The call came as DeSantis found himself at odds with the conservative legislature, largely for the first time. To try and flip the narrative that the governor is losing his stronghold, particularly among the President Donald Trump-aligned lawmakers, he went on the offensive, bashing conservative lawmakers for their weak immigration bill on social media and in media interviews.
New Times obtained a recording of the 40-minute call from Monday, January 27, that was closed to the press in which DeSantis admonished state lawmakers for rejecting his immigration proposals, discussed expanding his migrant flights to outside the U.S., and criticized the legislature's 75-page immigration bill, the Tackling and Reforming Unlawful Migration Policy (TRUMP) Act, for vesting immigration enforcement power in the state's agriculture commissioner over the governor. Here are five of the most shocking things DeSantis said during the call:
Send "Illegals" to GITMO
Perhaps the craziest idea that the governor shared with his supporters was that the state should send undocumented immigrants to the Guantánamo Bay detention camp (GITMO) as part of his Unauthorized Alien Transport Program."We've used it to send [them] to places like Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, for example," DeSantis said. "We want to expand that to be able to send them outside of the country or parts outside the continental United States. So, for example, I think you're going to end up being able to send illegals to GITMO. I think they're going to have a processing station there, so we would be able to if someone comes to Florida illegally, we could then pick up with our state law enforcement, local, and send to GITMO."
Long before he was governor of the Sunshine State, DeSantis worked as a Navy advocate general officer at the aforementioned detention camp. In 2023, a former detainee claimed that DeSantis witnessed and laughed at the forced feeding of detainees on a hunger strike while he was stationed there. The governor has called those allegations "totally BS."
In addition to Guantánamo Bay, DeSantis proposed sending immigrants back to the Bahamas or Haiti "ourselves."
TRUMP Act Is a "Middle Finger to Voters"
DeSantis opened the call by criticizing state lawmakers for drafting legislation that "is not going to solve any problems."Earlier that day, the legislature rejected the governor's proposals in a special session focused on illegal immigration that the governor requested. Instead, Republican leaders called their own session to present their immigration bill now known as the TRUMP Act, which would make the Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson the state's chief immigration officer, among other proposals.
He went on to call the TRUMP Act "a clunker" and said lawmakers are fooling voters who put them into office.
"But they're calling it the TRUMP Act, and they think it if they just call it that, that voters will think it's something great," he continued. "We got to get beyond these games that politicians play."
"The Fox Guarding the Hen House"
DeSantis is extremely displeased that lawmakers want to take power from the governor and give it to the commissioner of agriculture to handle immigration.He said it makes no sense because agriculture is "usually a magnet for illegal alien labor."
"Look, it's not about me. It's just the Florida Constitution vests the executive power, so they're taking that away, and they're giving it to the commissioner of agriculture," DeSantis said. "What the hell does agriculture have to do with immigration enforcement?"
"They Just Have Not Been Interested in Doing Anything"
DeSantis didn't hold back in his criticism of lawmakers. He bashed Republican leaders for ignoring his requests to call a special session to tackle the ongoing condo crisis and help Floridians with hurricane relief and rebuilding their homes.
"But what they did do is they voted to give themselves — [the] legislative branch — another $58 million," DeSantis added. "I think that $58 million should have gone to help Floridians cope with the storm damage and to help with moderating insurance costs, and they didn't do that."
We wanted to work. We've been talking about this for many, many weeks. They have just not been interested in doing anything."
Liberal Journalists Are Cheering About the TRUMP Act
The governor claimed that the legislature's proposal is so weak that liberal journalists, the Florida Democratic Party, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Democratic senators are cheering Republican leadership over the bill."So, just ask yourself, if you were honestly doing something that was vindicating the Trump administration agenda, would Democrats be cheering you? Would liberal journalists be cheering you? Would the ACLU be cheering you? Of course not."
That's not exactly the case, despite what DeSantis may say. Following the bill's passage in the Florida Legislature, the Florida Democratic Party issued a statement, saying that the act is going to "have drastic consequences for immigrants in Florida."
"Despite attempts from Democrats to protect students, this legislation promises to kick Dreamers out of college before they can finish their degree and give huge bonuses to local law enforcement for working with ICE to ramp up deportation," Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement. "It's an unconscionable abuse of power for a state legislature."
