House committee passes bill for state to transport migrants to sanctuary jurisdictions
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – The House Appropriations Committee approved a bill, allowing $10 million to create the “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program” within the Division of Emergency Management.
The program would allow the governor to offer illegal immigrants transportation from one state to another state. The program currently sits under the Department of Transportation where $1.6 million was spent to send nearly 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. The bill rolls over the leftover $10 million as nonrecurring fund to the new program.
Bill sponsor Rep. John Snyder said the program would curb much of the “influx of illegal immigration” in Florida.
“We want to send a clear message that there are sanctuary cities and jurisdictions out there that want to, in essence, roll out the red carpet for unauthorized aliens,” Snyder said.
The bill said it is in response to the federal government failing to secure the nation’s border, leading to a surge of inspected unauthorized aliens.
An inspected unauthorized alien is an illegal immigrant that has had an encounter with either DHS or ICE and has been given documentation saying that they are released but not legally entitled to be here, according to Snyder.
“And so we have individuals that potentially are waiting years in limbo,” Snyder said. “And so at the end of the day, what we’re trying to do here is make sure that those folks while they’re waiting that period out, can receive the benefits of living in a sanctuary jurisdiction.”
DeSantis Activates National Guard in Response to ‘Alarming Influx’ of Migrants Landing in the Florida Keys
The bill also points to Gov. Ron DeSantis previously issuing an Executive Order that directs state law enforcement agencies and other state agencies to take necessary actions to protect Floridians from the impacts of the border crisis.
Snyder reiterated that it is a voluntary program where the migrants can receive a “free flight” to a sanctuary jurisdiction “that will allow them to live off of their taxpayers instead of ours.” He used a current example of 29 migrants landing in the Florida Keys Friday, which led into a man hunt under the coordination of the Department of Emergency Management. He said this program would allow those 29 migrants who have been processed through federal agents to be offered a trip to sanctuary cities.
Democrats believed state resources should not focus on programs like this one. Democrat Rep. Dotie Joseph said the program could lead to racial profiling.
“That’s how those people who ended up in Martha’s Vineyard got targeted, because they looked a particular way,” she said. “How many people in the state of Florida look like that? How many looks like me?”
Rep. Randy Fine listed the costs of migrants coming to Florida, including medical costs and schooling that the government ends up footing the bill for.
“When they need health and they go to the hospital because they have some sort of problem, who is paying for that? The taxpayers of the state of Florida,” Fine said. “When they are driving and they do not have insurance because they do not have a license and they have an accident, who is paying for that? The people of the state of Florida.”
