Florida Governor Ron DeSantis boasts that even before Donald Trump‘s return to Washington, he signed into law what he calls “the strongest anti-illegal immigration policies in the country.”
Now that Trump is back in the White House, DeSantis said Thursday: “I want Florida to be equipped with everything we need to carry out his agenda of enforcing immigration law.”
[DeSantis hardly stands out with his call to action: Even Democrats, having lost the presidential election largely on the perception of border mismanagement by the Biden administration, are voting to give Trump vast powers on immigration, especially in border states like Arizona where both U.S. Senators (Reuben Gallego, Mark Kelly) recently voted for the Laken Riley bill, which contains provisions previously characterized as too draconian.]
DeSantis, hoping to stand out as a leader on the issue even as there is greater national consensus, is pushing for speed.
Ahead of a special session next week, the Governor is asking the Florida legislature to pass “a number of necessary proposals to tackle illegal immigration and empower our law enforcement to keep our communities safe.”
DeSantis insists: “These priorities cannot wait. Florida is willing, and Florida must lead.”
Below is DeSantis’s wish list, which includes: “Bail and flight risk presumptions: Create a rebuttable presumption that illegal aliens are flight risks and deny bail.” (Rebuttable presumption is a legal rule that assumes something is true until proven otherwise.)
As Governor, I have proposed and signed into law the strongest anti-illegal immigration policies in the country to protect Florida from the Biden Administration’s border crisis. Now that President Trump is back in office, I want Florida to be equipped with everything we need to… pic.twitter.com/vcpw0YjU56
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 23, 2025
In the U.S. court system, a judge determines bail or denies bail if they believe the defendant is a flight risk or a danger to the community.
According to the law firm of Stockard, Johnston, Brown, Netardus & Doyle in Amarillo, Texas, “The most common reasons for denying bail include multiple penal code violations, prior escape from prison, and the judge believing the suspect is a flight risk and will not show up for scheduled court dates.”
NOTE: In 2019, Vice President Mike Pence stated that 90% of undocumented migrants seeking asylum don’t show up for their scheduled court hearings — and are therefore obvious flight risks. A Washington Post fact check put the number of no-shows at 44%, citing Department of Justice figures. Even if the DOJ figure is not accurate, as critics claim, the DOJ number — though less than half of Pence’s assertion — is still large enough to justify DeSantis’s request for a de facto flight risk presumption.
Note: Regardless of immigration status, if a person is detained by ICE or Border Patrol, according to the ACLU, the detainee has the right to hire a lawyer.
Also, according to NOLO: “Many non-citizens in immigration detention are eligible for an immigration or ICE bond—that is, to have a sum of money put up on their behalf that will be returned if they show up for all their court and other dates with U.S. immigration authorities. If they do so, the money will eventually be returned.”
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