Donna Deegan lets Jax illegal immigration bill become law without her signature

Jacksonville’s Democratic Mayor Donna Deegan is taking a position on the “Jacksonville Illegal Immigration Enforcement Act.”

She won’t veto it. She won’t sign it. She will denounce it.

“I want to be crystal clear. I do not believe this bill is necessary. And I will not sign it. It will become law without signature,” Deegan said.

During a press conference at City Hall, Deegan said immigrants were part of the “beautiful mosaic” of Jacksonville, and that they are “welcome” in the city.

She noted that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) would get the 25 fingerprint scanners it asked for in the bill, but that the punitive measures making immigration a “local crime” are redundant given state and federal law. She also noted that JSO has had an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since 2008, referring to the cooperative 287(g) deals.

She also said the bill “puts Jacksonville in a lane where it doesn’t belong” and would prompt “an expensive lawsuit.”

She won’t veto it though, saying it would sacrifice “all we have left to do over a bill that does not change anything.”

Deegan’s position comes after Republicans in Tallahassee warned her not to veto it.

Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said “if a city official takes action to impede or prevent law enforcement from undergoing the necessary training and participating with the feds to get these people back where they came from, then I do believe the law is violated and that there will be penalties for that.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis also wanted the bill to become law.

“Great job to the City of Jacksonville in following Florida law and empowering their law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of laws against illegal immigration. I am pleased to see this follow from our work in the special session I called in January to insist that all state and local entities participate in immigration enforcement,” he posted to social media Wednesday.

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