Gov. Ron DeSantis is requesting $12 million to expand his program transporting migrants out of Florida. His move last year to fly two planes of 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard was popular with conservatives critical of Biden’s border crisis. Now the governor would like to fly more migrants out of the state. A special session was called on Friday and it will include consideration of a bill that would create an “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program.”

DeSantis seeks to broaden the migrant flight program that he began in September when he flew about 50 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard. The request looks to be in response to recent migrant boat landings in the Florida Keys by Cubans and Haitians. Last month DeSantis activated the National Guard to help with the influx of migrants that quickly overwhelmed the personnel and resources in the small communities in the Keys. Hundreds of migrants have come in recent weeks.

In the current year’s budget, DeSantis received $12 million for the migrant transport program. The money came from funds connected to federal Covid-19 relief funds. The current budget stipulates the money can only be used to remove migrants “from this state”, which means they are being removed from Florida. This is where DeSantis got in some hot water with the initial flights. Those migrants were sent from Texas, with a stop in Florida before traveling on to Martha’s Vineyard. A Miami Democrat, Sen. Jason Pizzo, filed a lawsuit that says DeSantis violated the spending provision by moving migrants from Texas, not Florida.

The new program proposed by DeSantis allows the state to fund future migrant flights that originate anywhere in the United States. The request for an additional 12 million dollars for the program would double it.

The Legislature finds that the U.S. Government has failed to secure the nation’s border and has allowed a surge of unauthorized aliens to enter the United States in violation of the law. This crisis has brought detrimental effects including crime, drug trafficking, and smuggling, diminished economic opportunities and wages for American workers, and burdens on the education and healthcare system. The federal government has proven itself unwilling to address this crisis. To mitigate the effects of this crisis on the state of Florida, there is hereby created the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program within the Department of Transportation for the purpose of facilitating the transport of inspected unauthorized aliens, within the United States, consistent with federal law.

As used in this section, the term “inspected unauthorized alien” means a foreign national who has U.S. Government documentation indicating that the U.S. Government processed and released the foreign national into the United States without admitting the foreign national in accordance with the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. ss. 1101
30 et seq.

That proposal is concise and to the point.

Several lawsuits have been filed against the DeSantis administration over the migrant flights. The Center for Government Accountability alleges that the administration is withholding public records related to the program.

Though the administration carried out only one set of flights, in late September it signaled that it was chartering another from Texas to near Rehoboth, the summer vacation spot on the Delaware coast where President Joe Biden has a home. Humanitarian organizations in several states scrambled to be in position to offer services for migrants on the flights. A flight took off but it never landed in Delaware and it’s unclear whether migrants were on board.

During a press conference Wednesday, DeSantis doubled down on his support of the plan amid the growing cost and controversy.

“We have had a deterrent effect, and people are sick of having an open border with no rule of law in this country,” he said.

It’s not clear how many migrants would be able to be transported out of Florida with the $12 million Fiscal Year 2023-2024. Florida lawmakers are in support of the program.

Florida House Speaker Paul Renner and the state’s Senate President Kathleen Passidomo both released separate memos on Friday lauding DeSantis’ proposal and noted that the migrant program in particular is a response to an ‘influx of migrants landing in the Florida Keys.’

The best result of the migrant flights from Florida was shining a spotlight on the hypocrisy of progressives who live in sanctuary cities. The residents of Martha’s Vineyard couldn’t get the 50 migrants out of their community fast enough. The governor called the National Guard to round them up and put them on buses to a military facility in another community. So much for the all-are-welcome propaganda, right? All are welcome until they show up. Then it is time to give them a bowl of cereal and send them on their way.

DeSantis is expected to run for president in 2024. Illegal immigration will be a big issue in the race because of the Biden border crisis. The border crisis has now expanded to the Florida Keys and DeSantis is using what power he has during the legislative session to deal with it. Just like Texas and other border states, Florida is on the hook for providing for the migrants while the federal government turns a blind eye to what is happening on the ground.