Florida House backs down amid DeSantis criticism: emergency dollars can be used on immigration

By: Liv Caputo

Outlets: Florida Phoenix

Published: February 17, 2026

Words: 652

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 1 day ago


Body Text Preview

The Florida House on Tuesday backed down from its proposal to block emergency funds from being used on illegal immigration enforcement following harsh criticism from the DeSantis administration.

This represents a massive pivot from the GOP-dominated House’s original proposal to exclusively use the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund on natural disasters, an idea blasted as “moronic” by the state Attorney General James Uthmeier, a former aide to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

A Tuesday addition to …

Create a free account to access this story and more

Join Plucky Wire to access full stories, collaborate with newsrooms, and discover content from networks around the world.

Register for Free Log in

© 2025 Plucky Works LLC