Home ›› 12 Feb 2023 ›› World Biz
Florida's legislature on Friday approved a proposal authorizing Republican governor Ron DeSantis to transport migrants and asylum seekers between any US states -- even states far from Florida.
The bill expands the scope of a law passed last year that allowed DeSantis to fly migrants to Democratic-controlled states that have so-called sanctuary policies in place.
DeSantis and the Republican governors of Arizona and Texas say the relocations are a protest against Democratic President Joe Biden's immigration policies.
The contentious tactic has drawn headlines for DeSantis, a rising Republican star and potential presidential candidate in 2024.
Last September, his administration arranged and paid for 48 migrants to fly from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, a wealthy resort island in the northeastern state of Massachusetts.
The White House then accused DeSantis of using migrants as "political pawns" and said it was "just plain wrong."
A Democratic lawmaker in Florida sued DeSantis last September over the transfers, alleging that he misspent taxpayer money by transporting migrants from Texas -- not from Florida.
The proposal approved Friday eliminates that restriction and allows the governor to relocate undocumented migrants between any two locations in the country.
The measure sets aside $10 million to fund the relocations. After passing the Republican-controlled legislature, it becomes law once it is signed by the governor.
Florida, whose population is one-quarter Hispanic, has seen a recent increase of Cuban and Haitian migrants landing on its shores after making dangerous ocean crossings, often aboard rickety vessels.
