TALLHASSEE Fla. (WFLA) — The third and final day of the special session concluded with the passage of an immigration bill, one that sparked significant debate among lawmakers in both the House and Senate.

“We are ahead of the curve of ending the illegal immigration crisis,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. “We got to work, we hashed it out, and we’ve got a great product moving forward.”

The governor and legislative leaders sealed the deal on illegal immigration, and while they may have been standing as a united front, not everyone across the aisle was satisfied.

“Here is a prime example of how when we put our heads together and we run towards the same fight that we bring results, and I believe that matters,” said Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula.

Republican lawmakers stood firm in support for the immigration proposals at hand, while Democrats were against the bill package, introducing amendments of their own.

One of those amendments, led by Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo, D-Miami, sought to reverse the effort to repeal in-state tuition for illegal immigrants currently finishing school at a Florida college or university.

“It is a widely unfair surprise, you would have to agree to go from like $105 worth of credit hours to $500-$570 depending on whether it’s the university system or the college system,” Pizzo said.

Pizzo’s amendment aimed to allow current college freshman, sophomores, and juniors entering into their senior year to retain the in-state tuition waiver for the remainder of their academic careers.

“It all comes down to this amendment,” said State Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando. “We’ve been talking about what can we do for the Dreamers to maybe cushion the impact a little bit.”

The Republican sponsor of the bill, State Senator Randy Fine, R-Brevard, acknowledged the concerns for current students, but stressed that the state must remove all incentives that attract illegal immigrants to Florida.
“A child who lives in Thomasville should not have to pay more to go to Tallahassee state college than a foreigner who should not be in this country at all,” Fine said.
At the end of the day, even with the push back from across the aisle, Republicans remained solidified, passing the illegal immigration bill out of the House, Senate, and signed by Governor DeSantis.