immigration enforcement is a federal obligation, but the state hasn’t received the money.
Democrats have slammed the spending on immigration enforcement as wasteful, and applauded to move to require the fund to only be spent on preparing for and recovering from natural disasters.
“What we have seen is exactly what Democrats had predicted,” said House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa. “It’s been wasteful spending. Over half a billion dollars on immigration enforcement that the federal government should have paid for. These were oftentimes stunts, like Alligator Alcatraz.”