Florida cabinet assumes new role, sparking criticism over privacy and power
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — After a month-long feud over who would be the state's chief immigration enforcement officer, state lawmakers passed a bill package that grants not one, but four elected officials with that task.
Governor Ron DeSantis and his cabinet have officially taken on their new role as the state's Immigration Enforcement Board. The governor, state attorney, chief financial officer, and agriculture commissioner have already dived right in with their first meeting of the year, though future meetings may not be as publicly accessible.
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In their first meeting, DeSantis and the Florida cabinet took immediate action by establishing Larry Keefe as the executive director and passing two key resolutions, all in the eyes of the public.'We could have easily sat on our hands, we could have waited until March when we were already scheduled to meet as a cabinet, but that's not the way we roll here,' DeSantis said. 'We think this is time sensitive; we think this is an emergency.'
The governor and his cabinet will coordinate and cooperate with the federal government on immigration laws. Some, however, take concern with these issues and meetings being held in private.'It's incredibly concerning for that type of meeting to take place and there not being public oversight, especially when public dollars are being spent,' said State Representative Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando.
As a member of the Florida cabinet, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis defended the need for privacy, explaining that certain operations require discretion to avoid tipping off those under investigation.'Sometimes when you have an ongoing investigation, some of these matters need to be held in a private sense so you actually can have an effective and non-violated arrest takes place,' Patronis said. 'If you are putting too much information in the public domain, then the arrest is not going come to fruition simply because the bad guys know what you're doing.'
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Patronis, who steps down as CFO at the end of March to run for Florida's CD-1, reflected back on his trip to the border just last year. And shared that while you may not directly feel the impacts of illegal immigration in your household, the guns, drugs, loss of life and human trafficking are all taking place every day.'We're just going to stop it dead in its tracks,' Patronis said. 'We're going to get the attention of the Mexican government, the attention of the Canadian government, we're going to finish building the wall and we're going to keep our citizens safe.'
On the other hand, Democrats argue, what about the crimes taking place here at home by U.S. citizens?'Immigration is this political hot topic, it gets all the attention. Yet we're ignoring everyday criminality that takes place in our communities. Often by very young, immature people in need of intervention that is not getting the attention that it deserves,' Eskamani said.
Eskamnai describes the cabinet's new role as a politically motivated spectacle, highlighting their lack of knowledge in addressing the immigration issue. However, the representative recognizes that the country is faced with an immigration crisis.
'It's obviously an issue, for sure, but we're not a border state and Governor DeSantis has constantly tried to pretend like we are for his own presidential ambitions. And that distracts from actual issues of public safety,' Eskamani said.
Patronis, in contrast, is confident that Florida's history of leadership will guide the success of these new initiatives.
'I've been in government here for most of my professional life and one thing that I know is Florida has always led the way,' Patronis said. 'Whether it be on education initiatives, whether it's been on environmental initiatives, we've always had common sense policy.'
Patronis added that he is certain there will be more developments and discoveries as time goes on, which aligns right with the start of session in just a few weeks.
'That's the beauty of having the legislative session in less than a month away,' Patronis. 'They'll be able to dig in and do what's called a glitch bill in order to fix any of this.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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