Gov Ron DeSantis cited migrant flights as a 'crescendo' in an immigration debate that led to President Donald Trump's 2024 victory
St. Johns County Sheriff Hardwick discusses partnership with ICE to combat criminal migrants
St. Johns County Robert Hardwick discussed with Fox News Digital how they are partnering with federal officials to combat illegal immigration in Florida.
The man who helped organize a planeload of illegal immigrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard during the Biden administration has been tapped to lead Florida's new immigration enforcement board.
Larry Keefe, a longtime trial attorney who served previously as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's "public safety czar" since 2021, will have $250 million at his discretion to help bolster the state's immigration enforcement efforts.
Keefe was at the center of helping private contractor Vertol Systems Company earn a $1.5 million contract to fly dozens of mostly Venezuelan migrants from San Antonio to the ritzy Massachusetts island in 2022. At the time, illegal crossings along the southern border were surging under the leadership of former President Joe Biden, with more than 2 million during FY 2022.
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Larry Keefe, inset, was at the center of organizing a flight from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard amid a massive influx of illegal migrants into the U.S. under President Joe Biden. ( U.S. Department of Justice)
The new board that Keefe will be heading was created during a recent special legislative session, called by DeSantis last month, to advance efforts at implementing President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
The group held an emergency meeting Monday, during which Attorney General James Uthmeier nominated Keefe to be the new board's executive director just hours after being appointed himself by the governor.
"For several years, I had the pleasure of working alongside [Keefe] when he was the state's public safety czar. In that position, Larry worked with law enforcement all across the state to spearhead interdiction efforts. He also helped us with executive actions to collect data and better understand the real harms and taxes that the state faces as a result of an influx of illegal immigrants," Uthmeier said at Monday's meeting. "He also helped organize some relocation flights that I think some of you might have heard about, including one to Martha's Vineyard."
Illegal immigrants arrive at Martha's Vineyard Airport on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. (Video provided to Fox News Digital)
Desantis said during Monday's meeting that Keefe's work on the migrant flights, in particular the one to Martha's Vineyard, "changed the dynamic of the whole debate" from immigration simply being an issue for border states, to an issue for all states.
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"They thought it was fine to have tens-of-thousands overrunning these border towns, but the minute you had 50 show up in Martha's Vineyard, they had massive spasms about this. They called out the National Guard, they were doing a state of emergency," Desantis said. "And then you started to see New York City and California and Chicago trips, and all of that I think helped bring this issue to a crescendo and resulted in the 2024 election."
Immigrants gather with their belongings outside St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Sept. 14 on Martha's Vineyard. (Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via AP)
Fox News Digital reached out to DeSantis' office and was directed to his comments during the Monday meeting and on social media. DeSantis said Keefe "is a great public servant" and "will do a fantastic job" leading the state's immigration enforcement.
