Ron DeSantis vows Florida will fire elected officials for Jacob Frey-like actions
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Fox News that if officials in his state "act like" Minnesota leaders have been during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, they should expect to "get removed" from their positions.
The governor explained Florida's legal requirement for all state and local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operations.
"If you act like Jacob Frey in Florida, then you get removed from your position," he said in an interview with "The Ingraham Angle" Tuesday.
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"The reason why I imposed that requirement — we have some sheriffs that would be gung-ho to do this," he told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. "We've got some cities, some mayors who would not want to do it."
The governor contrasted Florida’s approach with resistance from Democratic leaders in Minnesota, including Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
DeSantis accused Minnesota politicians of refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
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"You will literally have a criminal alien sitting in jail in Minnesota for violating their own laws, and they still don't want to cooperate and send that person to DHS so that they can be removed," DeSantis said.
He argued that the actions of Walz and Frey have been "very, very damaging."
"If you can have a state, because they have a different political orientation, just opt themselves out and indeed sabotage what's being done to bring about the mandate that the voters gave, then what are we even doing here?" DeSantis asked.
Tensions between the Trump administration and Democratic leadership in Minnesota have eased somewhat after the arrival of "border czar" Tom Homan, who replaced Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino.
Echoing his fellow Republicans, DeSantis criticized who he called paid protesters in Minnesota, asserting their actions cannot continue.
"What you see on the streets — that's an orchestrated effort," the governor argued. "These are groups that are funded. It's being egged on by politicians like the governor and the mayor, and their goal is not to just simply not enforce the law, but to actively sabotage the enforcement of the law."
DeSantis acknowledged that immigration enforcement tactics could warrant review in light of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both of whom were killed by federal agents.
He urged Americans to empathize with agents, who he said are operating in a difficult position.
"In these individual instances, which are tragic, we should insist on high standards for these officers, and they should do a review," the governor told Fox News. "And if they need to be held accountable, they should do it — but understand what they're facing. They're facing threats.
"It’s a difficult assignment, and I just think you should have some sympathy for what they're having to deal with, even if you want to insist on the accountability, which we should do as well."