Immigration

Upping the ante in an increasingly acrimonious feud with House and Senate Republican leaders over immigration issues, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday vowed to channel “huge sums” of money to candidates he backs in next year’s GOP gubernatorial and legislative primary elections.The governor’s message drew condemnation from House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, as bitterness continued to fester about a bill passed by the Legislature this week amid a dispute over plans aimed at carrying out President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

As of this morning, President Donald Trump has signed 35 executive orders since his inauguration, setting a record for the most executive orders issued by a president within the first week of a term. They encompass a range of directives, and several underscore the administration's commitment to tightening immigration policies and enhancing border security. And the president says he intends to implement 25% across-the-board tariffs on all goods from Mexico. So, we get some context on all of this from an FGCU political science professor who focuses on Mexican politics and history.

As President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans ramp up, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski says the president is taking the wrong approach.“ Migrants are not a problem,” Wenski said in a Zoom interview. “Our broken immigration laws are a problem, but the migrants are not a problem. These people represent an opportunity.”Wenski, 74, a South Florida native and son of Polish immigrants, oversees the pastoral care of over 1 million Catholics, according to the Archdiocese of Miami. Wenski was appointed archbishop in 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.

U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Miami, is pressing the Trump administration to protect migrants who qualified under former President Biden’s “humanitarian parole” program, which specifically allows Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians to live and work in the country for up to two years.

On the eve of a special legislative session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican lawmakers Sunday filed a flurry of bills to crack down on undocumented immigrants and place additional restrictions on the ballot initiative process.The bills, in part, would end in-state tuition at colleges and universities for undocumented-immigrant students known as dreamers; place new requirements on police to help with immigration-enforcement efforts; and dramatically change the petition process for proposed constitutional amendments.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, has been a lifeline for thousands who arrived in the U.S. as children. Even though it doesn’t grant citizenship, for many it provides a safety net, but not without its own set of challenges and uncertainties.

Fort Myers celebrated Constitution Day by welcoming 28 new U.S. citizens. In sweltering heat, immigrants realized their long-held dreams of American citizenship in a touching ceremony.

Undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens gained new legal protections this week. WGCU’s Cary Barbor describes how it affects Florida.

As of June 5, the Biden administration took steps to limit immigration through the southern border of the U.S.

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a key part of a 2023 law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that aimed to crack down on illegal immigration, finding the law “intrudes upon territory” under the responsibility of the federal government.The lawsuit, filed in July by The Farmworker Association of Florida, Inc. and individual plaintiffs, centers on part of the law (SB 1718) that threatens felony charges for people who transport an immigrant who “entered the United States in violation of law and has not been inspected by the federal government since his or her unlawful entry.”