Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign a bill banning sanctuary cities on Friday, following through on his vow to legislators in March that "Florida will not be a sanctuary state."
DeSantis is to sign the bill in the chambers of the Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners in the Florida Panhandle, Politico reports. The governor's action comes as President Donald Trump prepares to kick off his 2020 re-election bid in Orlando on June 18.
DeSantis, 40, was elected in November after campaigning on a promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
The bill would bar localities from invoking policies to protect illegals from deportation, allowing them to detain aliens for minor violations and hand them over to federal immigration officials upon request.
Helen Aguirre Ferré, the governor's spokeswoman, told Politico that "public safety is paramount and local law enforcement agencies can and should work with the federal government to ensure that accountability and justice are one in our state."
She noted that DeSantis asked legislators, wary of alienating Hispanics in one of the nation's largest swing states, "to uphold the rule of law and ensure that no city or county jurisdiction can get in the way of Florida's cooperation with our federal partners to enforce immigration law."
Democrats and immigration-reform advocates challenged the bill — and protesters swarmed in the state Capitol in Tallahassee during debate in April.
Supporters said the bill would only affect criminally-charged illegals.
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz and the bill's sponsors — State Sen. Joe Gruters and Rep. Cord Byrd — are expected to attend the DeSantis signing, Politico reports.