The Florida Roundup - Jacksonville's first female mayor; Florida's response to the end of Title 42; Florida's amazing sports teams

Episode Date: May 19, 2023

Donna Deegan was the first woman elected mayor in Jacksonville and the first Democrat to win in years — despite Gov. Ron DeSantis backing her opponent.

Welcome to the Florida Roundup, and thanks for listening. I'm Melissa Ross in Jacksonville. And I'm Danny Rivero in Miami. And in Jacksonville this week, a political earthquake as Democrat Donna Deegan, a well-known former news anchor and nonprofit CEO, beat out her much more well-funded Republican opponent to become mayor of Jacksonville. As much as I wanted to win this race for the people of Jacksonville, I wanted love to win. Deegan becoming the city's first female mayor and the first Democrat to lead Jacksonville in more than a decade. Her victory over Jacksonville Chamber CEO Daniel Davis, a former state representative, sent shockwaves through the state's political corridors. Davis had Governor DeSantis' endorsement

and he outraised Deegan four to one with more than $8 million in his campaign war chest, Danny, for a local mayor's race. That's quite a lot. And there were a number of factors on the ground in Jacksonville that led to Deegan's victory. Her opponent, Daniel Davis, ran a divisive campaign coming out of a bruising GOP primary. And Deegan also benefited from widespread anger over a failed attempt to sell off Jacksonville's publicly owned utility, JEA. Davis had connections to that scandal. The privatization push on behalf of Florida Power and Light's parent company sparked federal indictments. And federal court hearings have actually been taking place this week, election week. So what can Democrats learn from Donna Deegan's victory in Jacksonville? And how's the state's Republican elite responding to it? We want to

hear from you on this. You can call us at 305-995-1800. And you can also tweet us at Florida Roundup. Your calls and tweets in a bit. But first, let's welcome A.G. Gankarski of Jax Today, who's been covering this race from the outset. A.G., we should point out we invited Donna Deegan to appear on this program statewide today, but she had campaigned so hard and for so long she lost her voice. was a bit hoarse on election night himself. They put it all out there in this race. But I'm so glad to have you on the show. You know, Deegan led in the polls throughout the race, but the national media is calling her victory an upset.

It really wasn't an upset, was it? Well, if you believe the polling, it definitely wasn't an upset because she was up in all the polls. She won by 14 points in March in that crowded first election. But I think the reason it's framed as an upset is because Republicans have dominated Florida for the last few years. That includes in Jacksonville in 2019, there was no Democrat running for mayor in the election. So fast forward four years, you have a Democrat running, but they have one

fourth of the money that Republican Daniel Davis did. So that's unusual for somebody to win with a fourth of the budget of the other campaign. But, you know, Donna Deegan was a unique candidate, well known in the city. She, you know, multi-generational heritage in the city, She, you know, multi-generational heritage in the city, newscaster for decades. She survived multiple bouts of cancer, started her Donna Foundation to fight breast cancer. So a more inspirational story you couldn't find. And Deacon kept a positive message throughout the campaign. She didn't get into the mud with Daniel Davis, and that was the right move. She used her budget to promulgate a positive message.

She reminded people that Davis was adjacent to the J.A. privatization push, but she did not go in for the character attack. So she didn't destroy her own brand trying to beat Republicans at their own game. Rather, she was consistent in her own message, her own branding, her own faith that people wanted a change from the kind of politics that prevailed locally and in the state for close to a decade. And voters rewarded her, not just Democrats, but Republicans crossed over and NPA voters crossed over. And you need those NPAs, you need those crossovers to win in Jacksonville because it's pretty evenly divided. It sure is. And that cross-party support was decisive, as you pointed out. Concerns about the push to sell off JEA and allegations of corruption at Jacksonville City Hall and allegations of corruption at Jacksonville City Hall certainly played a role in her victory, along with her strong personal brand, her unique story, her strengths as a communicator.

It's been fascinating to watch Donna Deegan's victory in Jacksonville get national, even international attention. Democrats are touting this as an example of their party's signs of life in red Florida. Is this a bell weather or as some Republicans around the state are saying, maybe more of a one-off attributable to a really strong candidate? I mean, I think this is anomalous. I don't think this is something that you can repeat. There's not 50 Donna Deegans around the state waiting to run for office. This is somebody who had a particularly close relationship with Jacksonville citizens.

It transcended politics. It definitely transcended the bipartisan system. Keith Reed, the Florida Democratic Party chair, came in a couple times on Deegan's behalf, but Deegan wasn't exactly holding her close. There was one appearance where Deegan didn't even show up to meet her. She had other things to do, and that was the right thing to do, I think, because the Florida Democrats weren't going to win that race for the Duval Democratic Party. Very nice people, but they've been in disarray for years. And I don't think it was the Duval Democrats that got her over. It really was Donna Deegan. And if there's a lesson for statewide national Democrats, it's to recruit

candidates that people connect to beyond the political process. They don't have to be celebrities necessarily, but I think they have to be people who have a long history of involvement in the community, a long history of buy-in, and a long history of demonstrating leadership that isn't just political leadership. I think people are tired of politics as usual. That's definitely the Ron DeSantis model they're tired of, but I think they're tired of the Democratic equivalent of it also. model they're tired of, but I think they're tired of the Democratical covalent also. It's been a number of years of very pitched partisan debate in the politics of character destruction. And I

think people locally are wanting to turn the page on that. I would guess statewide too. So I would caution anybody from taking the wrong lessons from this race. It was a historic, momentous win, but it's not one that you can replicate and say, well, Democrats are it's all good from here. That's Nikki Freed's narrative. But I don't think that's a narrative that anybody besides most committed partisans are really going to buy. And just to look at the numbers, I mean, some of the some of the turnout numbers do reflect that are registered Republicans turned out in far greater numbers than Democrats for the mayoral race. And a Republican candidate actually won

a separate citywide election for an at large council seat. Just to your point about narrative building and that this might be a one off in no way. AG, I do want to ask point about narrative building and that this might be a one-off in no way. AJ, I do want to ask you about that. Jacksonville does still have a super majority of its council members who are Republicans. How much power will the new Democrat mayor have to do things on her agenda with that majority? Well, I think she's got a lot of power to do things that have bipartisan buy-in um there's initiative here to jacksonville journey which was an anti-violence initiative that worked really well back in the aughts um once 2008 crash happened um the funding for that went away and a new administration um undercut it but people are looking for a return to something like that. I think there's

a win there. I think on issues that are more fractious, such as pension negotiations with the police and fire unions, the new stadium renovation deal for the Jaguar Stadium, things like that are going to be a little bit tougher. I think a lot depends on how she staffs up. If she brings Republicans into her administration, she will be in good shape. And I do want to say something about the Republican supermajority in council. They don't walk in lockstep. It's not like Tallahassee where you have leadership calling the shots. It's more like the floor of the Senate used to be where you basically had 19 people all kind of going their own way with their own political motivations and relationships that transcend party identity. And Deegan's got a number of good relationships on the city council with Republicans, including one who endorsed her at-large councilman Matt Carlucci.

She worked with Ken Amaro, who was just elected at First Coast News in Jacksonville. And I believe there are probably a few others that she can work with constructively. So I don't think she has a mandate to go very far left. I don't think that's what people are wanting anymore. They wanted to go very far right during the Republican mayor. You know, former Mayor Tommy Azuri, who, and Deegan's cousin, ironically, is famous for saying there are no Republican and Democratic potholes. And I think that's really the issue here. And if Donna Deegan, I'm sure she took good notes on Tommy Azuri's political career. And if she follows that model, she can get a lot done because Tommy Azuri got elected council president with

the super majority Republican city council and with the backing of then mayor Lenny Curry. Got it. So it's not just, it's not that simple as saying party identification. Right. Jacksonville is not Tallahassee. I want to go to the phones now. Our number is 305-995-1800. And Lynn calling from Jacksonville. Thanks for calling the Florida Roundup. You're on the line. Hi, thank you for taking my call. Thank you.

Please go ahead. I just wanted to tell you, I'm a moderate Republican, and I've never been so happy to cross over and to vote for Donna Deegan. She ran a campaign that I think a lot of people want now. She ran a campaign that I think a lot of people want now. She told us what she was going to do and not what the other person wasn't going to do. And people are tired of that negativity. And I thought she won it. And I thought also Davis lost it because, I mean, the Davis campaign did run many negative ads, painting Donna Deegan as a radical leftist who is going to do really radical things in the city. How did that land with you? And if you have any Republican friends? I didn't believe it. And I didn't believe it for many reasons. And one of them was the fact that

I had read about her. I've seen how she's performed in the community. And she showed up. She showed up when there were debates. And he didn't. And I felt like that reflected very poorly on him. And I thought that would be that was a bad way for a leader that wants to lead our town to decide not to show up. that wants to lead our town to decide not to show up. And one more question to you, Lynn, while you're on the line. I mean, does this vote in the mayor race in any way affect your political affiliation? You said you're a moderate Republican. No, because I really do try and vote the candidate and not the party. But I do feel there are a lot of people out there that are more moderate in their thinking in many ways. And we're not far right and we're not far left. And so we are just listening to the candidate. Thank you, Lynn. It's 305-995-1800. You know, A.G. Gankarski,

I was tweeting about this big victory for Deegan on election night and quoting, I think it was Woody Allen who said 90% of success is just showing up. And honestly, when Davis passed on the chance to do an hour long televised forum with myself and some other journalists in town right before the election. And Donna Deegan was given the whole hour of live TV or media at a highly rated station to make her case to the voters. A lot of people came up to me after that and and told me that that solidified their decision to vote for Deegan. And these were Republicans saying that they did not like seeing their preferred candidate, the Republican in the race, not show up for forums, not show up

and do battle, rhetorical battle with his opponents. So I suppose there is a lesson there, whatever party you belong to, people want to see the candidates show up and really make the case. People want to see the candidates show up and really make the case. Yeah, they absolutely do. And Davis skipping that event was political malpractice. He skipped it through a forum at the police union building with a very hard right host, Esther Bird, a member of the State Board of Education, who has said sympathetic things about January 6th protesters and about QAnon. She hosted it. April Carney, a school board member here who was part of the January 6th movement, also is part of this forum. So Davis went to the right when people wanted to hear how you're going to lead, and he hid behind consultant messages.

He had the sheriff as his lead endorser. Sheriff was talking about how Deegan wanted to supposedly defund the police. That was false. And, you know, Davis didn't really make his own case. And, you know, for somebody who is steeped in Jacksonville, Daniel Davis is the head of the Jacksonville Chamber, former city councilman, former state legislator. For somebody like that to basically take his voice away and expect to consolidate the party based on a bunch of mailers and deceptive TV ads, that was a cynical play. I don't know if his consultants convinced him that he just couldn't stand up to Deegan in a debate. I'm not sure what it was, but it felt like Davis never found his true voice

until the end of the campaign during his concession speech, where he was very gracious in defeat, talking about how he believed in Jacksonville, saying a lot of things they should have been saying for five months. And I think Republicans in the city just didn't trust the people enough to tell them the truth. They figured they did the okie doke one more time to quote Barack Obama. And Barack Obama won election twice by saying don't fall for the okie doke. In this election, the same thing happened here. GOP case was pure on okie doke, playing to the hard right. And they've lost the mayor's office. They also lost property appraiser's office as a result. Yeah, that was another widely viewed

victory for the local Democrats in Duval. Joyce Morgan winning that seat, the first Black woman to hold that sort of citywide constitutional office in Jacksonville. Dan in Fort Lauderdale. Hi, Dan, you're on the Florida Roundup. Go ahead. Hi, thanks for taking my call. I am very pleased to hear the moderate Republican who called from Jacksonville. And I think I just want to back her up and say, you know, there are a lot of moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans who would like to be able to vote in open primaries. What do you guys think about if that's ever going to happen? I have a question. Is it possible to do it by referendum? Great question from Dan AG.

Well, referendums get tougher every year. Yes, they do. That's a 60 percent now you got to have. Yep. The state parties do not want open primaries for their own reasons. I mean, even though we're in a state period of Republican domination, Democrats don't want that either because open primaries, they obviously deleverage the party insiders to sort of party hacks and they leverage more centrist candidates. And if you look back to the 2018 race for governor, how would that have gone if you'd had an open primary? You might have seen Gwen Graham and Adam Putnam emerge for a general election. We'd be in a very different state right now if one of them had won, you know, if that had been a debate instead of, say, Andrew Gillum and Ron DeSantis. And I'll just throw in there, a referendum on that did fail just a few years ago by a percentage point or two.

AG, I have one more question for you. A person close to the Biden 2024 campaign told Politico, and this is all about narrative building, that this race in Jacksonville for mayor was effectively a rejection of DeSantis. Can you tell us what Governor DeSantis had to do with this race for the issues and also for his actual involvement in the campaign? Well, Governor DeSantis, he insisted that if Daniel Davis was to get his endorsement that he couldn't get an endorsement from Donald Trump. So he forced a choice there. Daniel Davis' people are close to Donald Trump's political operations. Susie Wiles is a nexus between the two.

And so Davis bid on that, and DeSantis delivered a paper endorsement. But DeSantis has not been in Florida much. He hasn't been in Jacksonville much. He didn't do a roboc call or a unity rally or knock on doors or donate money to Davis's campaign or anything like that. He just gave a paper endorsement to put on mailers and left him alone. It's almost as if DeSantis decided to sandbag Daniel Davis and the Trump friendly operation that Davis had and to basically let him lose. I reached out to DeSantis' political operation after Donald Trump said it was DeSantis' fault that the Jacksonville mayor went Democratic.

Yeah, and it's been fascinating to watch Trump weigh in on this election of Deegan in Jacksonville, but we got to leave it there. A.G. Gankarski of Jax Today, always providing amazing political insights. Thank you for being with us here on the Florida Roundup. Still to come, why the governor is sending Florida troops to Texas. Next on the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio. Terima kasih telah menonton Thank you. Welcome back to the Florida Roundup. I'm Danny Rivera in Miami. And I'm Melissa Ross in Jacksonville. Title 42 has come to an end. The pandemic era immigration policy that allowed for the quick expulsion of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border lapsed on May 11th. Now, in the lead up to its expiration, there were widespread concerns over an influx of migrants crossing and potential chaos at the border.

And Florida has become a central part of the national conversation with Governor Ron DeSantis this week outlining plans to send resources to Texas, including 800 National Guard soldiers, 101 Florida Highway Patrol troopers, and 200 Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers. Is all this backup needed? And what will these officers actually be doing at the border? Now, at the same time, a Florida federal judge has put a stop to a new parole policy intended to help mitigate any potential migration surge at the border. This is after Attorney General Ashley Moody filed suit against the federal government over the policy. We invited the attorney general to join

us today, but she was not available. And that offer to have Attorney General Ashley Moody on still stands. Moody did appear on the Fox News Sunday to discuss this case. So let's listen to a clip from that interview. So while that last administrative Title 42 protection was in place, behind the scenes, they were breaking down systematically our immigration security structures. And so when Florida brought suit, we said, look, they're mass releasing people into the U.S. illegally. We begin this conversation on immigration at the U.S. and Mexico border and how Florida is challenging the Biden administration's post-Title 42 approach. We want to hear from you on this. You can call us at 305-995-1800, and you can tweet us at Florida Roundup. Joining us now to talk about this is Steph Kite, a political reporter with Axios. And also joining us is Efren Olivares, the Deputy Legal Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Immigrant

Justice Project. Steph, Efrain, thanks for coming on. Thanks for having us. My pleasure. Thank you. Absolutely. And Steph, let's start with you. What can you tell us about the impact of Title 42 expiring?

What have we been seeing at the border since this policy ended on May 11th? So in the lead up to the end of the policy on May 11th, we were seeing large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. We were seeing a record number of 10,000 a day, multiple days in a row. But what's been interesting is that after the end of May 11th, there's been a little bit of a surprise in the trends at the border. We've actually seen a decline in the number of people coming across the border every day. That's according to early stats that reporters have been receiving from the Department of Homeland Security. Recently, there have been fewer than 4,000 crossing a day. And so there's a lot of different reasons for why we may have been seeing this decline

rather than the expected surge in people coming across the border, one of which is likely that smugglers and migrants and asylum seekers waiting in Mexico are uncertain of the new policies and are just kind of in a wait and see mode. kind of in a wait and see mode. And, you know, with that expected surge not quite happening, can you tell us a little bit about what the resources Florida and Governor DeSantis are sending to the U.S.-Mexico border? If that massive surge hasn't happened, what do we know about what they're doing there? That's a really good question. And I think, you know, one of the things that we'll have to watch is whether these lower numbers actually continue. My understanding, based on my conversations with sources, is that there are still tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers waiting in Mexico, still anticipating crossing at some point in the near future.

So there's a chance that border resources will need additional help. It's also not unusual for states to send their National Guard or other state law enforcement to help Texas at the border. We saw this happen in 2021 with a handful of states. But of course, you can't count out the fact that Governor DeSantis has made harsh immigration policy kind of central to his expected run for president and also his governing in Florida. So I think it's hard not to see the latest action to send troops to the border as not also a political move. And Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has more or less put Florida at the center of this debate,

at least in the courts. What arguments is her office and the state of Florida making as to why Florida is being harmed by what happens at the U.S.-Mexico border when we're several states away from that border? Florida has long been, you know, a destination for recently arrived migrants. Many people who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border already have family members who are in the U.S. and many of them are in various communities throughout Florida. So there is certainly a large immigrant

population in the state. There is is certainly a large immigrant population in the state. There is also a significant undocumented immigrant population in the state as well. So, you know, there is kind of a secondary impact on Florida. While the border states are the first to receive migrants and asylum seekers, they often go elsewhere to connect with family members. And, you know, not just Florida either. We've seen other cities and their leadership talk about the struggles they've had to make sure they can care for newly arrived migrants in their cities, including New York City, where, you know, we've seen, you know, resources strained and nonprofits struggle to make sure that they can find housing

and care for people who are recently arriving. And so that is the case in Florida as well. That can be a destination, and it long has been. 305-995-1800. Give us a call statewide. We're live now on the Florida Roundup. What are your questions about Florida sending law enforcement to Texas? Pete in Orlando. Hi, Pete. Happy Friday. You're on the radio.

Good afternoon. I just wanted to say if we don't need law enforcement officers in Florida, let Texas keep them. Texas pay their salaries and we could use the money saved to help with our homeless problem. Yeah, a little a little humor from Pete, maybe half joking anyway. That's Pete in Orlando. So let's bring Efren Olivares, deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Immigrant Justice Project. Efren, you know, conservative states sending troops to the border has become a standard move. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has asked governors like Ron DeSantis for help. So how much help is actually needed? I know Steph talked a little bit about this and how much of this has to do with political posturing.

What are your thoughts? political posturing. What are your thoughts? I think Steph put it right, that it's hard not to frame this as a political stunt. And I will go even further that it is primarily a political stunt. These and these stunts are not serious policy responses to the immigration phenomenon. Right. It's been evident that after the end or the lifting of Title 42, the number of people coming to the border has dropped. So there's no justifiable need for that. And to try to address the immigration issue state by state when it is increasingly a regional and even global phenomenon, I would say, is myopic and not serious policy proposals. These are simply political stunts by governors who have larger political aspirations.

Now, part of the work you do with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Immigrant Justice Project involves giving free legal help to detained immigrants. Tell us a little bit more about that and who's coming across the border, who's seeking asylum. Tell us what you and your organization have seen. Certainly. We represent immigrants detained in facilities in Louisiana, Georgia, and Mississippi primarily, and some in Florida. And we're seeing Central American asylum seekers, And we're seeing Central American asylum seekers, Haitian asylum seekers, and some Brazilian and even some West African asylum seekers coming to our facilities. And there, our primary focus is to help folks, you know, face their immigration case, whether it is an asylum case or some other type of immigration case from the community. There's no need to have anybody behind bars

simply because of their immigration status. That is not a justifiable policy. We only do it because it's a money-making machine for private detention companies, but there's no sound public policy that would justify that. So our work is to, again, support asylum seekers and other immigrants and securing their freedom so that they can face their immigration case from their home or with their families. With their families. It's 305-995-1800 statewide on the Florida Roundup.

What's your reaction then to Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody? She's fighting against a parole program for Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans, as we are seeing drops of people from those countries showing up at the border. Your thoughts? Yeah, and the clip that was played at the top of the segment where she called that policy illegal, it is explicitly provided for in the Immigration and Nationality Act, right? it is explicitly provided for in the Immigration and Nationality Act, right? The federal immigration authorities have the discretion to parole people. And all that means is that they are allowed to face their immigration case from the community. It doesn't mean that they are granted asylum or any other immigration relief. And what this is attempting to do is, in fact, create a chaos at the border by preventing Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection,

and the other immigration agencies from using that discretion to orderly process immigrants and asylum seekers. Just earlier this week, an eight-year-old girl in the town of Harlingen, Texas, died at one of the facilities, right? So the longer immigrants, families, children are detained in these facilities, the greater the risk that somebody will die. So again, this is an attempt to put political pressure on the Biden administration by forcing it to have to detain folks at the border when that is not necessary. And again, they have the legal authority to do that. the legal authority to do that. Right. And you can call us at 305-995-1800.

We want to go to Mike calling from Jacksonville. Mike, thanks for calling. You're on the radio. Hi. Yeah, I just, I think it's sad, but I think it is somewhat necessary to at least deter people from coming because just like in South Chicago, they're trying to release people in communities and people are worried that eventually it's not going to be safe. New York, they're housing them in hotels

and homelessness is already out of control and so is housing. Thank you for the call, Mike. Steph, I do want to ask you about that. You know, Cubans, Venezuelans, Haitians are among the top groups that have been migrating here. A lot of thousands of families in Florida have petitioned to bring their loved ones over. They are coming here. A lot of those groups have also supported Governor

DeSantis. I mean, is there any chance that this war on migration could have political blowback within the state from those constituencies? That's something that I'm certainly watching very closely. I think it definitely could. Obviously, when it comes to the Latino vote as a whole, when you kind of drill down into different nationalities, they have different political leanings and maybe is assumed when you just kind of look at the broader Latino vote. And, you know, Cuban and Venezuelan voters in Florida are obviously a critical demographic, but they can also they tend to be more conservative than maybe other Latino votes. be more conservative than maybe other Latino votes. So it'll be interesting to see how that shakes out. But you're right that many people coming across the border, as I said, have family members who are already in the US, family members who are willing to sponsor them. And so in many cases, these immigrant stories are ones of family reunification. And so whether DeSantis' efforts to

disrupt that will have a negative political impact down the road will be something I'll be watching. But it's always a very complicated issue and it's hard to tell exactly how that will pan out. And you're listening to the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio, 305-995-1800, a live statewide conversation about immigration at the border and how Florida is challenging the Biden administration's approach. Our guests, Steph Knight with Axios and Efren Olivares with the Southern Poverty Law Center's Immigrant Justice Project. 305-995-1800. Peter in Jacksonville.

Hi, Peter. Hi, Peter. Hi, afternoon. My question is, is there any reporting or do we have any information on the police and the National Guard we're sending? You know, are they working a full day? Are they making an impact? You know, are they really doing anything? Can the officers refuse to go? Are these volunteers? I just, you know, haven't heard what are they actually doing. And are these purely state funds or are other funds being used? I'm just wondering about the lack of reporting or if there is any reporting.

All great questions that, Steph, I know you're looking into. Efren, would you like to weigh in on that first, then Steph? Steph, I know you're looking into a friend. Would you like to weigh in on that first then, Steph? Sure. Yeah, that question goes to the heart of the accountability around this. Right. So the sending of Florida National Guard troops to the border on Floridian taxpayer dollars when there are so many other needs in the state for that. And as to what they will be doing, it's an excellent question. Right. state for that. And as to what they will be doing, it's an excellent question, right? We know that the federal government sent some troops to do administrative duties only and to free up capacity of border patrol agents to do some of the other work that federal troops are not authorized to do under the law. It's an excellent question. What will Floridian taxpayers be paying for? It's very unclear. And it is unclear because, again,

this is merely a political stunt. It's not meant to actually help anything or anyone. And, Steph, I do want to ask you, I mean, this all happens in the context of Congress just flat out being unable to pass any comprehensive immigration reform. It's been talked about for decades now. And so, you know, in the meantime, the federal government, you know, the policy changes according

to whose president states are now starting to pass their own laws in response to that. I mean, what where does this all lead to? Is every state just going to have its own immigration laws because Florida is going in that direction? I mean, it certainly seems that we are going in that direction, as you point out, with Florida. And, you know, the fact that we haven't changed our federal immigration laws in decades really is a significant problem, especially when you look at the issue of the border. The border demographics and trends have changed drastically. And our laws just simply don't match the new reality at the border. Even looking at the kinds of migrants who are arriving initially, you know, years ago, it was mostly Mexican single adults. Now it's a lot of families and unaccompanied minors and

people coming from very far away countries, going through dangerous journeys to get to the border. And even just practically border patrol facilities are not set up to handle these new demographics. There are so many details that and logistical issues that could be solved by better laws addressing them. But because immigration and especially immigration at the border has become such a politically fraught issue over the past few years, it's really hard to see a way to getting the bipartisan support for legislation that would be required to really get at the root of some of these problems. And so in the meantime, states like Florida are passing laws dealing with immigration. You know, Florida has just allocated $12 million to a controversial migrant flight program.

A lot of immigration related things, hundreds, 800 National Guard troops sent to the border this week to protect against a surge that might or might not be here. We're kind of on it and waiting. We have a lot more coming up on this conversation on the Florida Roundup. Want everyone to stick around. You're listening to the Florida Roundup. We'll be right back after this break. Thank you. Welcome back to the Florida Roundup. I'm Melissa Ross in Jacksonville. And I'm Danny Rivero in Miami. And we're continuing our conversation about immigration at the U.S.-Texas border and how Florida is getting involved. We're joined by Steph Kite, who covers immigration for Axios, and also Efren Olivares, the deputy legal director of the Southern Poverty Law Center. and also Efren Olivares, the Deputy Legal Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

And we are also getting tons of calls this hour. I want to go to, let's... Connie in Titusville. Yeah. Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Connie. Thanks for calling the Florida Roundup. You're on the line. Hi. I heard earlier a caller mention that his concern, that his fear, that he fears if the migrants are being released into the community. people are coming here out of desperation to either alone or with their families to try to with the hope that that they can be safe here and that they can find a way to to work and be in a system that has security you know they're this is what they're coming away from and we

need to help them these are human beings beings, you know, who are looking for a place. That's all I want to say. There's nothing to fear. They need our help. Connie, I appreciate you calling into the Florida Roundup. Calls coming in from all over the state. And of course, we've got a range of opinions on this show. Howard in Tallahassee. Hi, Howard. Your thoughts. How are you doing? All right. How are you doing today? Good. Thanks for calling. Well, I'm probably going to be a little bit on a different point of view. And mine is,

while my grandparents came here as immigrants back in the 30s, the situation is different today. Yes, some people are coming over because of fear concerns and legitimate reasons. Others are not. They're coming over for economic reasons. And the problem I see is that the proponents of immigration, unfettered immigration, don't seem to take into account the actual cost. There's a lot of talk about how much it's going to cost to bus immigrants to other cities

and how much it's going to cost to send a National Guard to Texas. But what about the cost of unfettered, multi-million immigrants a year coming here and entering the social service system, like health care, education, and so on? That is a burden on the domestic population. And I believe that, I'll be real brief here, I believe that the proponents of immigration are a little disingenuous in disregarding those concerns.

Howard, I appreciate that. Thanks, Howard. That's Howard in Tallahassee, Danny. I love getting all these opinions from our big diverse state. And Pam calling from from Land O'Lakes. Thank you. Thank you for calling, Pam. You're on. Yes, I think my tax dollars should not be spent on the border. They should be spent in Florida helping the homeless population, the education system, paying teachers, and all the other government workers that are underpaid, and maybe on the road, something other than the federal. That's a federal issue.

And my thing on the immigration thing, I don't know all the laws and stuff, but I say we're all immigrants. So when people come across the border, give them a social security number and tell them they got five years to make it in this country. Thank you. And to your point, a lot of migrants, they actually pay into social security. So there's a cost, but there's also a lot of money they're putting into it. I am going to have to say bye to our guests now that we have tons of calls. Thank you, Steph Kite. She covers immigration policy for Axios. And also many thanks to our guests, Efren Olivares, Deputy Legal Director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Immigrant Justice Project and author of author of My Boy Will Die of Sorrow, a memoir of immigration from the

front lines. Thank you both so much for coming on. Thanks for having me. Thanks for having us. Well, it's a great time to be a Florida sports fan. Down South, the Miami Heat and the Florida Panthers defied expectations by making it all the way to the NBA and the NHL playoffs, respectively. For the first time ever, both teams will be competing in their conference finals during the same season. And the state's two major league baseball teams, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Miami Marlins, are also outperforming expectations, with the Rays currently holding the best record in the whole league. Joining us to talk about this is John Devine, the executive sports editor for the

Miami Herald. And he joins us now. John, thanks for coming on. Hey, happy to be here. Hope you're having a good afternoon. So the big question, how far do you think the Heat and the Panthers are going to make it? Well, we have to understand they've already defied expectations. Both waited until the last week to qualify. They're both number eight seeds, which that's eight out of eight. They both beat the number one seeds in their respective conferences for the first round, won the second round kind of easily. For the Florida Panthers, they're facing a team that's kind of a mirror image of itself.

But remember, the first round, they beat the Boston Bruins, who had the best record in the league. The Heat, they won. And every time we say that they don't seem to be talented enough, because remember, they have more than five players who were undrafted. Because remember, they have more than five players who were undrafted. And through a shrewd eye for talent and a lot of development, these guys are all very functional and very significant players on this team. And they've already retaken home court advantage. So every time you say, I don't think they can do it, they just seem to prove people wrong, but led by Jimmy Butler.

Every time you say, I don't think they can do it, they just seem to prove people wrong, but led by Jimmy Butler. So it would be unwise to say that they can't win any round because they've proven us wrong time and time again. Or the experts, especially the national funders. You're listening to the Florida Roundup from Florida Public Radio. public radio and john um i mean what does it mean for not just the cities of tampa in in miami in miami but to the whole state when our teams are doing so darn well like what does it mean for the state of florida well as you know we have we always see and we have so many transplants in the state um who always seem to show up for other teams. If you go, for example, and you see, hi, the Mets are playing or the Knicks were playing or anywhere else.

It's a terrible feeling as a Miami fan. You would always see a significant amount. And that goes up to Tampa as well, I'm quite sure. But you can see as it turns, and even with the Dolphins, their profile has raised as well, that we're having significant success here. And what happens is, you know, people who are adults, their children are now getting used to rooting for teams in South Florida. Even back 10 years ago when Big Three of the Heat were there. Now it's understandable you are not going to see the

other team. You are going to see, quote unquote, your team. And I think that success will continue to build on itself. Now let's talk soccer for a minute. Did you see, John, women's pro soccer is coming to both Jacksonville and Tampa Bay? How much support do you think there is for soccer here stateside? How do you think these teams might fare? Well, I think everyone's trying to capitalize on the fact that the World Cup is coming to the United States and actually this hemisphere in 2026. If you remember correctly, the Women's World Cup in the 90s when the United States won, you remember Brandi Chastain hit the penalty kick,

and she ripped it, and everyone celebrated. That led to an increase. We had a women's soccer league. The World Cup was here. All of a sudden, we started up the MLS. I think these are milestones. There are millions of kids who play soccer. The question is, can you keep them?

And keeping them is the key. With Title IX, where you're also looking for comparatively equal numbers for athletics, for colleges especially, soccer is a way to get those numbers up. We have more than 330 million people in this country we can mine we have the numbers to mine and find the next wave of soccer players it's just how we support it anything where you can support it more would help now if you're asking me how many people are going to buy tickets that's kind of hard to say um the good news is tampa and jackson Jacksonville they have professional sports leagues and franchises they don't have a saturation like we do here so

there's not as much competition for that marketing dollar. Good point. So that may help may help them almost out of time we're looking to see the Jacksonville Jaguars by the way be playing games anywhere from the UNF campus to down in Orlando while stadium renovations happen. That's kind of a disruption for that NFL team.

It is. Since we're out of time, I'll be quick. It is. But remember, Orlando is a pretty significant market without a team. As you can tell, the baseball team, the Rays, are also perhaps looking over there as they have stadium, as they're trying to negotiate a new stadium. And Orlando's trying to find a baseball team on its own. Orlando, as a market, is looking to continue to raise its profile. The University of Central Florida has risen its profile. They are now in a major conference. has risen its profile. They are now in a major conference. It's one of the biggest universities in the state, if not the nation. These factors are weighing in the fact that Orlando is trying to find a buy the apple. And if it means that they can prove for two years that they can home host the NFL team, or even if they can pull over a Major League Baseball team, that would just increase it.

Look, they already have the Orlando Magic. Like I said, UCF is bigger than every other major school in this state. They would love to prove it and pull people down here. They'd love it. As someone who's lived in both Orlando and Jacksonville, I know for a fact a lot of people in O-Town still resent that there's an NFL team in Jacksonville and not Orlando.

So, John Devine, Executive Sports Editor for the Miami Herald. Great sports insights. Our Technical Director, Peter Mayers says, how about our Panthers? So, Peter, we hear you on that, too. Thank you, John, for being with us here on the show today. You're welcome.

You have a good day. All right. That's our show. Thanks for listening, Florida. The Florida Roundup is produced by WJCT Public Media in Jacksonville and WLRN Public Media in Miami. Heather Schatz and Bridget O'Brien are show producers. WLRN's vice president of radio and our technical director is Big Panthers fan Peter Mayers. Engineering help from Doug Peterson, Charles Michaels, and Isabella Da Silva. Richard Ives answers the phones. Our theme music is provided by Miami jazz guitarist Aaron Libos at AaronLibos.com.

I'm Danny Rivero. And I'm Melissa Ross. Thanks for being with us. Have a great weekend. Thank you.