Ron DeSantis’ ban on so-called sanctuary cities faced a significant defeat in court last week—one that exposed his precious legislation’s ties to two notorious groups. “Allowing anti-immigrant hate groups that overtly promote xenophobic, nationalist, racist ideologies to be intimately involved in a bill’s legislative process is a significant departure from procedural norms,” the judge wrote in her ruling.
Naturally, DeSantis is now doubling down. He issued an anti-immigrant executive order that civil rights advocates say will encourage racial profiling by purporting to allow “state law enforcement officers to pull over drivers who are transporting migrants into the state if there is ‘reasonable’ suspicion of a crime,” Miami Herald reported. It seems inspired by Gov. Greg Abbott’s anti-immigrant order over in Texas. You know, the one that’s lost twice in court now.
But DeSantis’ order also twists his own public stances into a pretzel, Miami Herald continued. The order appears to largely block “any Florida agency under the direction of the governor from assisting the federal government” in transporting migrants to the state. But Miami Herald reported that “[j]ust two years ago, though, DeSantis made his top legislative priority a law that required state and local officials to fully cooperate with federal immigration agents.” DeSantis is also suing the Biden administration over its discretion to release immigrants from custody as their cases continue.
“Some critics called the governor’s order a ‘fundraising gimmick’ and a ‘political stunt,’” Miami Herald reported. The same can be said of Abbott’s recent stunts, like his very stupid “steel wall” of cars. But two things can be true at once, and that means that DeSantis’ actions could also become deeply harmful.
“While this is clearly political posturing for the governor and his ambitions, this executive order will have a chilling effect and serious consequences for immigrant communities, children, and persons of color across the state by preventing them from accessing key resources and subjecting them to racial profiling,” Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Immigrant Justice Project Senior Supervising Attorney AJ Hernandez Anderson said. “Worse still, it reflects a total disregard for the most vulnerable children by targeting unaccompanied minors.”
Miami Herald reported a part of the order “directs the Florida Department of Children and Families to review whether facilities that house unaccompanied migrant children should be able to keep their state licenses,” possibly another despicable Abbott copycat move. “Children should not be used as a political pawn, which is something that only a wannabe despot would do,” Rep. Frederica Wilson told Miami Herald.
“In addition, this order clears the path for the governor’s administration to collect data without sufficiently sharing the raw data with the public, and without any clear safeguards against manipulation and skewing of information privately collected, which could easily be used in their ongoing disinformation campaigns about immigrants,” Hernandez Anderson continued. “This order is yet another attempt by DeSantis to require law enforcement to racially profile individuals, meddle in local affairs, evade separation of powers, and deter immigrants and persons of color from fully participating in our communities across Florida.”
But that’s the goal for DeSantis, who in his bloodthirsty quest for power, limelight, and praise is also shamelessly mimicking the previous administration’s noted affiliation with anti-immigrant hate groups.
In ruling against DeSantis’ ban on so-called “sanctuary cities,” U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom cited “biased and unreliable data generated” by Tanton network organizations Federation For American Immigration Reform and Center for Immigration Studies. They sound like sober-minded groups, but sober-minded they are not. She further noted that even after the bill’s sponsor and supporters were confronted about these extremist organizations, “there is no record evidence establishing any effort to renounce these discriminatory views.”
Naturally, DeSantis is now doubling down. He issued an anti-immigrant executive order that civil rights advocates say will encourage racial profiling by purporting to allow “state law enforcement officers to pull over drivers who are transporting migrants into the state if there is ‘reasonable’ suspicion of a crime,” Miami Herald reported. It seems inspired by Gov. Greg Abbott’s anti-immigrant order over in Texas. You know, the one that’s lost twice in court now.
But DeSantis’ order also twists his own public stances into a pretzel, Miami Herald continued. The order appears to largely block “any Florida agency under the direction of the governor from assisting the federal government” in transporting migrants to the state. But Miami Herald reported that “[j]ust two years ago, though, DeSantis made his top legislative priority a law that required state and local officials to fully cooperate with federal immigration agents.” DeSantis is also suing the Biden administration over its discretion to release immigrants from custody as their cases continue.
“Some critics called the governor’s order a ‘fundraising gimmick’ and a ‘political stunt,’” Miami Herald reported. The same can be said of Abbott’s recent stunts, like his very stupid “steel wall” of cars. But two things can be true at once, and that means that DeSantis’ actions could also become deeply harmful.
“While this is clearly political posturing for the governor and his ambitions, this executive order will have a chilling effect and serious consequences for immigrant communities, children, and persons of color across the state by preventing them from accessing key resources and subjecting them to racial profiling,” Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Immigrant Justice Project Senior Supervising Attorney AJ Hernandez Anderson said. “Worse still, it reflects a total disregard for the most vulnerable children by targeting unaccompanied minors.”
Miami Herald reported a part of the order “directs the Florida Department of Children and Families to review whether facilities that house unaccompanied migrant children should be able to keep their state licenses,” possibly another despicable Abbott copycat move. “Children should not be used as a political pawn, which is something that only a wannabe despot would do,” Rep. Frederica Wilson told Miami Herald.
“In addition, this order clears the path for the governor’s administration to collect data without sufficiently sharing the raw data with the public, and without any clear safeguards against manipulation and skewing of information privately collected, which could easily be used in their ongoing disinformation campaigns about immigrants,” Hernandez Anderson continued. “This order is yet another attempt by DeSantis to require law enforcement to racially profile individuals, meddle in local affairs, evade separation of powers, and deter immigrants and persons of color from fully participating in our communities across Florida.”
But that’s the goal for DeSantis, who in his bloodthirsty quest for power, limelight, and praise is also shamelessly mimicking the previous administration’s noted affiliation with anti-immigrant hate groups.
In ruling against DeSantis’ ban on so-called “sanctuary cities,” U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom cited “biased and unreliable data generated” by Tanton network organizations Federation For American Immigration Reform and Center for Immigration Studies. They sound like sober-minded groups, but sober-minded they are not. She further noted that even after the bill’s sponsor and supporters were confronted about these extremist organizations, “there is no record evidence establishing any effort to renounce these discriminatory views.”