00:00All right, well, thanks, everyone. I'll take a question or two. Do we got anyone back there?
00:18They've been working on it. I think that that response is more posturing for the for the stuff.
00:24So but this is actually it's a Collier Dade Airport that's there. We use it for emergencies.
00:30It isn't like we're creating something new. It's a way to do this in conjunction with the federal government,
00:36who's funding it in a way that is not going to have impacts on our broader community.
00:42When you have people, I mean, the sheriffs and the police chiefs, the jails, we can't have every illegal housed in our jails
00:50because we actually have non-illegals who need to be housed there when they commit crimes, too.
00:54So if you're doing the immigration enforcement and you're putting people in there, there is a process to it.
01:01So they have to go. So if they're temporarily held, then they can be repatriated their home country.
01:07That takes burdens away from the state of Florida and for Florida residents.
01:12But this is this has been an airport there that I think our goal is, if we do buy it, we will probably eventually just eliminate it
01:22and try to let the Everglades grow over it. But it's been there for a while and it's been used.
01:28And so we we had a request from the federal government to do it.
01:32And so alligator Alcatraz, it is. And so you will see that be done.
01:36You will have it'll be a force multiplier. It'll help DHS.
01:41It'll help our state and local law enforcement with relieving some burden on resources.
01:46We'll probably also do something similar up at Camp Blanding, which is that where our National Guard headquarters to train there.
01:53We have some capacity there. So Kevin Guthrie, Division of Emergency Management, are working on that.
01:59So we'll have a formal announcement on both of those very, very quickly.
02:04There's zero environmental. I mean, you're talking about the guy that's plowed how much money into Everglades restoration.
02:13Why would I want to do anything that would do? In fact, Ben and all Britain and I had to fight to get Everglades fully funded.
02:20The original house budget print in the Florida House cut a half a billion dollars out of Everglades restoration.
02:27I called for, you know, we did a billion more my first four years than the previous four.
02:33We're exceeding that by leaps and bounds in these four.
02:37And so and it's made a difference. We're going to be doing the ribbon cutting for the C-43 reservoir over on the western side of Lake Okeechobee.
02:45Huge project. We did the stormwater treatment part of the EAA reservoir ahead of schedule, which is south of Lake Okeechobee.
02:54We did the C-44 reservoir. The feds haven't done their part on that and they haven't done their part on the southern part of the reservoir.
03:03We've got a lot of resources in the budget to continue the momentum.
03:07So we will do it. It will have zero impact. This is an airport that's already there.
03:12Clearly, from a security perspective, if someone escapes, you know, there's a lot of alligators you're going to have to contend.
03:19No one's going anywhere. You know, once you do that, it's as safe and secure as you can be.
03:24And it's just like we do in storms and hurricanes.
03:27It isn't like we're going to start like doing like permanent sewer and all like it's all temporary.
03:33We set it up. We break it down. This isn't the first rodeo.
03:36This thing's been used a bunch of times over many, many years.
03:40And so the impact will be zero. And that's in keeping with our policy to do really historic Everglades restoration.
03:48I think people are just they're trying to use the Everglades as a pretext just for the fact that they oppose immigration enforcement.
03:55I mean, let's be clear, like that's where you are on the far left.
03:59Now, they don't want the laws enforced at all. And you're seeing that with some of the some of the demonstrations and some of the other things.
04:06And you have a right to have that view. But that is not the policy of the United States of America.
04:11That is not the policy of the state of Florida.
04:13So I think it's I think the capacity that will be added there will will help the overall national mission.
04:20It will also relieve some burdens off our state and local folks who are required to participate under the law that we passed in the special session at the beginning of the year.
04:30And remember, I called for that special session right on the heels of President Trump's actually before his inauguration, because we knew this was going to be a front burner issue.
04:40We knew we had to lead the way. And particularly the leadership in the House of Representatives really fought us on that and initially said, oh, it's premature.
04:48We can just deal with it in the regular session. First of all, that would have been many months later and that would have lost time.
04:54Second of all, it would not have gotten done in the regular session. I can tell you that had we not called that special session the immigration legislation,
05:02which now President Trump's administration is telling other states to emulate, that would not have gotten done.
05:11And so it's you know, it's important that we're leading the way on this.
05:14I think it's going to ultimately, you know, be the case that other states start to follow through a little bit more like Florida is.
05:21But I'll tell you, I thought you'd have a lot of states lining up immediately right after we did our legislation.
05:28And you didn't really have it as much. And I think maybe it's just people got confused about what was being done in Florida,
05:34because there was there was a static in the system at that time with the opposition.
05:38But eventually the plane landed. And and so this will be but this is fully funded by the federal government.
05:46So I'm a big believer that we need to enforce our laws, the resources that we've brought to bear on doing things like that.
05:53Like, for example, on helping supplement the Coast Guard's interdiction efforts off our coasts.
05:59Now, it's not as much here in the Tampa Bay area. But if you go down Jupiter, Palm Beach, the Keys, you'll have people running boats.
06:07Illegals will come in boats from Haiti, from Cuba, from Bahamas.
06:11And I can tell you, when we interdict those, there are sometimes drugs, there are sometimes explosives or sometimes firearms.
06:20So that's obviously not something we want people coming illegally, getting dumped on our coast and then bringing a bunch of contraband.
06:27So we did Operation Vigilance Sentry, oh, man, a year or two ago.
06:31And we've been just because of Florida's efforts, we've turned 18,000 illegals over the Coast Guard for repatriation during that time.
06:42And so that requires us to expend resources. But I think that that is very well spent.
06:47Would you rather have had those 18,000 wash up on the shores of Florida?
06:52And even if they don't mean any harm, then you're responsible, basically.
06:57And they become public charges, effectively, which is not what we want either.
07:00So I'm somebody that I think it's a good use. If you're a law and order state, that's across the board.
07:07But on this mission, this is something that was requested by the federal government, and this is something that the federal government is going to fully fund.
07:16And so from a state taxpayer perspective, we are implementing it.
07:21We have guys that are going to be doing the work and the logistics because we're very good at that.
07:26But that will be fully reimbursed by the federal government.
