News: A DeSantis immigration idea that isn't going anywhere

Monday, April 24, 2023

A DeSantis immigration idea that isn't going anywhere

Apr 24, 2023

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By Gary Fineout

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Hello and welcome to Monday.

Tick, tick, tick — While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spends the entire week abroad, state legislators are pressing ahead with the final two-week push of the session. That of course includes work on a new state budget — although there is a lot of buzz that a lot of it has already been finished behind closed doors, out of public view.

On the way — But this week House and Senate Republicans are also poised to move a major immigration measure that has been one of DeSantis’ top priorities for the session.

Coming up — The House will hold its first hearing on Monday focused on a comprehensive measure that includes many items that DeSantis has called for, including a requirement that all private employers with 25 or more employees use the federal E-Verify system. (That threshold would likely shield a lot of small businesses from the mandate.) This legislation also includes money for the transport program that DeSantis started last year that resulted in nearly 50 migrants being flown to Martha’s Vineyard.

Differences — It appears that House Republicans have sidestepped a controversial provision that is in the Senate version — which is at its final committee stop — that would have subjected people who transport migrants inside Florida to criminal penalties if they know the person is undocumented. Church leaders and immigration advocates decried this clause saying they could get in trouble just for taking someone to church.

Not included — But as the final bills get worked out, there is no still no sign that GOP leaders intend to repeal the current law allowing undocumented children to qualify for in-state college tuition if they attended a Florida high school for three straight years.

On governor’s list — DeSantis publicly called for an end to this law when he rolled out his immigration package back in February. “If we want to hold the line on tuition, then you have got to say ‘you need to be a U.S. citizen living in Florida,’” DeSantis said at the time. The reason this move was surprising is that Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez sponsored the law that helped Dreamers back in 2014 when she was in the Florida House. That change was opposed by some Republicans at the time but it was championed by others, including then-Gov. Rick Scott.

Cloudy — When asked a handful of times so far this session, legislative leaders have not been very clear on whether they would go along with repealing the law. At one point, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo suggested she was open to tweaking the law if not eliminating it out right.

— WHERE'S RON? — Gov. DeSantis is on an international trade mission that will take him to Japan, North Korea and Israel and the United Kingdom. He spent Monday in Japan.

Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: gfineout@politico.com

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DESANTISLAND

AWAY FROM HOME — “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis begins world tour in Japan, says he isn’t presidential candidate,” by Wall Street Journal’s Peter Landers: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wasn’t a candidate for president, but he got a welcome worthy of an American political VIP Monday in Japan, his first stop on an around-the-world tour. Striding into the prime minister’s office holding the hand of his wife, Casey, Mr. DeSantis held a roughly 40-minute meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He said they discussed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s provocations and the Chinese Communist Party—the sort of issues presidents worry about.”

That question — “Mr. DeSantis deflected a question about polls including one by The Wall Street Journal showing he has fallen behind Mr. Trump in the race for the 2024 Republican nomination. ‘I am not a candidate, so we’ll see if and when that changes,’ he said.”

— “DeSantis, an enigma on foreign policy, praises U.S.-Japan ties in Tokyo,” by The New York Times’ Motoko Rich and Nicholas Nehamas

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right, and his wife Casey DeSantis leave Japan's prime minister's official residence after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, April 24, 2023. (Kimimasa Mayama/Pool Photo via AP)

COMING THIS WEEK — Netanyahu says he will meet with DeSantis, by POLITICO’s Kelly Garrity: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida when he travels to Israel this week, the prime minister said on Sunday. “Of course I’ll meet with everyone. Why not? I meet with Republican governors and Democratic governors,” Netanyahu said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

MEANWHILE — “Some DeSantis allies feel growing urgency to launch 2024 bid,” by The Associated Press’ Steve Peoples: “Just six months after a dominant reelection sent his national stock soaring, a palpable sense of urgency is growing among DeSantis’ allies as increasingly emboldened critics within his own party — particularly former President Donald Trump — work to undermine his presidential campaign before it begins. ‘I would prefer him to be in the race right now. In fact, I encouraged him to get in the race right now,’ said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who hosted a visit by DeSantis to Washington last week that was overshadowed by Trump’s efforts to pick off support among Florida’s congressional delegation.”

OBSERVATIONS — “DeSantis faces Republican scrutiny on issues while Trump skates by,” by The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman: “By contrast, [Gov. Ron] DeSantis, a former congressman and current governor, is being held to the standards of a typical politician, just as all of those who unsuccessfully tried to stop [former President Donald] Trump in the 2016 primary were. And against those conventional standards, in his first foray onto the national stage, Mr. DeSantis has been struggling. He has made a series of unforced errors that have been the focus of news coverage and have caused public and private alarm among Republican donors who saw him as the antidote to Mr. Trump.”

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OUT WEST — “‘Utah, like Florida, is where freedom works,’ Gov. Ron DeSantis tells Utah GOP during keynote speech,” by The Salt Lake Tribune’s Bryan Schott: “When he hit the stage on Saturday morning, DeSantis served up the political red meat Republican delegates were craving. During a roughly 45-minute speech, attendees leaped to their feet to applaud his mention of the political battles his administration has spearheaded in Florida. ‘Utah is one of the best-governed states in the United States,’ DeSantis said to a loud cheer from delegates. ‘Utah, like Florida, is where freedom works. Maybe Florida is the Utah of the southeast,’ DeSantis added.”

WANT TO GET AWAY? — “Ron DeSantis, facing challenges at home, will test presidential ambitions overseas,” by CNN’s Steve Contorno: “US Rep. Greg Steube, who previously served in the Florida Senate and endorsed [former President Donald] Trump last week, accused state lawmakers on Friday of ‘carrying the water for an unannounced presidential campaign.’ ‘Your constituents voted you into those positions to represent them, not to kowtow to the presidential ambitions of a Governor!’ the GOP lawmaker tweeted. ‘Be strong and courageous, the people of Florida will thank you.’ Appearing unfazed by the chatter, [Gov. Ron] DeSantis on Friday rattled off his conservative victories as governor before a friendly audience at the Heritage Foundation event.”

THE WAY — “New Disney penalties hint at DeSantis’ punitive streak,” by Tampa Bay Times’ Emily L. Mahoney: “As [Gov. Ron] DeSantis eyes the presidency, with an expected 2024 campaign launch coming in the early summer, this retaliatory reflex also raises questions about how he would govern in Washington — a town where deal-making skills are essential. ‘I can’t think of one thing he has been willing to negotiate on. It’s always been: If it’s not my way, I’m going to slap you down, run against you for school board, take away your tax status, take away your books,’ said David Jolly, a former Republican colleague of DeSantis’ in Congress who’s now a political commentator. ‘Compromise is not necessary in our politics, but it is in our governing.’”

MOUSE TRAP — “Why is Ron DeSantis so determined to keep taking on Disney?” by Orlando Sentinel’s Steven Lemongello and Skyler Swisher: “[Gov. Ron] DeSantis may be in too deep to stop, said Gregory Koger, a professor of political science at the University of Miami. ‘It’s hard for him to back out,’ Koger said. 'It’s in his book as something that he’s very proud of doing. And to fail at this, having picked this very public fight would really weaken his brand.’ DeSantis has made his dispute with Disney a core part of his political identity. In his new book, he devoted a chapter to ‘The Magic Kingdom of Woke Corporatism.’”

— Ex-DeSantis donor cuts big check for Youngkin, by POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt

— “Pro-DeSantis PAC offers to pay for Trump to move out of Florida after he called it the ‘worst state,’” by Fox News’ Kyle Morris

— “Longtime Trump ally Laxalt joins PAC supporting DeSantis,” by The Associated Press’ Michelle L. Price

— “‘Steel’: Ron DeSantis super PAC ad targets Donald Trump, Dr. Fauci,” by Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski

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TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP

HITTING BACK — Our D.C. colleagues report that the Club for Growth is out with a full-page newspaper ad this morning attacking Donald Trump — this time by likening him to President Joe Biden, Natalie Allison reports. “Joe Biden & Donald Trump have the same plan for Social Security: Cut 20% or more,” the ad reads, referencing the projected impact on benefits if the program’s trust fund is depleted. On the eve of Biden’s anticipated campaign launch, the anti-tax group placed the ads in the Palm Beach Post and NYC edition of the Wall Street Journal. The new ad follows efforts by Trump and a super PAC boosting him by hitting DeSantis on past support for cuts to Medicare and Social Security, an issue dividing the GOP 2024 field.

SMACKDOWN — “Trump continues to pressure DeSantis on home turf, jabbing him in Fort Myers speech,” by Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Zac Anderson: “Former President Donald Trump touted his lead over Gov. Ron DeSantis in polls, took credit for the governor’s 2018 victory, jabbed at DeSantis on Social Security and Medicare and said without him DeSantis would just be a lawyer hustling for business, needling the governor on his home turf during a speech Friday in Southwest Florida. Trump also highlighted the recent stampede by Florida’s GOP congressional delegation to endorse him over DeSantis, calling out by name most of the lawmakers who endorsed him in front of 840 people gathered for a sold-out Lee County Republican Party fundraising dinner.”

— “President Donald Trump stops for pizza, gets swarmed by supporters after speaking event,” by WINK’s Chris Cifatte and Paul Dolan

— Trump killed the ‘values voter’ wing of the GOP. It isn’t coming back in 2024, by POLITICO’s Adam Wren, Natalie Allison and Meridith McGraw

— Trump defends his efforts to combat abortion, by POLITICO’s David Cohen

— “Trump team says DeSantis’ Florida ‘among the worst’ states to work, retire or raise a family,” by Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Zac Anderson

— “Donald Trump questions whether Ron DeSantis is a ‘good politician,’” by Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski

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THE GUNSHINE STATE

GEOGRAPHY LESSON — Gun violence is actually worse in red states. It’s not even close, by Colin Woodard for POLITICO Magazine: In October, Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis proclaimed crime in New York City was “out of control” and blamed it on George Soros. Another Sunshine State politico, former president Donald Trump, offered his native city up as a Democrat-run dystopia, one of those places “where the middle class used to flock to live the American dream are now war zones, literal war zones.”

Compare and contrast — In reality, the region the Big Apple comprises most of is far and away the safest part of the U.S. mainland when it comes to gun violence, while the regions Florida and Texas belong to have per capita firearm death rates (homicides and suicides) three to four times higher than New York’s. On a regional basis it’s the southern swath of the country — in cities and rural areas alike — where the rate of deadly gun violence is most acute, regions where Republicans have dominated state governments for decades.

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PENINSULA AND BEYOND

UNMOORED — “A cruise ship for Florida’s migrant crisis had nowhere to dock,” by The New York Times’ Frances Robles: “Gov. Ron DeSantis stepped in, deploying air reconnaissance planes, assembling dozens of law enforcement agents and commissioning a cruise ship to house what the administration hoped would become a local army of state employees to help handle the migrant surge. But there was a problem: The $1 million cruise ship contract was signed before anyone realized that the vessel had nowhere to dock. … But the hasty state emergency program, including the ill-fated cruise ship contract, highlights the problems that can develop when state officials intervene to help manage the borders, a role traditionally reserved for the federal government.”

‘IT IS A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF FEAR’ — “Florida at center of debate as school book bans surge nationally,” by The New York Times’ Patricia Mazzei, Elizabeth A. Harris and Alexandria Alter: “Florida ranks second, behind Texas, as the state with the highest number of book removals, according to a report released on Thursday from the free-speech organization PEN America, which tracked book bans in schools from July 1 to Dec. 31 of 2022. But PEN said that Florida’s broad, state-level approach, with ‘wholesale bans’ that restrict access to “untold numbers of books in classrooms and school libraries,” made the true extent of book removals in the state difficult to quantify.”

— “Miami’s blossoming tech hub hits rough patch, as startup capital gets scare,” by Miami Herald’s Vinod Sreeharsha

— “DeSantis to request a major disaster declaration from Biden for Broward County,” by South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Shira Moolten

— “‘On life support:’ Fort Lauderdale needs new City Hall after epic flood,” by South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Susannah Bryan

— “In Florida, Harris announces $562M for climate resilience,” by The Associated Press’ Curt Anderson

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