Florida's Latest News

After weeks of GOP tension, Florida Legislature passes sweeping illegal immigration bills

After weeks of fighting among Republicans, Florida’s GOP-controlled Legislature swiftly passed sweeping measures Thursday designed to aid President Donald Trump’s mass deportations.

The moves attempt to put Florida on the frontlines with Trump, as the White House openly battles with blue states such as New York over immigration. The legislation guarantees the state will spend nearly $300 million to help state and local authorities detain migrants and then hand them over to federal authorities for deportation.

In the measure, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law Thursday afternoon, legislators adopted criminal measures that may be tested in the courts — including one that would mandate the death penalty for anyone who has entered the country illegally and is convicted of a capital crime such as murder.

“We are ahead of the curve on ending the illegal immigration crisis. We didn’t just sit [on] our hands. We got to work, we hashed it out, and we’ve got a great product going forward,” the governor said.

Geraldine Thompson, Orlando lawmaker and trailblazer, dies at 76

Geraldine Thompson was described as 'at the epicenter of Black history in Orlando.'

Sen. Geraldine Thompson, a Democrat who represented Orlando in the Legislature for two decades and was a Black historian, died Thursday at age 76 from knee replacement surgery complications.

“Sen. Geraldine Thompson was a force — a trailblazer, a historian, a fierce advocate, and a devoted mother and grandmother who worked every day to uplift all Floridians, ensuring that no one was left behind,” U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost said in a statement. “For nearly 20 years in the Florida Legislature, she broke barriers and created opportunities, especially for Black and Brown communities and those too often overlooked. She paved the way for many, including myself, to step up and serve our communities.”

Thomson served in the House from 2006-2012 and then again from 2018-2022. She was a senator from 2012-2016 and then again in 2022, and she has been named the Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee on Pre-K — 12 Education.

Supreme Court allows Debbie Mayfield to run for Senate, rebuking Gov. DeSantis administration

Secretary of State Cord Byrd takes a beating from the high court.

Rep. Debbie Mayfield is back in the game.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled Mayfield is eligible to run in the Special Election for Senate District 19 to replace Sen. Randy Fine, who is a current candidate for Congress. That means she will be able to seek the same seat she vacated last year after an eight year term, which triggered term limits.

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and the Division of Elections had disqualified Mayfield from the ballot, citing term limits barring her from seeking the office again. Byrd and his office argued in favor of disqualifying her from the ballot, repeating their claim that running would violate the term limits provisions in the Florida Constitution.

But the high court was not convinced, unanimously ruling that Mayfield’s filing “has met the statutory requirements” and that she “has a clear legal right to appear on the primary ballot.”

Alan Dershowitz to deliver 2025 commencement at New College

Dershowitz has taken on many high-profile, controversial cases.

Constitutional lawyer and best-selling author Alan Dershowitz will be the 2025 commencement speaker for New College of Florida in Sarasota.

Dershowitz is perhaps best known in recent years as one of President Donald Trump’s defense attorneys during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Dershowitz also represented Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein.

Earlier in his career, Dershowitz was an appellate adviser in O.J. Simpson’s murder trial, working alongside famous attorneys on the case Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey, together known as the “Dream Team.”

Outside his reputation for taking on controversial cases and clients, Dershowitz is the author of several books discussing politics and law, including “Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case” in 1985; “Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O.J. Simpson Case” in 1996; “The Case for Israel” in 2003; and “The Case for Peace” in 2005.