Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could use a special legislative session next week to prepare for a high-profile program that was used last year to fly dozens of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
State legislators plan to consider a bill by creating an “unauthorized alien transportation program” as part of an effort “to respond to the influx of migrants landing in the Florida Keys,” according to a pair of memos. Issued by legislative leaders to members of the Rajya Sabha and Senate.
The special session, which begins Monday, comes weeks after hundreds of Cuban and Haitian immigrants arrived in the Florida Keys, many of them making the treacherous journey in handmade boats.
GOP state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia is set to sponsor new legislation that would create a program within the Department of Emergency Management, according to a Senate memo.
Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, a Republican, said the bill would be used to “facilitate the voluntary transportation of unauthorized immigrants who have been processed by the federal government and released into the United States.”
Details about how the program would be implemented were not immediately clear.
Ingoglia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both the offices of the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate provided their own memos to NBC News but declined to comment on the matter.
DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to Ingoglia’s bill, state legislators will also look into Disney’s special governing district, aimed at the company after criticism of their move last year to ban discussion of gender and sexual orientation in schools for kindergarten through third grade. The latter is to be brought under direct state control. ,
DeSantis, a potential 2024 presidential candidate who will win re-election in November, drew harsh criticism from Democrats and immigrant advocates after moving migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
The governor and other state officials were accused that the affected migrants were victims of fraud for political purposes.
Weeks later, a Texas sheriff declared the migrants victims of a crime and launched a criminal investigation into possible illegal detention of flights to Martha’s Vineyard. NBC News has reached out to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar’s office to inquire about the status of that investigation.
Republicans have been critical of President Joe Biden’s approach to immigration amid efforts to largely dismantle his predecessor’s policies for migrants and asylum seekers.
Biden traveled to El Paso, Texas, last month to assess enforcement actions along the US-Mexico border after announcing that the Trump-era program, known as Title 42, is used to deport thousands of people each month. Will be done to send Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans. southern border. At the same time, Biden said that his administration would increase the number of legal avenues for some immigrants to apply for asylum.