TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As cities across the country see growing protests over immigration enforcement, Florida Democrats are pushing bills they say would protect residents and undocumented migrants — and counter Republican proposals to expand enforcement across the state.
“We stand at a crossroads where we need to decide what world we live in,” said Rep. Dotie Joseph, D-North Miami.
One measure, Senate Bill 316, known as the Visible Act, would ban the public use of masks, require police officers to identify themselves and create safe zones around schools and houses of worship.
“We are not a dictatorship,” said Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville. “Secret police belong in the history books, not Florida streets.”
Democrats are also spearheading efforts to grant in-state college tuition to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, often called DREAMers. Florida lawmakers ended that benefit in 2025.
“I dream and I dream big.I will always work as hard as I have to make my dreams come true,” said Alexander Vallejos, a DACA recipient and student at the University of Central Florida. “I love my beautiful Sunshine State of Florida, and I’m a Florida kid through and through.”
Republicans argued in-state tuition diverted state funds from legal residents during the 2025 debate.
“I don’t think it’s fair to ask hardworking Floridians who are struggling to make ends meet to spend $45 million subsidizing the education of people who shouldn’t even be here,” said U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a former state legislator.
Gov. Ron DeSantis defended Florida’s continued cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, calling it “positive cooperation” that “has certainly made a difference here in Florida.”
Tensions over enforcement have deepened nationally after ICE agents in Minneapolis fatally shot two U.S. citizens, drawing condemnation from lawmakers and activists.
“They feel they can do anything they want — even including executing a United States citizen in broad daylight,” said Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando.
The Visible Act must pass three committees before it can reach the full Senate floor for a vote.
