- 5/12/2025
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) details efforts to crack down on illegal immigration in Florida.
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00:00:00Immigration. Imagine that. Not many states are doing, in fact, no state is doing even close to what Florida is doing, but what we've been doing has not only been effective, it's really been a model for the rest of the country. I'm joined here by our FHP and Highway Safety Motor Vehicle Executive Director Dave Kerner. Our immigration czar Larry Keefe, Florida Highway Patrol Sergeant Joshua Malloy, and then State Senator Jay Collins.
00:00:26Is this your district right here, where we're at? Yeah, from Tampa. He's doing a great job, so we appreciate everybody. We have been working very hard on this issue for a number of years. When I first became governor, Florida allowed sanctuary cities, believe it or not, and I was like, no, we're not going to allow sanctuary cities.
00:00:47So we worked with the legislature to ban sanctuary cities. I think that was back in 2019. We also worked to continue to add solid policy in that respect, but it really became difficult when Joe Biden took office at the beginning of 2021,
00:01:05because he had basically campaigned on not enforcing the border at all. And I remember they had a debate, you know, should someone that comes illegally raise your hand if you think they should be like, no one was even raising their hand during that.
00:01:20And so it was a very radical posture because, you know, we can have debates about immigration, you know, what levels of immigration, what types.
00:01:29You know, I look at some types of immigration, some that are even legal, like these H-1Bs, and that's a racket, right? I mean, you can see that.
00:01:37So, like, I think that I'm a critic of that. Some other people like it. We can have these debates about all these things, but clearly, you know, there has to be rules of the road.
00:01:47Clearly, the people of the U.S. have the right to determine who comes in or who doesn't come in to our country.
00:01:55And clearly, you've got to have enforcement about those rules so that people realize that you're not going to be able to violate them with impunity.
00:02:02And basically, the Biden administration just threw all that by the wayside.
00:02:08So we were faced with a situation in Florida. People would say, oh, well, you're not a border state. Why do you care? Why are you?
00:02:14Well, first of all, a lot of these people crossing the border wanted to come to Florida. That's why I cared.
00:02:19Second of all, it's just wrong to have the open border. And that has fentanyl.
00:02:23That has a whole host of things that affected all states, particularly in the continental U.S.
00:02:29So we were the first state to send people at the southern border to help Texas.
00:02:33And what we found was our state law enforcement agencies, a lot of these people coming illegally were saying they wanted to come to Florida.
00:02:42I mean, it was documented that it wasn't just like 5 percent. It was 25, 30, 40 percent, depending on when you were finding these folks.
00:02:51And so we knew that that was going to be an issue. And so we did that and we were proud of doing that.
00:02:57But we also knew we had to do more in the way of legislation.
00:03:03And so a couple of years ago, we passed strong E-Verify provisions.
00:03:08We are now the leading state by far in usage of E-Verify.
00:03:14So what E-Verify does is it's already against the law to work here if you're not authorized to be here.
00:03:20That's true federally. That's true state.
00:03:22But, you know, people can come. Who knows what documents? They can forge documents.
00:03:27Some people get hired without documents.
00:03:30But E-Verify, you have to run everything through, right?
00:03:33And it's very easy. It's no burden.
00:03:35But that will ping if somebody is not authorized to work.
00:03:39And so it's a disincentive for people to want to come to Florida to work illegally.
00:03:45And we've had more usage than any other state by far.
00:03:49Now, we're one of the biggest states, but we're not even close to as big as California or Texas.
00:03:53And we have way more than any state even close.
00:03:57And so that was positive.
00:03:59That wasn't enough.
00:04:01But when you look at this stuff, yes, having a wall, I'm supportive of that.
00:04:04I'm supportive of securing the southern border.
00:04:06I think the Trump administration has done a great job in the first 100, 120 days, however long they've been in on doing that.
00:04:13But you also know that there's enticements that cause people to want to come.
00:04:18With Biden, the enticements were very strong because literally you show up at the border.
00:04:22Even if you got caught, they'd hand you a notice to appear in some court like a year and a half later and then just go on your way.
00:04:31Well, of course, people, you know, are going to do that.
00:04:33And if you go to California, you get all the benefits funded by taxpayers or New York or Illinois or some of these other places.
00:04:40So these enticements are something that – so the e-verify to say, no, we don't want to be a magnet with employment in the state of Florida for people who aren't authorized to be here and people who are working illegally.
00:04:53You know, people say, oh, I see these – you know, what about, like, farms, all this stuff?
00:04:56They actually have worker programs that are authorized.
00:05:00You could critique those, and there may be flaws in those too, but you do have that, and people do utilize it.
00:05:08Now, if it's a legal program, a lot of times you pay more for that labor than you would if someone's totally off the books, so that's where you get that.
00:05:15But the idea that you can't have folks working on that is just not factually true based on what's going on.
00:05:21We also understood that how are you going to position yourself vis-a-vis illegal immigration.
00:05:28In California, as I said, you get benefits.
00:05:30We don't give benefits.
00:05:32You get driver's license there and ID cards.
00:05:35We refuse to do driver's licenses for illegal aliens.
00:05:39In fact, we did legislation saying not only no driver's license, not only no ID cards from state or local governments, but no ID cards from these NGOs and these nonprofits.
00:05:51They were trying to issue ID cards to kind of give the appearance that these folks had a right to be in this country when they didn't.
00:06:01So that was the most sweeping set of reforms that anyone did anywhere in the country.
00:06:06We also required hospitals to collect and report the health care costs for people who are here illegally.
00:06:13I think, as most people know, federal law, if someone shows up to the emergency room, they have a requirement to render whatever care.
00:06:23And, you know, there are people, unfortunately, who use the emergency room for basically primary care.
00:06:28So you end up having a lot of costs imposed.
00:06:30But since we did that reporting, you know, the amount of money that's gone for illegal aliens showing up to the emergency room has declined dramatically.
00:06:40And it's just because we've sent the message that we're serious about this.
00:06:43We've also done things like transportation out of Florida or out of different non-sanctuary states.
00:06:52And you saw Texas sent to New York City, to Chicago.
00:06:57We sent to California and even beautiful Martha's Vineyard.
00:07:01Imagine that.
00:07:02Like, you know, they were advertising themselves to be this great sanctuary jurisdiction.
00:07:06They said, you know, they condemned President Trump during his first administration because they said everyone's welcome.
00:07:13Nobody, no human's illegal.
00:07:15They would pass resolutions.
00:07:16They do all this stuff.
00:07:17And then they had 50.
00:07:19You know, these border towns are poor in Texas.
00:07:22They get thousands and thousands.
00:07:24Martha's Vineyard, very wealthy.
00:07:26They got 50.
00:07:27And all hell broke loose.
00:07:28Like, they refused that.
00:07:29They called out the National Guard.
00:07:31They went and got those folks off that island very quickly.
00:07:35Yet these are people that were advocating for open borders.
00:07:38They just didn't want those open borders and the consequences of that to be applied to them in their daily lives.
00:07:44And so the transportation really, I think, raised the threshold of the issue with the public.
00:07:51And people started to pay a lot more attention as a result of those programs.
00:07:56So we were leading on that.
00:07:57We also understand, people say, you're not a border state.
00:08:02We're a maritime state.
00:08:04We've got people that will take boats illegally, wash up on shore in the Florida Keys or in Jupiter or some of these places.
00:08:11Not as much on the west coast of Florida.
00:08:13That's true.
00:08:14It's mostly the Keys and then southeastern Florida.
00:08:17But this stuff is really serious.
00:08:20So we launched Operation Vigilant Sentry.
00:08:24And part of it was we were mindful of what was going on in Haiti.
00:08:27There was, I mean, there's always problems in Haiti.
00:08:29But there was a time when people were really fleeing.
00:08:32We are Department of Emergency Management.
00:08:34We created rescue flights.
00:08:38We rescued a lot of people to come out of Haiti who were Americans.
00:08:41There were a lot of missionaries there, others that were there.
00:08:44And we were happy to do that.
00:08:45But people were fearing just a massive exodus.
00:08:48And I remember reports, oh, Florida is going to get overrun and everything like that.
00:08:52Well, no.
00:08:53We surged our maritime assets, even when Biden was president, to work alongside the Coast Guard.
00:09:00And since we did that, we've gotten interdicted and repatriated just with the state efforts alone, 18,000 illegal aliens.
00:09:08Some of these boats, they'll come.
00:09:10They'll have drugs.
00:09:10They'll have guns.
00:09:11You know, a lot of military-age males trying to come.
00:09:14Not something that we want to be seeing in Florida, just a bunch of, you know, to have 30 military-age males show up on the shore of the Florida Keys from, like, Haiti or something.
00:09:25That's not what we want.
00:09:27So that's been really good.
00:09:28And then now, since the Trump administration's been back in, they've had better presence off the coast of Florida.
00:09:33And we've got great radar, so there's been a huge amount of work that's gone into that.
00:09:38And I think it's been really, really successful in terms of what we've done.
00:09:44Now, which brings us to where we've been now in the last couple months.
00:09:48I think most people remember that in January, I called the special session of the Florida legislature to make sure that Florida was leading in efforts to assist the Trump administration with enforcement of immigration laws.
00:10:03And the reason for that is simple.
00:10:06You can't – when Biden, he let in $7 million, $8 million alone.
00:10:10You have many millions more than that.
00:10:11You are not going to be able to make even a dent in that with just random ICE agents that are sprinkled around the country.
00:10:19And, oh, by the way, with an agency that's been decimated since Biden was president.
00:10:24He decimated the interior enforcement.
00:10:26So we viewed the state and locals to have a huge role in helping make sure that this policy vision was realized,
00:10:35that what the voters voted for that they would get, that you would actually have these immigration laws enforced.
00:10:41That not only will help relieve burdens on communities, on schools, on health care, on criminal justice,
00:10:47but it also is a major deterrent for people trying to come illegally in the first place.
00:10:52And so it helps slow that flow down for folks who are trying to come across our southern border or even doing things like visa overstays.
00:11:01So we proposed a package of reforms that were the strongest in the country.
00:11:07Most important was probably, and, like, look, the state didn't need this because I told our agencies you've got to do it.
00:11:14But we required state and local law enforcement agencies all across Florida, municipal, county, and state,
00:11:22to participate with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
00:11:27And that usually takes the form of these things called 287G agreements,
00:11:32which is basically an agreement with a local agency or a state agency to be part of these operations.
00:11:40We call it a task force model.
00:11:42And so you see some of the things that have happened recently, which I'll talk about,
00:11:46that gets integrated, and that ends up being a real force multiplier for that.
00:11:51Now, I had my agencies do it anyways, even without the legislation,
00:11:55but we still wanted to make sure that everyone was on the team.
00:11:59So that was one.
00:12:00The other one was we wanted to make it a state offense for someone to come into Florida illegally,
00:12:07especially people that have been deported previously.
00:12:10And we structured that a little bit different than what Texas did because we knew that it would get challenged in court.
00:12:16And, yeah, they found a judge, but this is on appeal.
00:12:19There will be a lot of things that happen about that, and I think ultimately will be vindicated.
00:12:23But we need to give tools to our own state law enforcement.
00:12:27I mean, you can't have a situation where if you have another president that views his role like Biden to not enforce the law,
00:12:35that somehow states are left defenseless and we can't do anything.
00:12:39I mean, think about this.
00:12:41What these people will say is the Constitution has a supremacy clause,
00:12:46and when the federal government's acting in accordance with the enumerated powers in the Constitution,
00:12:52that trumps what states want to do.
00:12:56And that's true as far as it goes.
00:12:58But so they say immigration is just about federal.
00:13:02Now, that would make sense if the feds were trying to enforce the law
00:13:08and the states were trying to sabotage that.
00:13:10Then, yes, supremacy clause, right?
00:13:12You can't pass legislation that goes against what federal law is on an issue that the federal government has constitutional jurisdiction over.
00:13:20But that's actually not how they choose to apply that.
00:13:24In fact, it's the opposite.
00:13:25These same people who say states shouldn't be enforcing immigration law
00:13:30because it undermines the federal government's authority in this matter,
00:13:34they don't care that you have sanctuary cities and sanctuary states.
00:13:39Biden never did anything against sanctuary cities or sanctuary states, not at all.
00:13:44They thought that was fine.
00:13:45Those are all their folks that were doing it.
00:13:48So somehow this has developed.
00:13:49It's kind of like a heads they win, tails they lose.
00:13:53You know, if you have a president like Biden, he won't enforce immigration law.
00:13:57And then if the states step up and say,
00:13:59no, we are going to take federal immigration law
00:14:02and we are going to make sure that's upheld in our state,
00:14:05they'll say, oh, you can't do that.
00:14:06It violates the supremacy clause.
00:14:08But on the flip side, if you have a president like President Trump,
00:14:11he says, no, you know what, we've got to enforce the laws on the books.
00:14:14We want to make sure that the people that are here are here lawfully.
00:14:18But then you have San Francisco or Los Angeles or California
00:14:21or some of these places that are sanctuary jurisdiction.
00:14:25Then some of these same people will say, oh, no, no, that's fine.
00:14:28That's fine.
00:14:29They can be sanctuary.
00:14:30You can't have your cake and eat it, too.
00:14:32I mean, if it's OK for a state to try to sabotage the federal government's policies,
00:14:37which I don't think it is, but clearly it's got to be OK for a state
00:14:41to try to vindicate the federal government's policies.
00:14:44This is what Congress enacted.
00:14:45Just because Biden wasn't fulfilling his oath of office,
00:14:48that doesn't mean that we can't step up.
00:14:51So I think that's really important.
00:14:53That's more of a long-term play.
00:14:54I think you're going to see the courts have to come to a different resolution
00:14:59than what this one district judge has done.
00:15:01But, you know, this raises the issue of these judges
00:15:04that have just gotten out of control in this country.
00:15:07They think that they can set policies for the entire country.
00:15:11Having one district judge in one pocket of the United States of America,
00:15:16you do not have the power to issue edicts that apply nationwide.
00:15:21It's just not the way our constitutional system was designed.
00:15:25So you'll have people that will bring cases.
00:15:28You can go to Hawaii or California or wherever,
00:15:32find one judge to say something that the Trump administration is doing is unlawful,
00:15:39and then they will issue an order saying this applies nationwide.
00:15:42Nobody, the federal government, must cease any of this.
00:15:45That is not the way courts are supposed to operate.
00:15:48Courts have authority under Article III of the Constitution to decide cases
00:15:52and controversies, the parties before them.
00:15:55So you can bring a suit, someone can defend it, a court can decide,
00:15:59and that binds the people that are parties to the case.
00:16:02You can't then say you're binding everyone in the United States based on one district judge.
00:16:08The U.S. Supreme Court has not been aggressive enough in policing this,
00:16:13and it's really caused, I think it's caused a crisis in the judiciary.
00:16:19I think it's caused a lack of credibility.
00:16:23I think the public looks at this and that you can almost predict what some of these judges are going to do
00:16:29regardless of the underlying law.
00:16:32And I think it's really undermined the authority of the courts,
00:16:36and the Supreme Court has the ability to reel that in.
00:16:39Justice Thomas has talked about not allowing these nationwide injunctions.
00:16:44I think there's been more nationwide injunctions in, like, the first four months of this year
00:16:49than there had been in the previous four years against the Biden administration.
00:16:54I mean, and they were doing things like, you know, unilaterally forgiving student loans.
00:16:59I mean, they were doing a lot of things, but it just applied differently.
00:17:03So you have this one case in Florida where the judge said that somehow there was an issue with the statute that we passed,
00:17:10and then she's expecting our attorney general to be ordering around law enforcement who weren't parties to the case
00:17:18that somehow they have to cease operations in certain areas.
00:17:23None of those people were parties to this case.
00:17:25You don't have the authority as a judge to bind people that are not before the court.
00:17:29That's way beyond what Article III empowers you to do.
00:17:35And so you can decide that case, and she decided it wrongly, but that applies to the parties before the case.
00:17:41It does not require the attorney general to go out in every corner of the state to people that had nothing to do with that case
00:17:48and tell them that somehow they're not capable of enforcing the law.
00:17:52But that provision was something that's very important.
00:17:55We also crack down on this catch and release.
00:17:57You know, you have illegals committing crimes, and Biden wouldn't take them, so they'd get released into society.
00:18:05We don't want that.
00:18:06We want people to be held.
00:18:07We don't think that they should get bail, particularly if they're committing serious criminal offenses.
00:18:12If ICE wants to take them, that's one thing.
00:18:14But just simply releasing them back in our community, that is a total non-starter.
00:18:20Unfortunately, you know, you have judges that will sometimes be very weak when it comes to setting bail conditions.
00:18:26We changed the law so that they have to consider some of these factors, and the public, I think, would probably have more recourse now if they didn't do it.
00:18:34So, and then we did other things in that bill.
00:18:36We got rid of another enticement.
00:18:39Before I became governor, Florida enacted in-state tuition rates for illegal aliens.
00:18:45That is inappropriate.
00:18:47Why would you be doing that?
00:18:48I mean, it's hard enough to get into our universities.
00:18:51Now, you know, when I was growing up here, like, people would view, like, I mean, if you were a halfway decent student, you got in almost every state university.
00:18:59You know, now it's very, very competitive.
00:19:01I mean, you look at University of Florida, incredibly competitive.
00:19:05USF, all these.
00:19:06So, first of all, why would we even be given spots, but then why would you be giving a tuition discount to somebody that's not even authorized to be here?
00:19:15You have people that live, like, across the Florida border, like St. Mary's, Georgia.
00:19:21Some of them, you know, their parents may work at, like, Mayport in Florida, right?
00:19:25So, they're not technically Florida residents, and yet somehow they would have to pay full out-of-state tuition, but somebody whose parents aren't even lawfully here would get in-state tuition.
00:19:37It makes no sense.
00:19:37And so, that was rolled back.
00:19:39Finally, we had worked very hard to do that.
00:19:42We've got to put Floridians first.
00:19:44We've got to make sure we're standing up for our citizens.
00:19:46So, that whole package was something that was really meaningful.
00:19:51You know, I'm glad we eventually got it done.
00:19:53But let's just remember that when I proposed this, we had the leadership in the Florida House reject doing anything on immigration enforcement.
00:20:03They said it was premature.
00:20:05They said the governor, we're the legislative parents.
00:20:08In the House of Representatives, we determined the governor has no role here, and they were saying all that stuff.
00:20:13Well, you know what?
00:20:14The voters did not like hearing that because they're like, what are you waiting for?
00:20:18This is like, well, we've been waiting this opportunity here to make good on this mandate after the 2024 election, and you're saying it can wait, or we don't need to do it?
00:20:27No, we needed to do it.
00:20:28And so, I think they realized that they were in bad spot there.
00:20:31But rather than just do the right thing, they came up with in the Florida House this bill that would basically have made Florida a sanctuary jurisdiction.
00:20:44Everything I talked about that we have done, it eliminated all of that.
00:20:49It totally kneecapped the governor and state government.
00:20:52It would not allow the governor to be involved in any immigration enforcement whatsoever.
00:20:58In fact, local governments weren't even allowed to talk to ICE unless they got approval from a cabinet officer.
00:21:07It was really designed to sabotage immigration enforcement.
00:21:11Now, they named it the Trump Act, and I think they thought that people would be gullible enough to think that that meant it was a tough bill.
00:21:17But people saw right through it.
00:21:19They saw that it was just charade.
00:21:21You know, you can write a sanctuary bill, but just putting a red hat on it isn't going to make it anything other than a sanctuary bill.
00:21:28We're not fooled by that stuff.
00:21:30And so, there was a real negative response.
00:21:32I know Jay Collins was very strong in the Senate in calling out what the House leadership was trying to do.
00:21:38And so, that collapsed.
00:21:39And so, finally, we're able to get these policies in place.
00:21:43And so, what does that mean for us?
00:21:47All 67, and this would not have happened without our legislation, all 67 Florida sheriffs have entered into 287G agreements with immigration and custom enforcement to be active participants in this mission.
00:22:02You look at our municipalities.
00:22:04Many of them have entered into these agreements and many more are on the way.
00:22:08So, if you look nationwide at all the law enforcement agencies that have entered into 287G agreements with the federal government, more than half of them are in one state.
00:22:21Guess which state that is?
00:22:23State of Florida.
00:22:25So, first of all, where's the cavalry?
00:22:27I mean, I honestly thought when we did this that I thought other states would follow.
00:22:31I really did.
00:22:32Now, maybe the other states saw the House shenanigans and maybe the message got a little muddled there for a while as they were trying.
00:22:39But we have over half of the law enforcement agencies in this country that are in this fight with those agreements are just in one state, the state of Florida.
00:22:49We're not the only, you know, red state in the country.
00:22:53And so, we're leading.
00:22:55I think others really need to do more.
00:22:57So, we've done that.
00:22:58So, we've highlighted recently what's happened as a result of that.
00:23:03We have, with Operation Tidal Wave, worked with immigration and custom enforcement.
00:23:10This was like, what, four or five day efforts, would you say?
00:23:14And we got over 1,100 illegal aliens across the state apprehended.
00:23:18MS-13, 18th Street Gang, Barrio Aztecas, Brown Pride Aztecas, Tren de Aragua, of course, one of the worst criminal organizations coming out of Venezuela, all represented in that.
00:23:34And, you got a number of these people that were already under active deportation orders.
00:23:40I mean, you'll hear stuff about due process.
00:23:43Someone comes illegally, you know, due process.
00:23:46Oh, first of all, I would just point out, you know, when we typically talk about due process, we're talking about a criminal context, right?
00:23:52State can't deprive you of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.
00:23:56That's a bedrock.
00:23:57Immigration enforcement, indeed, that is not a punishment.
00:24:01It is not a criminal enterprise.
00:24:04If you're here and you're deported, that's considered, you know, a civil action.
00:24:09Now, it is a crime to be in the state, to be in the country illegally, but, and you could do potentially a criminal trial to hold someone accountable.
00:24:17But if you're just simply removing them on the other side of the border, that does not mean the same due process that would attach to people that are brought up on criminal charges.
00:24:27There's obviously Americans, but even people that are here, it's not the same thing.
00:24:31But put that aside.
00:24:33However you come down on that, we have in Florida probably 70,000 to 80,000, maybe more, illegal aliens who've already gone through a lot of process, have already appeared before an immigration judge.
00:24:46And these aren't actual Article III judges, by the way.
00:24:49They're executive branch employees.
00:24:50And they've been ordered to be removed.
00:24:54Final orders of deportation issued.
00:24:57Why would we be discussing anything else at that point?
00:25:00Of course you have to follow that order.
00:25:02So there were a lot of people that were targeted in the tidal wave operation who were already under these orders.
00:25:09They don't even need to go through.
00:25:10Even if you want an O.J. Simpson trial for every illegal alien, which, by the way, you can't do, right?
00:25:15It's just implausible.
00:25:17And I think to myself, how did Clinton deport all these illegals?
00:25:23Hell, even Obama had a lot deported.
00:25:26Now, I know Obama, they changed the definition so they've inflated his numbers.
00:25:30But like Clinton was in for eight years, he deported like a couple million people.
00:25:35Did he give a trial to him?
00:25:36You wouldn't be able to do that.
00:25:38So you've got to be sensible about that.
00:25:40But when you have active orders of removal already done, well, there's nothing even more to debate at that point.
00:25:45And there's probably 800,000 to a million throughout the country that are under those similar orders.
00:25:51And so that was a really successful operation.
00:25:54Now, what we're here today to announce and celebrate is Florida Highway Patrol is leading this effort all across the United States.
00:26:06There's not a single law enforcement agency that's gotten in this fight more deeply than our FHP troopers.
00:26:14And one, I wanted to thank them for that.
00:26:17Two, I wanted to let folks know that this is really the model for what needs to be done all throughout the country.
00:26:24Now, when even before this legislation was passed, I had Dave Kerner negotiate the 287G agreement for FHP.
00:26:33We also had Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Florida Fish and Wildlife and our Florida State Guard that entered into similar agreements with the federal government.
00:26:42What this does, it's like you get law, what is 287G?
00:26:47Basically, it trains you in immigration, but then you have authority to act in the realm of immigration enforcement.
00:26:54When Biden was president, these guys pulled over an illegal driving drunk.
00:26:58They could call ICE and ICE may want to come take them.
00:27:03How many times do you think ICE wanted to come when Biden was president?
00:27:06Not very often.
00:27:07So they could have done that, and now you probably get a better response, but they don't have enough manpower.
00:27:14Well, now they are in a position to be able to handle these operations all the way until they're processed for deportation.
00:27:21And so earlier this week, we had more than 100 FHP troopers sworn in as special deputy U.S. marshals, which is even over and above the 287G.
00:27:33That empowers state troopers to execute federal warrants and to remove dangerous criminal aliens from our communities.
00:27:41Now, as I mentioned, Operation Tidal Wave used Highway Patrol, FDLE, local law enforcement to great effect.
00:27:49What we have now with FHP is that they are able to conduct immigration operations wholly independent of the federal government.
00:28:00And there's no one else in the country where they're doing that.
00:28:04Now, Tidal Wave was a task force model where they were working in conjunction.
00:28:08These guys now at FHP, you know, they can do operations, they can get illegals,
00:28:14and they can do everything that an immigration officer would do up until the point where they get processed for removal.
00:28:21Now, we've put plans on the table to say we can handle that, too.
00:28:25In Florida, we've got the best emergency response and management capabilities in the country.
00:28:31You know, you've seen swift responses after major hurricanes.
00:28:35I mean, we've had six in the last seven years, but just think we had two this past year.
00:28:40We had a third that wasn't a major but was still significant.
00:28:43And then in 2022, we had almost Category 5, basically a Category 5.
00:28:49Ian, 23, we had Idalia.
00:28:52And yet you can move the logistics, everything that's done, we do that as good as anybody.
00:28:58But we can apply that to other things other than just disaster response.
00:29:04For example, during COVID, you had massive Delta wave.
00:29:10So they had these mRNA vaxes.
00:29:13They were telling you if you get that, you will not get COVID, and COVID will end.
00:29:17And yet even after a lot of people were doing it, you created the Delta came on the scene.
00:29:22And so, you know, we had Delta.
00:29:24And people are like, okay, and some of these people, you know, obviously had had vax,
00:29:28and they were still getting it.
00:29:30And so we're like, all right, well, what about treatment?
00:29:32No one talks about treatment.
00:29:34And it was like almost verboten to talk about treatment.
00:29:36So we did the Regeneron clinics, the monoclonal antibodies.
00:29:39And we helped thousands and thousands of people.
00:29:43And there were some people in pretty rough shape.
00:29:45They'd get the antibodies, and, I mean, most all the time, they would get it cleared up.
00:29:51I mean, if you got it early enough, it was really, really effective.
00:29:54All those clinics were set up by our emergency management folks.
00:29:58I mean, literally, there was a need for a clinic in Tampa.
00:30:01We could do it within usually 36 hours.
00:30:05We'd put Jacksonville.
00:30:06We had, so we ended up having all these clinics.
00:30:08It was hugely successful, so much so that Biden took away our monoclonal antibodies after we had been doing this for four to six weeks,
00:30:15which was, you know, really, really problematic at the time.
00:30:19But that's what happened.
00:30:19So we used it there.
00:30:21We've also used it to rescue people from Israel after October 7th.
00:30:25We have a lot of Americans that go over there, and a lot of them are from Florida.
00:30:29We also have people who are Israeli-American who live in Florida and are Florida residents but also spend time there.
00:30:36And so we knew that there was a need for that.
00:30:39The federal government was kind of dragging its feet.
00:30:40So we brought back, I mean, like 800, 900 people from Israel, first flight landed in Tampa, not too far from here.
00:30:49So we're versatile with that.
00:30:52And so we have a plan on the table, if the feds approve, where we can take some of the military judge advocates, let them act as immigration judges.
00:31:01We can do makeshift detention space and then even do transportation.
00:31:06I mean, honestly, it's easier to fly somebody to Central America than it probably was to Martha's Vineyard anyways.
00:31:13And so we can do that, too.
00:31:15So this can be soup to nuts for us.
00:31:18We want to be in the fight.
00:31:19We want to help.
00:31:20But clearly what Highway Patrol is doing is they are more active in this sphere than anywhere else in the country.
00:31:29And this is something that's really, really important.
00:31:31And if you think about it, I've met a lot of angel moms who've lost kids because of illegal aliens, and especially when they lose them in, like, car accidents.
00:31:43So many times the illegal driver had had other infractions, driving drunk, reckless driving, all this other stuff.
00:31:51And if you think about it, had we had these policies in place with a federal government that would actually take the problem seriously then, and this was long before I was governor in most of these cases, you know, some of this stuff would never have happened at all.
00:32:05So you're saving lives.
00:32:06You're really making a difference in your community.
00:32:08So to be able to do standalone operations I think is really, really significant.
00:32:14Again, we're excited about what they've done, but our plan that's on the table will serve, if implemented, if approved by the feds, as a major force multiplier.
00:32:27We've already leading the country way over and above what anyone else is doing, but this will show how it's done.
00:32:34It'll show these things, in fact, can be done.
00:32:37So I want to thank Larry Keefe, who helped develop this.
00:32:41I also want to thank Kevin Guthrie from our Division of Emergency Management, who was involved in putting it together and would also be really spearheading the execution of this.
00:32:51We've made a difference.
00:32:52No state has done more to make a difference.
00:32:56The state's safer as a result of what these guys have done.
00:32:59Taxpayers are better off as a result of what these guys have done.
00:33:03And all of our services and everything are better as a result of what these guys have done.
00:33:09So thank you for what you've done.
00:33:11We are going to continue to push forward, and I truly believe that the best is yet to come.
00:33:16Okay, Dave Kerner.
00:33:20Thank you, Governor.
00:33:21My name is Dave Kerner.
00:33:22I have the honor of serving as Executive Director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
00:33:27And all of the success that the governor just talked about, I just want to take a break from what I had written down
00:33:32and emphasize two things.
00:33:35First of all, the men and women in uniform behind me, these state troopers, they're not paid enough.
00:33:41We see the governor fighting for that.
00:33:42We see Senator Collins and the Senate really step up.
00:33:45But I'll tell you what law enforcement officers really appreciate beyond good equipment and good pay.
00:33:51And honestly, it's good, great leadership.
00:33:54And when these men and women put on their uniform, they know that they're going to work out in dangerous conditions with a governor and, by extension,
00:34:03an executive director that has their back and appreciates what these men and women in uniform do.
00:34:09And that is why these men and women behind me are so successful in apprehension of illegal immigrants and all the law enforcement duties that they do.
00:34:18It's because Governor DeSantis has their back, and we appreciate that, Governor.
00:34:22So if we could give the governor and these troopers a round of applause.
00:34:30It's an honor to join the governor along with Director Larry Keefe and Master Sergeant Josh Malloy.
00:34:36We have Senator Collins here as well, who's been just an outstanding leader on law enforcement, immigration in the Florida Senate.
00:34:43We appreciate what's going on right now, and we appreciate you standing strong with our troopers and our law enforcement officers.
00:34:48We have General Hartzell here as well.
00:34:50Thank you for being here, General.
00:34:51I know you appreciate those comments about good leadership.
00:34:54And then, of course, Sergeant Josh Malloy and his CIU team, outstanding law enforcement officers here today.
00:35:00And we're privileged to give an update on our immigration enforcement operations in the state of Florida.
00:35:05As Governor DeSantis has pointed out, Florida leads by multiples and multiples in terms of enforcement.
00:35:12But it's not just enforcement.
00:35:13In just over four months, state law enforcement has stood up a highly effective force of investigative, of enforcement, logistical, and transportation elements, far outpacing any other state in the nation.
00:35:27The Florida Highway Patrol was the first in the nation to be delegated federal enforcement authorities in the immigration space.
00:35:35And we now have over 1,800 state troopers that have been credentialed and delegated federal immigration enforcement authority.
00:35:44What that means is if you see a state trooper, he or she has federal authorities to detain, investigate, apprehend, and deport.
00:35:52We have troopers in all 67 counties of this great state that have that authority.
00:35:56The only troopers that do not have that authority, as I understand, are the men and women that are on military leave or out on sick leave.
00:36:03And when they come back, we will get them credentialed right away.
00:36:07Most recently, Florida Highway Patrol has executed on several independent operations utilizing their independent federal authority that has yielded unprecedented apprehensions of illegal immigrants.
00:36:20Many with significant criminal histories, prior deportations, and allegiances to transnational narco-cartels and gangs.
00:36:30To date, we have assisted or been the primary arresting agency on over 1,020 illegal immigrants.
00:36:37But with our federal partners, we are doing more than just making apprehensions.
00:36:42We are innovating and we are expanding upon techniques, databases, processes, and ultimately creating a state-led enforcement arm that can amplify the capacity for apprehensions by several multiples of what already exists.
00:36:58For example, we have worked with DOGE at the Department of Homeland Security to waive user fees for the systematic alien verification and entitlements program, which is also known as SAVE.
00:37:19This is the database that law enforcement and states use to verify lawful presence in the United States.
00:37:26To waive those fees is a very big deal.
00:37:28It's about $30 million just here in the state of Florida.
00:37:31Because of the governor's leadership, because of the negotiations that we've successfully accomplished with DOGE and the Department of Homeland Security,
00:37:39those savings and that access on the roadside for a law enforcement officer will be felt and seen and utilized nationwide.
00:37:46We are integrating technology so that troopers and law enforcement officers on the road can have real-time access to alien status without any costs borne by the state or local agency.
00:37:58Much attention has been paid recently to an operation that Troop C Tampa Criminal Interdiction Unit team executed last Wednesday.
00:38:07This operation was featured on FOX nationally and revealed some of the success and capabilities that the Florida Highway Patrol has achieved as we continue to improve upon our operations.
00:38:18For example, CIU troopers, many of them standing behind me today, were able to apprehend 30 illegal immigrants in just over an hour.
00:38:27It is important, just for some clarification, the way that I view immigration enforcement, are there really two buckets of illegal immigrants.
00:38:36One are those that came across the border, whether they're seeking asylum or they had some sort of lawful presence given to them for a period of time.
00:38:44Those are what we call, informally, men and women that are on a list that we can go out and apprehend with the final order of deportation.
00:38:54But there's a whole other element to this where people cross the border, whether with good intentions or not,
00:39:01and oftentimes it was very bad intentions, that we don't even know who they are, we don't know where they live, we don't even know that they're here.
00:39:08And what we found is the type of techniques that the Border Patrol and now the Florida Highway Patrol are using on these operations
00:39:15is really allowing us to uncover the non-documented illegal immigrant in the United States and in the state of Florida.
00:39:23These folks live in the shadows.
00:39:25We don't know who they are, and I think, personally, that the men and women in the state of Florida have a right to know who is in their community.
00:39:31And by using these efforts and techniques, we are uncovering that shadow population.
00:39:36As the Florida Highway Patrol continues to expand our enforcement efforts throughout the state,
00:39:43so, too, will our ability to apprehend illegal immigrants.
00:39:47Without a commensurate growth in our ability to provide detention space,
00:39:52our enforcement efforts will be significantly restrained.
00:39:56On May 9th, 2025, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation pertaining to the self-deportation program.
00:40:03Section 3B directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to deputatize no less than 20,000 state and local law enforcement officers
00:40:12to engage in enforcement and removal operations.
00:40:16For a scale, at over 1,800 state troopers deputized already,
00:40:21we right here in this room represent nearly a full 10% of the 20,000 officers nationwide that the president has set as a goal.
00:40:30Several other local and state agencies in Florida are due to be deputized in the near future.
00:40:37If there were ever a model of success and effectiveness in the immigration enforcement space,
00:40:42it is Florida, it is the Florida Highway Patrol,
00:40:45and we look forward to working with our federal government partners
00:40:48to enhance our detention and deportation capacities.
00:40:52All right, Larry.
00:40:53Larry.
00:40:59Good morning.
00:41:00What I want to do today is give you a progress report, a progress update on what you heard the governor mention,
00:41:08maybe Director Kerner mentioned it, but this operation plan, the Florida blueprint, the prototype, the archetype,
00:41:15what it is that we're doing in Florida, 37 pages of here's what we recommend for the country,
00:41:19here's what we recommend for the other states that I'll talk a little bit more about in a second.
00:41:23It is very fitting that we're here today at the Florida Highway Patrol Station,
00:41:28and I want to thank Director Kerner, Colonel Howes, for their effort, for their work, for what they've done,
00:41:34because they are truly at the tip of the spear of this effort.
00:41:38And the work that they have done thus far, I believe that you will see,
00:41:42for reasons that I'll talk more about in a moment,
00:41:44that within the next 60 days, according to the President of the United States,
00:41:49you will see what it is that you are doing is becoming this blueprint or this role model for the rest of the country.
00:41:54Within the next 60 days, the techniques, the methods, the things that you were just mentioning in your remarks
00:41:59will be the standard that our brother and sister states apply in the effort that we're going through here today.
00:42:06So just by way of a quick background so I can report to you the more recent developments
00:42:09of what's happened with the Florida blueprint,
00:42:11everybody remembers about 100 days ago, about the time of President Trump's inauguration,
00:42:15he declared a national emergency, and he issued an order saying,
00:42:18go secure the borders and restore our national sovereignty to the federal agencies.
00:42:23And he also said to the federal agencies, go out,
00:42:27and these at least 15 million that came in during the Biden administration,
00:42:31go find them and mass deport them as soon as possible.
00:42:35Two orders from the President of the United States.
00:42:37And I can't praise our federal partners enough that within seven weeks,
00:42:41they had operational control of the border.
00:42:44That's just huge.
00:42:44We kind of skipped past that because we're moving to the mass deportation issue,
00:42:48the going and finding the illegal aliens embedded in our communities.
00:42:51But our borders have been secured in seven weeks.
00:42:53That's just stunning.
00:42:54And I always want to make certain that I throw that out to our federal partners on that.
00:42:58But then attention focused on this mass deportation issue,
00:43:01where at least, just looking back four years,
00:43:0415 million embedded in the heart of this country that needed to be found, identified.
00:43:09Where are they?
00:43:10They needed to be sorted because of all the complexities that you've seen coming up
00:43:13about due process and where they stand in terms of being amenable to deportation.
00:43:18So there's finding, there's sorting.
00:43:21And then there is the detention deportation and transportation,
00:43:25huge logistics issue that the governor alluded to in terms of Florida skills learned in COVID,
00:43:30learning in the rescue from Americans in Israel post the Hamas terror attack,
00:43:34and what we do all the time with hurricanes.
00:43:36Those skills became in great value that I'll talk about in a moment.
00:43:40So our federal partners have to figure out where to start in this endeavor.
00:43:44And they need to find a state that they can rely on that has all of the right things
00:43:48to maximize the chances of success.
00:43:50Because for every 15 federal law enforcement officers in this country,
00:43:54there's 85 state and local law enforcement officers in this country.
00:43:57You need these force multipliers.
00:43:58It all depended on the force multipliers.
00:44:01The feds could have gone anywhere they wanted to any state they wanted,
00:44:03but they didn't have to look far, and it didn't take them too long.
00:44:06They needed to know a place where they had leadership that was bold.
00:44:11They had leadership that was decisive.
00:44:14They had leadership that was resolute.
00:44:17And they had leadership that was undawnable.
00:44:20And they knew where to find that.
00:44:22They wanted to see a state that did difficult, big things, under stress, under risk,
00:44:27that didn't mind being the laboratory because you don't know how it's going to go.
00:44:31Well, they didn't have to look very far.
00:44:33They looked right to the state of Florida, and they chose us.
00:44:36Our federal partners, who we've come to know very closely, very intimately,
00:44:42are extremely under a lot of pressure.
00:44:45They have a tough boss.
00:44:47We have a tough, reliable boss.
00:44:49And they picked and they chose where they wanted to go to build their prototype to the state of Florida.
00:44:55So what did we do once they chose us?
00:45:00Well, we went all about developing cohesion and bonding, and anybody that's been part of anything,
00:45:06your son, Sergeant Malloy, and his baseball team.
00:45:09You can do a lot of talking about teamwork, working together, winning games,
00:45:13but what you've got to do is actually build that authentic, legitimate cohesion.
00:45:17So what did the state of Florida do?
00:45:19We went down and moved in with the feds in Miami and an operations center down there.
00:45:22And this is in early February, and we have stayed there since, forming these relationships.
00:45:27And it is that environment, that incubator laboratory environment,
00:45:31where the genius of not only our law enforcers, our FDLE, our Highway Patrol, our State Guard,
00:45:37our Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, all wonderful folks,
00:45:40but everybody thinks of this as a law enforcement operation.
00:45:43But as we became embedded with our federal partners, I came to see it as that.
00:45:48You have to be able to find them and sort them legally as to who you can take and not take and deport.
00:45:52It was a huge logistics issue.
00:45:55It was like another hurricane.
00:45:56It was like dealing with the COVID crisis.
00:45:58It was all of these things, and where the true genius in Florida lies,
00:46:02not to the disparagement of any of our law enforcement,
00:46:04but in terms of world-class genius, is the Florida Department of Emergency Management
00:46:08and the Florida National Guard.
00:46:10World-class, the best of the best at safely moving people, logistics, transportation,
00:46:16because this whole mass deportation is all about doing it at scale in large numbers.
00:46:22So all of that resulted in this operation that you heard the governor mention,
00:46:27you heard Director Kerner mention about two weeks ago, Operation Tidal Wave.
00:46:31That was kind of the test run.
00:46:32It was a warm-up.
00:46:33How do we test this prototype to see whether this whole concept that we have worked?
00:46:37And it went great.
00:46:39It went well.
00:46:39We are told by our federal partners that ICE set an all-time historical record
00:46:44for the number of arrests of illegal aliens within a week.
00:46:48And, Governor, we weren't even at it but four days.
00:46:52So that went well.
00:46:53I'm not trying to diminish Operation Tidal Wave,
00:46:55but Florida was kind of like a pushy partner.
00:46:59We can do more.
00:47:00We can do more.
00:47:01We have more capacity, more capability,
00:47:02and we can be right at the table in the solutions, the problem-solving phase.
00:47:07So one week ago I met with the governor and he said, Larry, where is all of this?
00:47:17And I said, sir, there's lots of meetings, there's lots of conversations,
00:47:19there's lots of oral discussions about ways to attack this problem
00:47:24and your team in Florida is at the forefront of it.
00:47:27And the upshot of that conversation was we need to put it in writing.
00:47:30We need to put it somewhere, what are the skeleton of this thing that we're creating,
00:47:35this way forward, this model, this prototype, this way to do this, and that is this.
00:47:41And so Friday, a week ago, this is the Florida-recommended operational plan
00:47:46that gets into some of the details, not all of them.
00:47:50We presented that to our federal partners at the highest levels
00:47:53and down to the leadership in the state here.
00:47:56And that was one week ago, this 37-page blueprint.
00:48:00Last Friday, as in three days ago, which I am calling Federal Friday,
00:48:06two things came out of the White House, out of the Trump administration,
00:48:11and our federal partners in this space.
00:48:14The first thing was that we were notified by the operational leadership at DHS
00:48:19that not only was tidal wave a great thing,
00:48:23and we might be doing the tidal wave operation or some variant of a named operation
00:48:26every so many weeks or so many months, and then it's back to normal, back to usual.
00:48:31We were told that tidal wave was so successful in the trend or pattern for the state of Florida
00:48:36and what we're doing was such, that is the new normal.
00:48:40Operation tidal wave and more.
00:48:42Operation tidal wave is tied in conjunction with our federal partners.
00:48:45The operation that you just did three days ago is this 287G fully deputized federal agents
00:48:51able to go out there, run, and operate, and do the things that they do.
00:48:56But in terms of the federal partnership side of this,
00:48:59it is going to become what you saw in tidal wave,
00:49:01a persistent permanent pressure, persistent permanent pressure,
00:49:07that's tied to the voluntary relocation program you've heard about reversing CBP-1 to CBP-home
00:49:13and the voluntary deportation to where, in order for that to work,
00:49:18this constant, permanent, persistent pressure is going to be the new normal here in the state of Florida.
00:49:25And for a reason I'm about to mention to you,
00:49:27the other thing that happened on last Friday, federal Friday,
00:49:31was the president of the United States entered an executive order
00:49:35where he ordered that in not more than 60 days,
00:49:40this approach, strikingly similar to everything we're talking about in Florida,
00:49:46is going to be implemented and scaled nationally,
00:49:48not sometime in the future, but within, not later than,
00:49:5260 days that is going to happen.
00:49:54The description of what that means in the executive order is
00:49:57that there will be an intensive campaign to remove illegal aliens
00:50:02who fail to deport voluntarily.
00:50:05And without getting ahead of the governor of the state of Florida,
00:50:08you can be looking for Florida's help and assistance
00:50:11in regard to voluntary deportation.
00:50:14Rather than go through the time, expense, and effort,
00:50:16and all the drama of the involuntary deportation,
00:50:19Florida is likewise very much a part of the creative side of how do you do this
00:50:24and what will be the unique Florida ways to add to President Trump's voluntary removal campaign.
00:50:30Lastly, I want to talk about another law enforcement agency
00:50:35that is crucial to this effort and to the public,
00:50:37and of course to policymakers in the state of Florida.
00:50:40In this whole endeavor, mass deportation is quintessentially about numbers.
00:50:45It is how many do you begin with,
00:50:47and how many are being deported or apprehended and detained pending deportation.
00:50:52How many are there to begin with, and how many do you have along the way?
00:50:58The key Florida organization that is dealing with that issue
00:51:01is the Florida Department of Law Enforcement,
00:51:05Commissioner Mark Glass and his brilliant staff.
00:51:07Not only are they doing many, many things in regard to intelligence,
00:51:11working with collecting information, putting together the target packages,
00:51:14they do so many things.
00:51:16But in my view, the most urgent and critical thing that they're doing
00:51:19is not only collecting the data from the police officers,
00:51:23from the highway patrol, from all of the 287G qualified people in the state of Florida,
00:51:28they're collecting that information in real time
00:51:30to know how much time, money, and effort are we spending in this.
00:51:33How many hours are spent during an encounter or work on this?
00:51:38Where did each encounter occur?
00:51:40Who was involved in each encounter?
00:51:41Did our federal partners actually follow through and take them into detention and deport them?
00:51:46All of that information, the plan is to put those up on transparent dashboards,
00:51:51because I know the governor likes to win,
00:51:54and the governor likes to keep score,
00:51:55and not just engage in shiny object chasing.
00:51:58And by gosh, we're going to do every single thing we can
00:52:01because Florida likes to be the best, and we like to compete.
00:52:04So we're going to keep track as best we can
00:52:07and have for any one of you to see how much time, money, and effort are we spending in this,
00:52:11what is the upshot of it,
00:52:13and if there are people that we're catching that are being released for whatever reason, why?
00:52:18What is the choke point?
00:52:19What is the friction point?
00:52:20The governor mentioned that there's between 70,000 and 80,000 of people,
00:52:24not just illegal aliens,
00:52:25but ones who have gone through all of the hoops of the due process
00:52:28that are out there somewhere in the state of Florida.
00:52:30So we're in a hole.
00:52:31We're going to dig our way out of it.
00:52:33It's an honor to have this job, governor,
00:52:35and that's all I have.
00:52:38Okay.
00:52:38Trooper.
00:52:49Good morning.
00:52:53I'm Master Sergeant Joshua Malloy.
00:52:55I'm the leader of the Troop C Criminal Interdiction Unit for the Highway Patrol.
00:52:58It's an honor to join you, Governor, Director Kerner, and Director Keefe,
00:53:05for this press conference here today.
00:53:07I've served as a state trooper for the past 21 years,
00:53:10leading the Criminal Interdiction Unit in Troop C for the past 10,
00:53:14and more recently, the Troop C Strike Team.
00:53:18Prior to that, I served with the United States Coast Guard
00:53:21in a maritime interdiction capacity.
00:53:25The Criminal Interdiction Unit for the Highway Patrol
00:53:27is a nationally renowned interdiction team
00:53:29that uses 60 highly trained, specialized, trained state troopers
00:53:32who serve statewide.
00:53:35Utilizing 30 apprehension, narcotics, detection canines,
00:53:39special tools and equipment,
00:53:40and highly refined and specialized tactics,
00:53:43CIU troopers focus their efforts
00:53:45on interdicting drugs, illegal weapons,
00:53:48human smugglers, human traffickers,
00:53:50and other criminals and wanted persons
00:53:52that travel up on the highways and the roadways
00:53:54in the state of Florida.
00:53:56I found that the mission is always the same.
00:54:00The name of the operation is the only thing that changes.
00:54:03And none of that could be possible
00:54:05without the men and women that stand behind me here today.
00:54:08There's value in that.
00:54:11And, Governor, we see that you've placed a value on that,
00:54:13that you've entrusted us with this mission,
00:54:15and that you value what we bring to the table, sir.
00:54:21Whether serving on the southern border
00:54:23or apprehending human smugglers and traffickers,
00:54:26we've been on the front lines
00:54:27to fight against illegal immigration for many years.
00:54:31Most recently, Governor DeSantis has directed
00:54:33the Florida Isle Patrol to participate in the 287G program.
00:54:36With the Department of Homeland Security.
00:54:39This simply allows us to be cross-worn
00:54:41with federal immigration enforcement powers.
00:54:44The Florida Ohio Patrol is the first and only agency
00:54:47in the nation to be delegated these powers,
00:54:49although hundreds of agencies will soon follow
00:54:51and be delegated these important authorities.
00:54:55Director Kerner, you've been relentless
00:54:58in making sure Florida Ohio Patrol
00:54:59is the tip of the spear in criminal interdiction
00:55:01and immigration enforcement,
00:55:03and the criminal interdiction unit
00:55:04be the leading force within the patrol.
00:55:07As much of the nation saw last week,
00:55:10Troop CCIU, along with Director Kerner,
00:55:12executed an enforcement operation in Tampa,
00:55:14resulting in the apprehension of 30 undocumented aliens
00:55:17in just over an hour's time.
00:55:19While this was the first operation
00:55:21to be featured on national news,
00:55:23it was part of a much larger effort
00:55:25where state troopers worked either independently
00:55:28or directly with the federal government
00:55:30to enforce federal and state laws.
00:55:33Our port partnership with local Tampa U.S. Border Patrol assets
00:55:37have been an effective teaming in this mission.
00:55:40During this operation,
00:55:42three undocumented aliens fled from one of our traffic stops
00:55:45and ran across several lands of I-4.
00:55:47Myself, Trooper Kelly, and Trooper McKinstry gave chase,
00:55:52climbing a concrete wall,
00:55:54several barbed wire fences along the way,
00:55:56which resulted in me injuring my ACL.
00:55:59Well, I forgot my age.
00:56:07Yeah.
00:56:08Which is the reason I stand before you today with assistance.
00:56:12Myself and Trooper Kelly was also injured
00:56:14as a result of the jump from the wall,
00:56:16continued to pursue the subject on foot,
00:56:18locating him a short time later with our air asset,
00:56:21hiding in the shed of a local residence.
00:56:23The criminal interdiction unit in conjunction with my strike team
00:56:27took the subject into custody,
00:56:30transported him to the county jail
00:56:31where he was charged with felony burglary,
00:56:33amongst other charges.
00:56:35As a veteran law enforcement officer
00:56:37and the leader of the Troop C criminal interdiction unit,
00:56:40we have seen firsthand negative effects
00:56:43of illegal immigration on the state of Florida
00:56:45and our communities.
00:56:47We have witnessed the massive amount of drugs
00:56:48and contraband being moved by cartels.
00:56:50We have recovered countless victims of human trafficking
00:56:54and human smuggling.
00:56:55And we have witnessed the sheer number of illegal aliens
00:56:58that have made their way to Florida
00:57:00in the previous four years.
00:57:02Governor DeSantis,
00:57:04we are honored to be the tip of the spear
00:57:06in this fight against illegal immigration.
00:57:08We remain committed to using our authority and skill sets
00:57:11in support of this mission.
00:57:13We know that you've entrusted and directed
00:57:15the Florida Highway Patrol
00:57:16to help build the model of state-led enforcement
00:57:19of immigration that can be exported
00:57:21to each and every state within the United States.
00:57:24We are thankful for your leadership and partnership
00:57:26that we have established
00:57:28with the United States Border Patrol
00:57:29and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
00:57:32Thank you very much.
00:57:33Thank you, Mr. Governor.
00:57:45And, Master Sergeant,
00:57:47I understand age catches up with all of us.
00:57:49It reminds me of a little bit where I used to be
00:57:51not so long ago.
00:57:53But we appreciate what you do on a daily basis.
00:57:55Mr. Governor, thank you for your leadership.
00:57:57Thank you for your continuing, relentless leadership.
00:58:00Standing up and fighting for what matters,
00:58:03it's not easy all the time.
00:58:04Having leaders who step in boldly
00:58:07and say, I don't care about the consequences,
00:58:09they'll talk about what's wrong,
00:58:11but I'm going to stand in between what's wrong
00:58:14and protect our people,
00:58:16that's why leadership matters.
00:58:18I want to talk about the troopers behind me.
00:58:20I want to talk about what they do on a daily basis
00:58:22to protect and preserve our communities.
00:58:24I also want to talk about their families.
00:58:27And I want to go on the record,
00:58:29unequivocally, as always,
00:58:30as saying time, tools, training.
00:58:33You deserve all of the time,
00:58:34all of the tools,
00:58:35and all of the training you need
00:58:36to complete your mission,
00:58:38but more importantly,
00:58:39complete your mission and return home safely,
00:58:41because they are citizens just like us.
00:58:44When things go wrong,
00:58:45they run to the threat
00:58:46rather than stepping back.
00:58:48And that is what community leadership is all about.
00:58:50I talked briefly about the governor
00:58:52and his leadership,
00:58:54but let's talk about what this sounds like.
00:58:56Listen to what was just said
00:58:58by the speakers ahead of us.
00:58:59That is good government.
00:59:01Our federal government
00:59:02working with our state government,
00:59:03working with troopers in local communities
00:59:06and people around the state.
00:59:07Doesn't that sound like effective governance,
00:59:09like things going right,
00:59:10what we actually want from this?
00:59:12Isn't it a breath of fresh air
00:59:13to not have President Biden
00:59:15in the White House destroying this,
00:59:17breaking down our borders,
00:59:18and putting our people at risk?
00:59:20Having a president to partner
00:59:21with bold leadership at the state level
00:59:23is what this is all about.
00:59:25Let's talk about immigration.
00:59:26Has anybody ever had a leak
00:59:28under their sink or a leak in their wall?
00:59:30You ever seen that?
00:59:31Water goes everywhere.
00:59:32Last time we had a leak,
00:59:33we found it in our kitchen,
00:59:34in our laundry room,
00:59:36in our bedrooms, everywhere.
00:59:37We had to rip out sheetrock everywhere.
00:59:39For those of you who have been in Florida for a minute,
00:59:42you might have had a flood or two, right?
00:59:43Because of hurricanes.
00:59:45Immigration is the same way.
00:59:46The true facts are this.
00:59:47Every state is a border state.
00:59:49If we don't step forward
00:59:50and protect our borders
00:59:52and work with our government
00:59:53at the federal level,
00:59:55who else is there?
00:59:56If not me, then who?
00:59:57If not now, then when?
00:59:58We have a responsibility
00:59:59as we serve our community
01:00:01to step up and do what's right,
01:00:03not what's easy.
01:00:04That's why I was incredibly grateful
01:00:05to take the stand I did
01:00:07with the governor on immigration policy
01:00:09and each of the things we're working on now
01:00:11because we know that leadership matters.
01:00:14Let's talk about judges.
01:00:16You heard that just a moment ago.
01:00:17We didn't elect judges.
01:00:18We didn't put them in place to be lawmakers.
01:00:21Lawfare is not lawmaking.
01:00:24We have legislators who do that.
01:00:25We have a governor who signs that.
01:00:27That process matters.
01:00:28It's incredibly important
01:00:30and we're usurping power to a single person
01:00:32and trying to dictate.
01:00:33That is not what government does.
01:00:35That is not what our founding fathers envisioned
01:00:37and that is not the right thing to do.
01:00:39Again, grateful for Florida to lead on this.
01:00:43What is the why?
01:00:45The why is this.
01:00:46It's each of you in this room,
01:00:48each of the people around our community,
01:00:49our districts, everywhere they go.
01:00:51We have a responsibility as Americans,
01:00:53as Floridians, heck, as moms and dads
01:00:56to protect and preserve what we love
01:00:58for the next generation
01:00:59because that's what our forefathers did for us.
01:01:02I don't know about you,
01:01:02but I'm not going to fail as a dad or a husband,
01:01:05certainly not as a senator,
01:01:06nor am I going to embarrass the people
01:01:07who run to the threat day in and day out.
01:01:10Sometimes it's a struggle.
01:01:13You see people equivocate, step down, step aside
01:01:17when the pressure gets too hard, too heavy.
01:01:21But friends, here in Florida,
01:01:24we beat to our own drum a little bit
01:01:25and I hope, I pray, and I know
01:01:27that that will never happen
01:01:28because what matters more than anything in this state
01:01:31is bold leadership focused on moral values,
01:01:34that moral compass that protects
01:01:36and preserves liberty for our generation
01:01:38and the next, and the next, and the next.
01:01:42And that is why we have leaders
01:01:43like Governor DeSantis, Dave Kerner, Hammer Hartzell.
01:01:48Across this, our troopers behind me,
01:01:51thank you, God bless you,
01:01:52and may God bless the great state of Florida.
01:01:59Well, thanks.
01:02:00I appreciate everybody's comments.
01:02:01Now, I just make a couple points.
01:02:03One, on the executive order
01:02:05that the president issued on Friday
01:02:08saying not longer than 60 days,
01:02:11you have state and local cooperation
01:02:14with the federal government.
01:02:16Just understand,
01:02:17that's the federal government inviting cooperation.
01:02:20But the federal government can't commandeer
01:02:22state and local entities.
01:02:24That's why what we did in Florida
01:02:25was so path-breaking and so important.
01:02:29We made the decision as a state
01:02:31that our state and local entities
01:02:33would be on the team.
01:02:34If we had just sat on our hands,
01:02:37the federal government could come in
01:02:38and do what they are lawfully able to do,
01:02:41but they could not force
01:02:43any local government
01:02:45to assist with immigration enforcement.
01:02:48Now, we had a ban on sanctuary policies,
01:02:51so they couldn't sabotage it under state law,
01:02:53but they could have sat on their hands.
01:02:54So we've said you have a duty
01:02:56to cooperate, assist,
01:02:59in the enforcement of federal immigration law.
01:03:00That's why we have the numbers that we've had.
01:03:04I don't know how many other states
01:03:06are going to do what Florida did.
01:03:08I think we have a good model,
01:03:10but it does require
01:03:11either having local law enforcement agencies
01:03:14that unilaterally want to be a part of the team,
01:03:17state agencies that want to do that,
01:03:19or you need to do legislation like we did
01:03:22to say the expectation is
01:03:24that everybody's on the team.
01:03:25So that's the first thing.
01:03:26The second thing is
01:03:27everyone says
01:03:32it's National Police Week,
01:03:33so we celebrate people
01:03:35that wear the uniform.
01:03:37In Florida, there's a strong culture
01:03:38of supporting law enforcement.
01:03:40We have a strong law and order set of policies
01:03:42in the state,
01:03:44and that's important.
01:03:46And honestly, it's important to say
01:03:47that you support,
01:03:48because it is moral support,
01:03:50but you've got to do more
01:03:51than just give lip service.
01:03:52You've got to actually have policies
01:03:54that back up your commitment
01:03:57to law enforcement.
01:03:58And you look at what we've done in Florida,
01:04:00anti-riot legislation
01:04:01that made sure that you wouldn't have
01:04:03these mobs
01:04:04that would be able
01:04:05to target law enforcement.
01:04:07We did $1,000 bonuses
01:04:08three years in a row
01:04:09for every single sworn law enforcement officer
01:04:12in the state of Florida.
01:04:13We have a $5,000 recruiting program
01:04:16so that new hires can get $5,000
01:04:18right off the top.
01:04:20And those are all important.
01:04:22And I'd say,
01:04:23looking at what I proposed this year,
01:04:25I know what Senator Collins
01:04:27and his colleagues in the Senate support,
01:04:29is we need to give Highway Patrol a raise.
01:04:33We need to increase their salaries.
01:04:35First of all, they've earned it.
01:04:42First of all, they've earned it
01:04:43because they're not only performing
01:04:45the traditional duties.
01:04:47They were at the border for years.
01:04:50Now they're helping the feds in this.
01:04:52And I think ultimately
01:04:53the immigration operation
01:04:54is going to make some of their other things easier
01:04:56because I think you'll weed out
01:04:58some of the problem elements.
01:05:00But still, it's a lot.
01:05:02And they're stepping up.
01:05:03And obviously, it's not without risk.
01:05:05It's also just practically important.
01:05:07It's like some of these guys
01:05:08can do a lot of other things with their lives.
01:05:10They want to serve the people.
01:05:12And it's not that you do it only for money,
01:05:14but there may be options
01:05:16that would be better financially.
01:05:18And so we've got to be competitive on this.
01:05:20We also got to fund things like body armor.
01:05:22You know, why you defund that
01:05:24like some in the Florida House try to do
01:05:26is just beyond me.
01:05:27Why the Florida House rejected
01:05:29giving any pay increase for highway patrol?
01:05:33Again, it's just beyond me.
01:05:35That's something that's appropriate.
01:05:36It's something that is merited by the performance.
01:05:40So we don't just give lip service.
01:05:43We put our money where our mouth is.
01:05:44And I think you should expect any elected official
01:05:47when they give you the lip service,
01:05:49make sure that they tell you
01:05:51or show you what they've done to back that up.
01:05:54Okay, we got any questions?
01:05:56Governor, I got a real-world example on all of this
01:05:58because, and I'm sure you recall this,
01:06:00in September of 2022,
01:06:02and I was kind of sure as deputy Michael Hartworth
01:06:04who was killed by an extra duty assignment,
01:06:06his job was to protect highway workers
01:06:08and he said he was killed by a highway worker
01:06:09who was here from Honduras
01:06:11who entered the country twice
01:06:13without proper documentation.
01:06:15So kind of a two-part question on this
01:06:17because of everything that you mentioned.
01:06:18The company that hired him,
01:06:22it wasn't just him,
01:06:23it was for Honduras.
01:06:23There were others on that work group
01:06:25that were carried without proper documentation.
01:06:28Can you do anything about that company
01:06:30that is hiring people who are not qualified to be
01:06:33or, as you mentioned,
01:06:35they have a program making it easier
01:06:36to check documentation?
01:06:38And secondly,
01:06:39what about all the people that were on that work group?
01:06:42Do you know if there have been efforts
01:06:44to find them and to be working?
01:06:46So the company was an out-of-state company
01:06:49that was responsible for hiring those folks.
01:06:51They are under federal investigation.
01:06:53So that is happening.
01:06:55Sometimes these things take a long time.
01:06:57It's our belief,
01:06:58and again, I'm not privy to what the feds have,
01:07:02but it's our belief that this is not just a one-off,
01:07:05that this was part of an orchestrated effort
01:07:07to bring in illegal labor into the country
01:07:10and then to get them into positions,
01:07:12obviously, at much cheaper rates
01:07:14and so some of these companies could benefit.
01:07:15So I actually do think you are going to see,
01:07:18because it's interstate,
01:07:19that's the feds taking advantage of that.
01:07:21And yes, there have been investigations beyond that,
01:07:24not only in the feds,
01:07:25but also initially with the state.
01:07:27So I do think you're going to see some accountability.
01:07:30I think it's part of a larger issue,
01:07:32which is why you haven't seen maybe as much
01:07:35as we would thought at this point.
01:07:37But I do think you're going to see
01:07:39some pretty big busts down the rye,
01:07:41and I don't think this is limited to this instance.
01:07:44I think this is pervasive throughout the country.
01:07:45Governor, are you open to the idea of a budget summit,
01:07:48and do you think the government,
01:07:50the state government is at risk of shutting down?
01:07:54Well, I can tell you this.
01:07:56Since I've been governor,
01:07:57if you look at rainy day fund,
01:08:00compare when I came to now,
01:08:02we've almost quadrupled the state's rainy day fund,
01:08:05debt owed by taxpayers.
01:08:08180 years of Florida history.
01:08:10Since I came in, we've paid off 41% of it.
01:08:13We've done some of it early
01:08:15through our debt repayment program,
01:08:17saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
01:08:20The budget we have right now,
01:08:22after my vetoes last June,
01:08:24is less than the budget that was the year before us.
01:08:28The budget I submitted recommendations
01:08:29is even less than that.
01:08:31And yet, even with the surpluses,
01:08:34even with the debt reduction,
01:08:36even with all those things,
01:08:37we have done major things,
01:08:40like support law enforcement,
01:08:41like support transportation and road projects.
01:08:44I mean, you've seen stuff here in Tampa Bay
01:08:46that got done
01:08:47because we've really infused needed resources into that.
01:08:51Look what we've done with environmental restoration.
01:08:54Look at what we've done with Everglades restoration.
01:08:56I mean, this has been really, really huge.
01:08:57Look what we've done with education.
01:08:59And we've had billions of dollars
01:09:01for teacher salaries increases.
01:09:03That had never been done in Florida history
01:09:05before we've done it.
01:09:07So we have a formula that works.
01:09:10We have a formula that all these guys ran on
01:09:13and took credit for a lot of this.
01:09:17And so you can have a little junta
01:09:19in one house of the legislature
01:09:22all of a sudden to say,
01:09:23oh no, they want to defund body armor
01:09:25for highway patrol.
01:09:27They don't want to give highway patrol a raise.
01:09:29They want to zero out,
01:09:31practically zero out,
01:09:32Everglades restoration,
01:09:33that they want to defund effectively
01:09:36some of these ongoing highway projects.
01:09:39You know, they can just say that,
01:09:41but that's not what they ran on.
01:09:42It doesn't make any sense.
01:09:44We have the lowest number of state employees
01:09:46per capita in the nation.
01:09:48So we've shown how it's done,
01:09:51how you can have surplus,
01:09:52how you can do tax relief,
01:09:53how you can pay down debt,
01:09:55how you can meet the needs that,
01:09:56you know,
01:09:57since I've been governor,
01:09:58we don't do kind of,
01:10:00you know,
01:10:01recurring programs that are going to balloon.
01:10:03Like,
01:10:03that is not fiscally smart.
01:10:05But what we do do,
01:10:06when there are things that are needed,
01:10:08we go and we take care of them.
01:10:10So for folks,
01:10:11so you don't need a summit
01:10:13to just keep doing what we've been doing.
01:10:16And I think if you look at my budget,
01:10:18we build off the success that we've had.
01:10:21I don't know what's gone on
01:10:23in terms of the breakdown.
01:10:24I wasn't a part of those negotiations per se,
01:10:27because quite frankly,
01:10:29you know,
01:10:29the Senate and the House
01:10:30typically go back and forth on these things.
01:10:33But I can tell you,
01:10:34the voters want us to continue
01:10:36doing what we've done
01:10:38to build off the success,
01:10:40to meet challenges,
01:10:42you know,
01:10:42that are before us
01:10:43and to put their interests first.
01:10:46And I think what you've seen in the legislature,
01:10:48you've got some of these folks
01:10:49in the House leadership
01:10:50they have a personal agenda.
01:10:53They have vendettas.
01:10:55It's not being driven by strong policy.
01:10:59And they're trying to really deviate
01:11:01in a variety of ways.
01:11:03You know,
01:11:03I get a kick out of some of these guys.
01:11:05You know,
01:11:05the Florida House has voted
01:11:08to undo $60 million
01:11:11worth of spending reductions
01:11:13that I put into the budget last June,
01:11:15current year,
01:11:16with line item vetoes.
01:11:17They voted to undo that,
01:11:19including $57 million for themselves
01:11:21in the legislature.
01:11:23And then,
01:11:24so as they do that,
01:11:25adding more to current budget,
01:11:27they then turn around
01:11:28and try to say,
01:11:29the Senate has the spending problem.
01:11:31Well,
01:11:31you're the ones that are pushing
01:11:32to undo the spending reductions
01:11:34in current year.
01:11:35Why are you pushing to do that?
01:11:37So I just,
01:11:39I think that they're just not doing
01:11:41what the voters sent them here to do,
01:11:43but it isn't like we're just
01:11:45writing on a clean slate.
01:11:47You know,
01:11:47we're here after having done things
01:11:50that made Florida
01:11:51the number one economy
01:11:52in the country
01:11:53two years in a row
01:11:54by both CNBC
01:11:55and by U.S. News and World Report.
01:11:58We're here having seen
01:12:00as federal debt owed to the public
01:12:02has ballooned
01:12:03over the last six years.
01:12:05In Florida,
01:12:07it's 41% lower.
01:12:09Your share of the state debt
01:12:10is like $400 per person.
01:12:13Your share of the federal debt
01:12:14is $105,000 per U.S. citizen.
01:12:18I mean,
01:12:18you couldn't see
01:12:19a stronger contrast there.
01:12:22I want to keep doing that.
01:12:24I mean,
01:12:24it's interesting,
01:12:25the debt repayment that we did,
01:12:27we have a surplus.
01:12:28Now,
01:12:29we've cut taxes,
01:12:30we've done infrastructure,
01:12:31we've done things
01:12:32that I think are appropriate,
01:12:34but one of the things we did
01:12:35is we did an accelerated
01:12:36debt repayment program
01:12:37because what you can do,
01:12:39and our guys in the bond finance,
01:12:41they can get some of the debt
01:12:43at a discount,
01:12:44retire it,
01:12:45and then you end up saving
01:12:47on paying interest costs.
01:12:48So we've saved
01:12:48hundreds of millions of dollars
01:12:50in interest costs
01:12:52while retiring the debt earlier.
01:12:55I think it's good.
01:12:56I think we should expand it.
01:12:57I think the Senate
01:12:57is supportive of it.
01:12:58You know,
01:12:59the House,
01:12:59they don't want to do
01:13:00any more debt repayment.
01:13:01They want to just stop,
01:13:02even though we know
01:13:03it'll save taxpayers
01:13:04hundreds and hundreds
01:13:05of millions of dollars.
01:13:07And so,
01:13:08you know,
01:13:08what I would say is,
01:13:09you know,
01:13:09you've seen kind of
01:13:11what's been done.
01:13:12You've seen Florida
01:13:13have a lot of success.
01:13:15Just follow through with that
01:13:17and build off the success,
01:13:19and I think you'll end up
01:13:20in a good spot.
01:13:21But when you go
01:13:22to the summit, though,
01:13:22the fact that
01:13:23the Republican Party
01:13:24has asked you to come
01:13:25meet with President
01:13:27Paul Britten
01:13:27and House of New York,
01:13:28with all due respect,
01:13:29though,
01:13:29that's not the role
01:13:30of the Republican Party
01:13:31of Florida.
01:13:33And so,
01:13:34no,
01:13:36we're not going to do
01:13:36a dog and pony show.
01:13:38That's not the way
01:13:38this works.
01:13:40The way it works
01:13:41is people should
01:13:41do their jobs.
01:13:43Now,
01:13:43my role in the process
01:13:45is to sign
01:13:46or veto
01:13:47the budget as a whole,
01:13:49but also individual
01:13:50light items in the budget.
01:13:51And so there may be things
01:13:53that, you know,
01:13:53I'll say,
01:13:54hey,
01:13:54this is something
01:13:55I'm going to be looking for.
01:13:56And obviously,
01:13:56I think the legislature
01:13:57needs to take that
01:13:58into account.
01:13:59But the reality is,
01:14:00is, you know,
01:14:02the House leadership
01:14:03has kind of careened
01:14:05off course
01:14:06the whole session,
01:14:07not just on the budget.
01:14:09Let's just be clear.
01:14:10This has been
01:14:10the whole session
01:14:11this has happened.
01:14:12The whole immigration,
01:14:14we're up here
01:14:14celebrating this, right?
01:14:16You will never find
01:14:18anyone running for office
01:14:19as a Republican
01:14:20that will go in front
01:14:21of a Republican audience
01:14:22and say that they oppose
01:14:24what we're doing.
01:14:25Yet the House leadership
01:14:26opposed it in January.
01:14:28The House leadership
01:14:29tried to do
01:14:30a de facto sanctuary bill
01:14:31in January.
01:14:33They thought you
01:14:33wouldn't notice it.
01:14:34They thought that they
01:14:34could somehow
01:14:35get away with it.
01:14:36And so that was really
01:14:38a sign
01:14:39that something's
01:14:40changed over there.
01:14:41They have the biggest
01:14:42Republican supermajority
01:14:44in the history
01:14:44of the state.
01:14:45And yet,
01:14:46what have the results been?
01:14:48We talk about things
01:14:49like woke universities
01:14:51and all that Florida
01:14:52has done to beat that back.
01:14:54They actually did
01:14:55a higher education bill
01:14:57to undo our anti-woke reforms.
01:15:01And I think even,
01:15:02it's not even a Republican thing.
01:15:04People don't want to fund
01:15:06a Columbia University
01:15:08that's off its rocker.
01:15:09We don't want universities
01:15:11to be about leftist indoctrination.
01:15:14We want it to be about
01:15:15what is a classical mission
01:15:16of the university?
01:15:17Who's pursuing truth?
01:15:18Who's preparing our citizens
01:15:20to be citizens of our republic?
01:15:22All the things that
01:15:24really, I think,
01:15:25can unify
01:15:26as what the effort should be.
01:15:28And so we've done
01:15:28a lot in that regard.
01:15:29Eliminate DEI,
01:15:30post-tenure review
01:15:31for tenured professors,
01:15:33all these different things.
01:15:35And yet,
01:15:36the House of Representatives
01:15:37voted to kneecap
01:15:38our ability
01:15:39to continue
01:15:40on that course.
01:15:42We've done things like
01:15:43do litigation reform
01:15:45because Florida has
01:15:46a serious lawsuit culture.
01:15:48And when there's
01:15:48a lot of lawsuits
01:15:49that are filed,
01:15:51someone pays that, right?
01:15:53Because you could
01:15:54be totally innocent.
01:15:55Someone sues you.
01:15:56It is prohibitively expensive
01:15:58just to defend yourself.
01:15:59And so that adds
01:16:00to the cost of the economy.
01:16:02And it's honestly,
01:16:03as good as we've done,
01:16:04it's held us back.
01:16:05We did reforms
01:16:06in the last few years
01:16:07that have shown great promise.
01:16:10And the House
01:16:11tried to undo this.
01:16:12Now, the Senate killed it,
01:16:14and it's fine.
01:16:14But you just wonder
01:16:15what is going on?
01:16:17I don't know
01:16:17what got into the water.
01:16:18I think it's just
01:16:19the leadership
01:16:19is driving these guys
01:16:21in a poor direction.
01:16:22It's not the direction
01:16:23that their voters wanted.
01:16:25It's not what they campaigned on.
01:16:27And the note
01:16:29I always come back to,
01:16:30if you run on certain things
01:16:32and you get in
01:16:33and you do them,
01:16:34even people that may disagree,
01:16:35they will give you credit
01:16:37for, hey,
01:16:37you told us you'd do it,
01:16:39you did it.
01:16:39Where you get into trouble
01:16:40is when you run under,
01:16:42and they all ran
01:16:43on the Florida success,
01:16:44Florida first policies,
01:16:45when you run on that,
01:16:47get elected,
01:16:48and then you try
01:16:48a different agenda,
01:16:50and an agenda
01:16:50that, quite frankly,
01:16:51tries to sabotage
01:16:52a lot of success.
01:16:53That's where you really get
01:16:54into a lot of trouble.
01:16:55So I think that's what's happened
01:16:57with the Florida House
01:16:58of Representatives.
01:16:59And so we'll see what happens,
01:17:01but I definitely think
01:17:03that just looking
01:17:06at their whole session,
01:17:07it is not something
01:17:09to write home about,
01:17:10and I think it was
01:17:10because the choices
01:17:12were deliberately made
01:17:13to go in a different direction.
01:17:15Back on immigration,
01:17:16the law enforcement
01:17:17accountability dashboard
01:17:18was set up for people
01:17:19to complain about,
01:17:20basically,
01:17:20law enforcement agencies
01:17:21that don't adhere
01:17:22to the state's policies.
01:17:24Very few responses
01:17:25have been logged
01:17:26or complaints
01:17:27have been logged
01:17:27onto that database.
01:17:28I'm curious,
01:17:29what is your response?
01:17:30What do you make
01:17:31of those minimal responses?
01:17:32And then of the complaints
01:17:33that have been logged,
01:17:35has any real action
01:17:36come from that?
01:17:38Do you want to take that?
01:17:39Sure.
01:17:41The way that that,
01:17:43some call it a hotline,
01:17:45works is someone accesses it,
01:17:49they make a complaint,
01:17:50they put in facts,
01:17:51and it's curated
01:17:52by the Florida Department
01:17:53of Law Enforcement,
01:17:54a division within
01:17:55the Florida Department
01:17:55of Law Enforcement
01:17:56who's looking at those facts
01:17:59to see if there's
01:17:59what's called predication
01:18:01for a more full investigation.
01:18:03And that is the process.
01:18:05It gets to me
01:18:06after the Florida Law Enforcement,
01:18:07the Florida Department
01:18:08of Law Enforcement
01:18:09does its preliminary inquiry
01:18:11and sees whether
01:18:11an expanded investigation
01:18:13is appropriate.
01:18:14So that's where that lies.
01:18:16I don't have any other information
01:18:17to share on where
01:18:18that is right now.
01:18:19And what do you make
01:18:20of the minimal responses
01:18:21that just where do you
01:18:22complain something
01:18:22that actually logged?
01:18:23Yeah, I don't know
01:18:24what to attribute that.
01:18:26I mean, yeah,
01:18:27I mean,
01:18:27I think we would just be guessing,
01:18:30but I think it's because
01:18:31we have legislation in place
01:18:33that basically says
01:18:35if you don't do
01:18:37maximum participation
01:18:39with federal immigration authorities,
01:18:41that can constitute
01:18:42a neglect of duty
01:18:44which would trigger
01:18:45the governor's ability
01:18:46to suspend you from office.
01:18:47I think that's why
01:18:49you don't have
01:18:49as many complaints
01:18:50because I think
01:18:51that there's a total disincentive
01:18:53for any law enforcement agency
01:18:56or a mayor
01:18:56to be flagrantly disregarding
01:18:59state immigration authority.
01:19:00If we didn't have that,
01:19:03you don't think we'd have
01:19:04some of these liberal mayors
01:19:06hot-dogging?
01:19:07You don't think we'd have
01:19:08like some police chief
01:19:09in like a blue area hot?
01:19:12Of course they would be doing it.
01:19:13They're doing it
01:19:13in other parts of the country,
01:19:15but I think,
01:19:16and this is one of the things
01:19:17we wanted in the legislation,
01:19:18which is so important,
01:19:19there is teeth
01:19:20to this legislation.
01:19:22You can't sabotage.
01:19:23You can't just sit on your hands.
01:19:25Now, if you're a rural sheriff
01:19:27and you have only a handful of people,
01:19:29we understand
01:19:31like your maximum efforts
01:19:33may be a little bit different
01:19:34than Hillsborough County's
01:19:35maximum efforts
01:19:36or Lake County
01:19:38or something like that,
01:19:39but I think it's because
01:19:40you don't see flagrant disregard
01:19:42for Florida's legislation,
01:19:46and look,
01:19:46most of our law enforcement
01:19:47wouldn't do that,
01:19:48so don't misunderstand me,
01:19:50but I think you would have
01:19:51had pockets
01:19:52of either municipalities
01:19:54or agencies
01:19:56that would have taken
01:19:57a different posture.
01:19:58There's no incentive
01:19:59to do that right now,
01:20:01and I know we had
01:20:02some examples
01:20:02like Orange County.
01:20:04They said they were
01:20:04going to do sanctuary policy.
01:20:06Attorney General
01:20:07wrote them a letter saying,
01:20:08you know,
01:20:08you ought to maybe consult
01:20:09the statutes
01:20:10of the state of Florida,
01:20:11and they didn't do
01:20:12the sanctuary policy,
01:20:13so I think that's probably
01:20:14the biggest reason why.
01:20:17Governor,
01:20:17are you coming closer
01:20:18to appointing
01:20:19Lieutenant Governor or CFO?
01:20:22Of course.
01:20:22Every day that goes by,
01:20:23we're a little bit closer.
01:20:24You know,
01:20:25I did say I wanted
01:20:26to get through
01:20:26the legislative session,
01:20:28see how the dust settled.
01:20:30Obviously,
01:20:30dust is still settling.
01:20:32Now,
01:20:32it doesn't mean
01:20:33at this juncture
01:20:33that I couldn't do
01:20:34anything before
01:20:35a budget gets laid
01:20:37on the desk,
01:20:37but I also just
01:20:38am mindful
01:20:40that there's still
01:20:40work to be done,
01:20:42and I just want
01:20:43to make sure
01:20:43that we kind of
01:20:44see that process through,
01:20:46but we will do it,
01:20:47and that will happen
01:20:49relatively soon.
01:20:50I just want to be clear,
01:20:51though,
01:20:52on the potential
01:20:52of a shutdown,
01:20:53do you believe
01:20:54that there's enough
01:20:55negotiating heft here
01:20:57to avoid that
01:20:57from happening?
01:20:59Well,
01:21:00so our fiscal year
01:21:01starts July 1st.
01:21:04I can't imagine
01:21:05that it would come to that.
01:21:07I mean,
01:21:07what does that say?
01:21:09Again,
01:21:10we're not writing
01:21:11on a clean slate.
01:21:12All you have to do
01:21:13is just copy and paste
01:21:14what's been done.
01:21:15Yeah,
01:21:16do a little flourishes
01:21:17on it,
01:21:17of course,
01:21:18but this is not
01:21:19like you're having
01:21:20to reinvent the wheel.
01:21:21This should not be
01:21:22very difficult
01:21:23to be able to do.
01:21:25If you're doing things
01:21:27that you didn't campaign on
01:21:29and that the voters
01:21:30have rejected,
01:21:31well,
01:21:31then that's painting yourself
01:21:32in a corner,
01:21:33and it may cause
01:21:34some more turbulence
01:21:35in the process,
01:21:36but if you just say,
01:21:38here's what we've done,
01:21:40let's continue
01:21:41on the successful path,
01:21:44then this shouldn't
01:21:45be very difficult
01:21:45for them to resolve,
01:21:48but at the same time,
01:21:50people can make
01:21:51the choices
01:21:51that they want to make,
01:21:53and if you have people
01:21:55that are holding out
01:21:56for reasons
01:21:58that are not principled,
01:22:00I think voters
01:22:01are going to see
01:22:01right through that,
01:22:02so I don't think
01:22:03it makes sense substantively
01:22:04to go past July 1st,
01:22:06but I definitely think
01:22:06for the people
01:22:07that would be instigating it,
01:22:08I think politically
01:22:09it would be really,
01:22:10really dumb,
01:22:11and our legislature,
01:22:12I mean,
01:22:13this is a part-time legislature.
01:22:14Most of these people
01:22:15have jobs.
01:22:17You're not giving them
01:22:18certainty about
01:22:18when you're going to
01:22:19kind of wrap
01:22:19any of this stuff up,
01:22:21and there's 120 members
01:22:23of the Florida House,
01:22:24and when are they
01:22:25going to have to be in
01:22:26or not be in,
01:22:26but here's the thing.
01:22:29We're going to do
01:22:30what we said we would do
01:22:32when we told the voters
01:22:34our platform
01:22:35and to elect us
01:22:37on that platform,
01:22:38and I think that's true.
01:22:39I know it's true for Jay.
01:22:40I know it's true
01:22:41for a lot of his colleagues
01:22:42in the Senate.
01:22:42I think that's what
01:22:43even most rank-and-file
01:22:44House members
01:22:45want to do,
01:22:46but we are going
01:22:47to vindicate
01:22:47the promises that we made.
01:22:49If we said we were
01:22:50going to pay down debt,
01:22:51we're going to work
01:22:51to pay down more debt.
01:22:53If we said we're
01:22:53going to support
01:22:54law enforcement,
01:22:54we're going to support
01:22:55law enforcement.
01:22:56If we said we're
01:22:56going to support
01:22:57road projects
01:22:59and transportation
01:23:00to make sure
01:23:00that we don't get
01:23:02overwhelmed
01:23:03with even more traffic,
01:23:04we will do it.
01:23:04And honestly,
01:23:05the I-4 temporary
01:23:06extension we did
01:23:07in Polk
01:23:08and part of,
01:23:09I mean,
01:23:10that's been great, right?
01:23:11And there's a lot
01:23:12more to come on that,
01:23:13but I think people
01:23:13want to see
01:23:14us doing that
01:23:15type of stuff.
01:23:16They want to see
01:23:17property tax relief.
01:23:19I would not want
01:23:20to do anything
01:23:20that would foreclose
01:23:22our ability
01:23:23to do property tax
01:23:24relief for Florida
01:23:25residents.
01:23:26I think it's really
01:23:27important.
01:23:27I think it's a way
01:23:28we can alleviate
01:23:29burdens on,
01:23:31you know,
01:23:31look,
01:23:32we've had an increase
01:23:33in home values,
01:23:34which some of that
01:23:34I think was just
01:23:35authentic demand
01:23:36to be in Florida
01:23:37over the years.
01:23:37Some of it was
01:23:38because we've had
01:23:38inflation overall
01:23:40in the economy,
01:23:40but, you know,
01:23:41interest rates are
01:23:42still high.
01:23:42There's a lot
01:23:43of challenges.
01:23:44I mean,
01:23:44you know,
01:23:45I took my mom
01:23:47and my wife
01:23:49and our kids
01:23:50for Mother's Day
01:23:52after church
01:23:54going to lunch.
01:23:55That was a tough bill.
01:23:57I mean,
01:23:57like, you know,
01:23:57it's just the reality.
01:23:58I mean,
01:23:59like,
01:23:59it didn't like,
01:24:00I take my kids
01:24:00through the drive-through,
01:24:01you know,
01:24:02at some of these places.
01:24:03And, you know,
01:24:04it used to be
01:24:04you could take kids
01:24:05through,
01:24:06you know,
01:24:06maybe it's like
01:24:0620, 25 bucks.
01:24:07It's hard to get
01:24:08out of some of these
01:24:09places for under
01:24:10$40 or $50
01:24:11if you have a family,
01:24:12you know,
01:24:13for a family of five.
01:24:14And so families
01:24:15are feeling this.
01:24:16People are working
01:24:17really hard.
01:24:18And whatever we can do
01:24:19to alleviate the burden,
01:24:22the best thing we can do,
01:24:23in my judgment,
01:24:24is to do property tax relief.
01:24:26And there's a whole conversation
01:24:28that's going to happen
01:24:29with that.
01:24:29But clearly,
01:24:31we cannot allow property,
01:24:32the idea of property tax relief
01:24:34to die
01:24:35and to be killed
01:24:36by actions
01:24:37of the Florida legislature.
01:24:39So stay tuned
01:24:40on all of that.
01:24:41I'm confident
01:24:42that it'll work out well
01:24:43for the people of Florida.
01:24:45You know,
01:24:45just like this immigration stuff.
01:24:48It didn't need
01:24:49to go down
01:24:50the way it did.
01:24:51Like,
01:24:51we know we needed
01:24:52to do all this stuff.
01:24:53And so we eventually did it.
01:24:55You know,
01:24:55it wasn't,
01:24:56it was a lot of gnashing
01:24:58of teeth,
01:24:58I think,
01:24:59for really no reason.
01:25:00But we landed
01:25:00where we needed to land
01:25:02and got the job done
01:25:03and now we're leading
01:25:04the country.
01:25:04So I imagine that,
01:25:06you know,
01:25:06there may be
01:25:07a lot of somersaults
01:25:10along the way
01:25:10by some of these guys.
01:25:12There may be
01:25:12some gnashing of teeth
01:25:13for some people
01:25:14in the process.
01:25:15But I imagine
01:25:16we're going to land
01:25:17basically where we need
01:25:19to land as a state.
01:25:20And here's the thing,
01:25:21you know,
01:25:21if there was a big outcry
01:25:23from the state
01:25:24saying that,
01:25:25you know,
01:25:26you guys need to,
01:25:27you know,
01:25:27take a radically
01:25:28different direction
01:25:29in what you've been doing,
01:25:31then I think people
01:25:31would be interested
01:25:32in hearing that.
01:25:33But that's not the case.
01:25:34I mean,
01:25:34people like the fact,
01:25:35you know,
01:25:36that we are well run,
01:25:38well managed,
01:25:38and that we've been able
01:25:39to deliver on a lot
01:25:40of key things
01:25:41for the people.
01:25:42But these guys
01:25:43should get a raise.
01:25:45If you're not,
01:25:45if you're for law enforcement
01:25:47and you don't want
01:25:47to give them a raise,
01:25:48then stop pretending
01:25:50that you're for law enforcement.
01:25:52This is merited,
01:25:54it's been earned,
01:25:55and I think it's
01:25:56what people want to see.
01:25:57And I know a lot
01:25:58of the people in uniform
01:25:59would appreciate it very much.
01:26:01Thanks, everybody.
01:26:01Thank you, everybody.
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