The latest state vs. state immigration tension

Politico

10 hours ago

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday.
A fatal car wreck in Florida has drawn the attention of the White House — and has quickly become the latest flashpoint for contrasting immigration laws across states.
Last week, an undocumented immigrant from India, HARJINDER SINGH, was arrested on three charges of vehicular homicide. He's accused of trying to make an illegal U-turn with a truck on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie County, blocking all lanes and causing a minivan to crash, killing the driver and its two passengers.
Singh, 28, crossed the US Southern border illegally from Mexico, and state officials say he was able to obtain a commercial driver's license from California.
The White House drew attention to the accident in a release Monday, calling Democratic Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM of California a 'criminal illegal alien sympathizer' and highlighting a post from his office that said 'issuing driver's licenses for undocumented people improves public safety.'
The particulars of the immigration case, according to numerous reports, show Singh faced deportation in 2018 — during President DONALD TRUMP's first term and before Newsom took office in 2019 — but was allowed to remain in the US under an asylum claim because he said he feared for his safety back in India.
TRICIA MCLAUGHLIN, a Homeland Security spokesperson, said the Trump administration rejected Singh's work permit, but it was approved under the Biden administration in 2021. Newsom's press office responded over X, blaming the Trump administration for not revoking the work permit.
On Monday, Republicans blamed Democrats and California specifically for the tragic accident. GOP Sen. ASHLEY MOODY, the former Florida attorney general, called the accident one of the 'deadly consequences of California's reckless abandonment of law and order' in a post on X. And her successor, current state Attorney General JAMES UTHMEIER, said in a 'Fox & Friends First' interview that he wants to ensure Singh will face time in prison 'for as long as possible, likely the rest of his life,' before any deportation proceedings.
'When it comes from California, nothing surprises me these days,' Uthmeier said. 'Gavin Newsom should focus more on rule of law than crying and defending these heinous criminals.'
Republicans' House campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee, put out a release Monday accusing Democrats of supporting lax border policies by pointing to their opposition in 2023 to GOP Rep. MARIO DÍAZ-BALART's Secure the Border Act and to another bill, the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act, which would have prevented federal funding from going toward jurisdictions that don't cooperate fully with federal immigration authorities.
Florida does have far stricter laws about licensing than California, but does issue them to people with valid work permits. In 2023, as DeSantis prepared to mount his presidential campaign, Florida banned DMVs from offering driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants and began rejecting driver's licenses issued to undocumented immigrants from other states. It also made it illegal for local governments to issue IDs.
Florida is working on extraditing Singh back from California, DeSantis said on Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle.' He also questioned why the company overseeing the truck had hired Singh in the first place before touting Florida's laws and saying Congress needed to defund 'sanctuary states.'
'We tried to create an environment that makes it inhospitable for people to want to come illegally and come to Florida,' he said. 'California has done the opposite. They're inviting people to come to this country illegally. They'll pay for your health care. You get in-state tuition, you get all these benefits, some of which American citizens don't even get.'
WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis is holding a press conference in St. Cloud, Florida, at 10 a.m. with Uthmeier and Florida Department of Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas.
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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...
TODAY — Florida State University is holding a memorial service at 1 p.m. for late university president and former legislator JOHN THRASHER in the Ruby Diamond Concert Hall.
LATE-NIGHT RULING — US District Judge RODOLFO RUIZ II on Monday night ordered a legal case involving 'Alligator Alcatraz' to be transferred to the Central District of Florida.
The decision came after Ruiz, a first-term Trump appointee, heard arguments Monday morning over the Everglades-based immigration detention facility.
The lawsuit in question was brought by detainees represented by civil rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Americans for Immigrant Justice.
They argued in court that the rooms clients used to meet with attorneys, including over video conference, consisted of chain-linked fences with drapery over them, with guards standing nearby. They also objected to calls being recorded and said detainees often weren't listed in the ICE registry, making it difficult for attorneys to find their clients at all. The state pushed back on the characterization, saying that access has continued to improve as the detention center is being built out.
But Ruiz is punting enforcement about attorney access from the Southern District after an objection about venue from the state and federal government. Much of the airstrip housing 'Alligator Alcatraz' is in neighboring Collier County. But the facility itself was operated by Miami-Dade County and one of the defendants in the case is a field office director for ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations.
MEANWHILE, ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL CASE — Environmental groups on Monday submitted statements from DeSantis and Homeland Security Secretary KRISTI NOEM to the docket that detail more about the state's agreement with the federal government.
The groups are seeking to temporarily shut down 'Alligator Alcatraz,' saying the state and federal government broke federal environmental law when they quickly built it. The state has argued it is in charge of operations, but the plaintiffs have tried to show its work is inextricably linked with the federal government, in part because the governor has said DHS will reimburse the state's expenses in the project.
— 'Florida's new 'Deportation Depot' immigrant detention center stirs fears among neighbors,' by Fresh Take Florida's Sara-James Ranta.
REDISTRICTING RULING — A panel of federal judges has rejected a closely watched lawsuit contending that a Tampa Bay-area state Senate district was an illegal race-based gerrymander.
Following a four-day trial in June, the judges ruled Monday that the groups that challenged the state Senate district were unable to provide direct evidence that 'racial considerations affected the redistricting process.'
About the lawsuit: The Legislature approved legislative maps back in 2022, including a unanimous vote in the state Senate. The lawsuit was initially filed last year by five Tampa Bay-area Black and Hispanic residents, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and another legal group. The lawsuit contended legislators 'packed' Black voters into the district now held by Democratic state Sen. Darryl Rouson to lower the number of Black voters in an adjoining district.
— Gary Fineout
COMMISSION INTERVIEWS — Former Republican state Rep. Bobby Payne of Palatka and Public Service Commission aide Ana Ortega are among six applicants who will be interviewed for two upcoming vacancies on the PSC.
The PSC Nominating Council's votes Monday seemingly ensure all six names will be forwarded to DeSantis for the appointments; state law requires at least three names per vacant seat.
Payne, a former Seminole Electric Cooperative executive who shepherded a comprehensive energy bill backed by DeSantis through the Legislature in 2024, and Ortega were the only applicants to receive unanimous backing from council members.
The council in 2021 nominated Ortega, an aide to PSC Commissioner Mike LaRosa, but DeSantis instead chose Gabriella Passidomo Smith for the vacant seat.
— Bruce Ritchie
DRIVER'S LICENSE LABEL — A Florida appeals court upheld a state law that requires convicted sex offenders to have the words 'sexual predator' on their driver's licenses, as a way for law enforcement to be able to glance at IDs and quickly gather information. A three-judge panel had struck down the law in January, ruling it violated First Amendment rights by forcing speech and could have used a different notification.
Former Senate Minority Leader LAUREN BOOK pushed for the change before she joined the Legislature, in her role as founder and CEO of Lauren's Kids, an organization that educates people about sexual abuse prevention.
'This law was never about punishment — it is about prevention and protection,' said Book, who has spoken openly about how her nanny sexually abused her when she was a child. 'Sexually violent predators commit the most heinous crimes against our most vulnerable, and communities deserve the ability to identify these dangerous individuals on their driver's licenses as a community safety tool.'
10th EXECUTION SCHEDULED — KAYLE BATES is set to receive capital punishment this evening at Florida State Prison, reports David Fischer of The Associated Press. Bates was 'convicted of abducting a woman from a Florida Panhandle insurance office and killing her.'
PENINSULA AND BEYOND
TIME KEEPS ON TICKING — There's still no inkling about who will lead the University of Florida, even on a temporary basis.
UF trustees received a 'leadership' update Monday, which ended up being more of the same — an interim president is coming soon.
It's now been more than two months since state university leaders rejected former University of Michigan President SANTA ONO to lead UF over his past support of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, among other issues. And interim President KENT FUCHS already extended his contract to Sept. 1, giving Florida's flagship university a major deadline.
'I'm continuing to work on identifying a candidate for interim president,' board chair MORI HOSSEINI told trustees Monday. 'This has been a focus over the past few months, and I have taken a deliberate and thoughtful approach to this responsibility.'
Hosseini said trustees will have an in-person meeting to interview and consider the interim president, once there is a candidate. Another key date to watch: The next university system Board of Governors meeting is Sept. 10.
Ono, meanwhile, has just landed a new job of his own, ending weeks of speculation about what's next for the former Michigan leader.
The Ellison Institute of Technology announced Monday that Ono is joining the science institute, founded by LARRY ELLISON, the former CEO and co-founder of Oracle, as reported by The Detroit News. Ono is slated to serve as president of EIT Global, where he will be pushing to expand science programs at the organization's Oxford, England campus with EIT Oxford President Sir John Bell.
— Andrew Atterbury
— 'Newsmax reaches $67M settlement with Dominion Voting Systems in defamation case,' reports POLITICO's Jacqueline Munis.
...HURRICANE HOLE...
STORM'S PATH — 'South Florida and US East Coast residents … should brace for indirect effects, including higher surf and a heightened rip current risk over the next several days,' CBS Miami reports. 'As Erin shifts north, winds along South Florida's coastline will turn from the north, bringing a high rip current risk Tuesday that may linger until Thursday. Surf could rise up to 6 feet, especially along Palm Beach County. No official marine alerts have been issued.'
TRANSITION TIME
— DeSantis has appointed state Rep. MIKE CARUSO as the new Palm Beach County Clerk of Court. The job became available when JOE ABRUZZO resigned to become the administrator for Palm Beach County. Caruso had been one of the governor's most vocal defenders in the Legislature.
ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN
WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Rep. KAT CAMMACK and husband MATT HARRISON welcomed their first child, AUGUSTA DAIR, on August 14. (See a pic.)
BIRTHDAYS: Tallahassee Democrat executive editor William Hatfield ... Administrative law judge John D.C Newton II.