By David L. Snelling

Miami – Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis finally got his wish to fashion sweeping laws to assist President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, ending a brief standoff with GOP leaders who initially crafted a plan of their own.

After the first special session on Jan. 28 didn’t go as planned for the governor when he and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature clashed over his proposal, the GOP agreed on a package of immigration laws including imposing the death penalty on illegal immigrants who commit capital crime such as first-degree murder and child rape.

The bill the governor signed into law on Feb. 13 after a third special session includes increasing penalties for undocumented immigrants illegally entering the state which carries a mandatory nine-month jail sentence.

In addition, the Legislature crafted a plan returning DeSantis’ immigration enforcement power by creating the State Board of Immigration Enforcement to oversee enforcement measures.

The board comprises DeSantis and the three Florida Cabinet officials, the attorney general, chief financial officer and agriculture commissioner.

The bill also erases in-state tuition rates for about 6,5000 undocumented students brought into the country as children.

DeSantis said the bill that he signed into law is the toughest anti-illegal immigration bill in the country.

He spent weeks negotiating with state legislators, who at times debated passionately on the floors of the House and Senate.

“The bill I signed today makes Florida the strongest state in the nation for immigration enforcement,” DeSantis said during a news conference. “This legislation will enlist state and local law enforcement to assist the Trump Administration with re-establishing the rule of law, removing illegal aliens from our country, and protecting our communities. Florida is happy to lead, and I hope other states follow suit.”

The compromise between DeSantis and GOP leaders ends a deadlock over his original proposal for illegal immigration enforcement during the first session.

House Speaker Danny Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton said the governor was going overboard to please Trump and rejected his plan.

They crafted their own plan including stripping DeSantis of some of his immigration enforcement power including flying migrants out of Florida.

DeSantis called the plan “weak” and vowed to veto it and proposed to cut $398 million from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year after Commissioner Wilton Simpson was appointed the state’s immigration chief.

In a social media post after DeSantis signed the bill, Albritton said through bickering the Florida Legislature finally got on the same page.

“The last 10 days have made this family stronger. We’ve grown from this,” he said.

But some critics say the bill targeting illegal immigrants who have criminal records may go after those currently seeking asylum as well.

They also look at the new law as racial profiling in the Haitian and Hispanic communities.

North Miami state Rep. Dottie Joseph, a Democrat, expressed concern over the mandatory death penalty because it’s unconstitutional.

What is this really about? This is about playing politics with people’s lives,” she said.

The GOP rejected several amendments by Democrats including removing the mandatory death penalty and the provision for in-state college tuition rates for undocumented immigrants.

Even several Republicans expressed their disappointment over repealing tuition rates.

“I just thought it was petty, and I’m sure that President Trump was not focused on this. There were others that were focused on this, not President Trump,” said Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami, a longtime Trump supporter. “I’d like to clarify today and probably disappoint many: President Trump is not going to be deporting any Dreamers.”