Politics
Last Call for 3.17.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Republican law enforcement officials on the State Immigration Enforcement Council may be having second thoughts about aggressive immigration enforcement, but Attorney General James Uthmeier says they have a job to do.
“What I’ll say is in Florida, we’re going to keep enforcing the law. That is our job, as law enforcement, to enforce the law that’s on the books. If people are here illegally, then they are breaking the law, and we are going to enforce it,” Uthmeier said at a news conference in Orlando.
“At the end of the day, even if people have been, you know, welcomed here on some temporary status, we’ve seen it still jeopardize public safety.”
The AG’s comments come in the wake of one of the state’s best-known Sheriffs calling for a course correction.
“I don’t write the law, I enforce it. These guys enforce it. I know our Sheriffs, there’s probably no better example of enforcing the law in the whole country than Grady Judd and some of the other Sheriffs,” Uthmeier added.
Judd plans to write a letter to President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson seeking clarity on federal immigration enforcement priorities. It’s a sign that after more than a year of aggressive policing of people in the country illegally, officers of the law want more specific guidance from the federal government.
Uthmeier said he would not support that letter.
Read more on Florida Politics.
Evening Reads
—“Israel urges Iranians to revolt but privately assesses they’ll be ‘slaughtered’” via John Hudson of The Washington Post
—”Donald Trump’s gutting of election security fuels worries for Midterms” via Adam Sella of The New York Times
—”Top U.S. counterterrorism official steps down, citing concerns about Iran War” via Dustin Volz of The Wall Street Journal
—“The TACO trade meets the fog of war” via Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin
—”The Democratic wave everyone is suddenly talking about” via Chris Cillizza of So What
—“The ‘populist’ crusade to make the suburbs more segregated and expensive” via Eric Levitz of Vox
—”Brendan Carr, the FCC, and the banality of evil” via Matt Bai of Rolling Stone
—”Ron DeSantis warns Legislature about selling Everglades restoration short in budget deal” via Bruce Ritchie of POLITICO
—“A beach day used to be an affordable family activity for all income levels; that’s changing” via Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics
—“Stuck in neutral: Rideshare insurance rollback dies without House hearing” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics
“Those people who are adding to the American dream, enjoying the American dream, that came here illegally but they’re doing good, and they’re not a drag on society — in fact, they’re helping society — we need to find a path for them.”
— Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, doubling down on his deportation criticism.
Put it on the Tab
Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.
This year’s rideshare insurance rollback bills were served a Silent Death in the House, where they didn’t even get a Committee hearing.
Send a Take One to Jacqui Carmona, whose firm is celebrating one year of impact in South Florida.
A few doses of Penicillin for the team at Sachs Media, which is launching SachsHEALTH, a new division dedicated to helping health care and life sciences organizations.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Lightning try to reverse fortunes in Seattle
With a month remaining in the regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning try to stay near the top of the standings when they face the Seattle Kraken in the Pacific Northwest tonight (10 p.m. ET, TNT).
Tampa Bay (40-21-4) sits in third place in the Eastern Conference Standings, four points behind the Buffalo Sabres and six points behind the conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes.
For the Lightning, the key is the pursuit of Buffalo in the Atlantic Division. If Tampa Bay can catch the Sabres in the final month of the season, they could secure a more favorable playoff spot. However, Tampa must turn things around to do so. The Lightning have lost seven of the last nine games, including a 4-2 home defeat by Carolina on Saturday.
Tonight’s game is the first of four straight on the road. After tonight’s game, the Lightning will cross the border to face Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary over the next five days.
Seattle (31-26-9) comes into tonight’s game after consecutive victories over the Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers.
Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov continues his pursuit of another Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top points producer. Kucherov has 106 points, trailing leader Connor McDavid by eight points. Kucherov has won the award three times, including the past two seasons.
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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.