| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | | | |  A demonstrator holds up a Haitian flag during protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. | Odelyn Joseph/AP | Good morning and welcome to Monday. Florida Republicans are warning about the possibility of a wave of Haitian migrants entering the state who are fleeing politically connected gang violence at home. Florida, which has one of the largest populations of Haitians and Haitian-Americans in the U.S., has yet to see a major displacement of migrants from Haiti. But airport closures have left few options for people living on the island nation, where mass numbers of people are homeless and on the brink of famine. In the past, many Haitians have taken the life-threatening, 700-mile trip by sea to escape to Florida. GOP Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio demanded in a letter to know President Joe Biden’s plan to prevent “mass migration” and to screen and track U.S. entrants. They tied their concerns to those at the southern border, where at least 8 million people have arrived since Biden took office. Though the senators called for “sympathy” and “targeted American assistance” for Haiti, they also said they were worried about reports showing that gangs helped thousands escape from prisons. They asked Biden how his administration would ensure people with criminal histories would not enter the U.S. and how it would detain people who tried, warning of otherwise creating “grave risk” and “untold public safety threats for our communities.” At the state level, DeSantis is offering help for Americans in Haiti. He had the Florida Division of Emergency Management set up an online form so Americans could provide their information if they couldn’t get out. The actions are similar to what DeSantis did in Israel, when he chartered flights to help Americans escape after Hamas’ attack. The U.S. State Department, too, is providing charter flights from Haiti for Americans. A U.S. government plane arrived from Haiti to Miami last night carrying 47 people. But for Haitians, DeSantis is offering only closed borders and portraying migration as a threat to Florida. He deployed officers and soldiers to South Florida last week as his administration used Donald Trump-inflamed language warning of an “invasion.” The governor also signed three measures into law Friday to increase penalties and restrictions on undocumented people. Those measures were approved by the GOP-led Legislature before the recent crisis in Haiti. DeSantis said during a recent press conference that a few weeks ago, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stopped a sea vessel near Central Florida carrying 25 people from Haiti. They also found drugs, guns and night vision gear on the boat, the governor said. The Coast Guard also stopped migrants near the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, and returned them to Haiti. What’s happening in Florida is amplified nationally. Undocumented immigration is already playing heavily into rhetoric around the November elections and, per Gallup polling, is the top concern for voters. Trump, who’s the presumptive 2024 GOP nominee — and who’ll be on the ballot for the presidential primary tomorrow — piled on about migration during a speech in Ohio on Saturday, calling some people who commit crimes while undocumented “not people” and “animals.” Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com
| | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association: DON’T LET DURBIN-MARSHALL STEAL YOUR DATA: Senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall introduced legislation allowing corporate mega-stores, like Walmart and Target, to process credit card transactions based solely on what is cheapest for them, disregarding YOUR data security. The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Bill would shift billions in consumer spending to higher-risk payment networks, weakening America’s payment system and jeopardizing the security of hardworking Floridians. Learn more: https://handsoffmyrewards.com/security/ | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | |
OVERRIDE — “Florida knows best? In 2024, the legislature overruled a host of local laws,” reports the Orlando Sentinel’s Ryan Gillespie. “The increasingly common tactic flummoxes local officials, who bristle at what is known as ‘preemption,’ an approach in which the state blocks cities and counties from regulating various matters. Over time it’s touched on everything from firearms to medical marijuana dispensaries to the placement of 5G cell towers. This year preemption was used on a host of issues, including preventing bans of gas-powered leaf blowers, blocking local rules for electric vehicle chargers, banning citizen boards from probing police misconduct, and rolling back city rules requiring contractors to pay above the minimum wage.”
HEALTH CARE COVERAGE— “As Florida winds down Medicaid eligibility review, more children under 5 are losing coverage,” reports Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix. “With two months left in the Medicaid eligibility review process, Florida has reduced the number of residents it has bumped from the health coverage meant for low-income people. But last month, more children younger than five lost access to Medicaid than any other age group.” CONSERVATION — “Florida lawmakers are planning to buy more than 220 acres of land in Wakulla County,” reports Adrian Andrews of WFSU. “The property stretches 225 acres and sits 14 miles south of Florida’s Capital city in Wakulla County. The land is home to the largest underwater cave system in the United States.” OUTTA THERE — “Pornhub is now blocked in Texas. Could Florida be next?” by Douglas Soule of USA Today Network - Florida. “Texas and a growing number of states have passed laws requiring age verification to watch porn. Pornhub has responded by restricting access in most of them. The Florida Legislature recently approved a bill that too requires age verification. It's expected to be signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and take effect at the start of 2025, if it survives expected legal challenges.”
|  Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich speaks at the group's meeting in Philadelphia, Friday, June 30, 2023. | Matt Rourke/AP | REDO — “Ethics complaint against Moms for Liberty ethics board member is rejected,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Jeffrey Schweers. “A political consultant and blogger will have to refile his ethics complaint against Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich, according to a letter he got from the Commission on Ethics this week. The commission’s executive director returned Robert Burns III’s paperwork and explained that the Senate president and House speaker must review complaints about its members according to Florida law, which instructs them to appoint a joint committee to handle the matter. Burns, who lives in Melbourne, said he feels like he’s entering uncharted territory because he could find no previous ethics commissioner being the subject of an ethics complaint and no instructions for how to file an ethics complaint with the Legislature.” WORKGROUP — “Moms for Liberty to advise librarians on book removals in Florida,” by Douglas Soule of USA Today Network - Florida. “Moms for Liberty members made up three of six members of a Department of Education workgroup that met Thursday in Tallahassee to redevelop an online training program for school librarians and media specialists following a 2023 state law focused on book challenges. It’s a demonstration of the state’s willingness to cater to the conservative group, which has long supported DeSantis and, along with its local chapters, has become the leading voice against books in schools that it considers inappropriate.” UNEXPECTED OUTCOME — “If DeSantis signs school chaplain bill, a ‘Hindu statesman’ from Nevada eager to volunteer,” reports Lauren Costantino of the Miami Herald. “DeSantis has yet to sign a bill that would allow chaplains to offer counseling in public schools, but one colorful religious figure says he is already eager to volunteer. He’s a self-described ‘Hindu statesman’ from Nevada who says he would like to bring “the wisdom of ancient Sanskrit scriptures” to students — perhaps not exactly what Florida lawmakers had in mind when they approved a bill that supporters tout as a way to make up for a shortage of mental health counselors in many schools.” | | | | Easily connect with the right N.Y. State influencers and foster the right relationships to champion your policy priorities. POLITICO Pro. Inside New York. Learn more. | | | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | | |  Charred vehicles remain parked as gang violence escalates in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 9, 2024. | Photo by Clarens Siffroy/AFP via Getty Images | WEALTH ADVANTAGE — “Haiti’s airports are closed. For those with money and connections there is a hard way out,” reports Jacqueline Charles and Antonio Maria Delgado of the Miami Herald. “As the violence intensifies, foreign embassy staffers and wealthy foreigners stranded in the volatile Caribbean nation are knocking on the doors of air-travel companies in Miami and in the neighboring Dominican Republic trying to secure themselves a way out. The main destination is Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. But the availability of seats in helicopters with pilots willing to fly into Haiti is extremely limited and very expensive, running in some cases into tens of thousands of dollars, amid the difficulties faced by chopper companies in obtaining approval for their flight plans from officials in Santo Domingo.” ESPIONAGE — “How Cuba recruits spies to penetrate inner circles of the U.S. government,” reports Brett Forrest and Warren P. Strobel of the Wall Street Journal. “Cuba and its intelligence service, the Dirección de Inteligencia, are in the world’s top ranks when it comes to recruiting spies, while the American teams responsible for stopping them are understaffed and outmatched, according to former U.S. counterintelligence officials. Cuba has ‘the best damn intelligence service in the world’ for cultivating agents, said Brian Latell, a former CIA analyst who led the agency’s Latin America division.” STAYIN’ ALIVE — “Tampa Bay region teachers’ unions rallying to survive,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ William March. “The unions are seeking to meet requirements of a new law passed by the state Legislature last year that makes it harder for them to be certified to bargain for teachers, and harder to collect union dues.” MUSEUM BID — “Eatonville submits bid to become home of Florida African-American history museum,” reports Stephen Hudak of the Orlando Sentinel. “The town of Eatonville, long known for its historic origins as the nation’s first incorporated Black municipality, officially submitted its bid package Friday hoping to make it the home of Florida African-American history museum. The application includes a letter of conditional support from Orange County Public Schools for the museum to occupy up to 10 acres of the former Robert Hungerford Normal and Industrial School site, currently in a legal dispute.” SHIELDED — “Even after Marsy’s Law ruling, Tallahassee police shield officer involved in shooting,” reports Jeff Burlew of the Tallahassee Democrat. “After the Florida Supreme Court held that Marsy’s Law can’t be used to hide the identities of law enforcement who used deadly force, the Tallahassee Police Department is refusing to release the name and personnel file for one of two officers at the heart of the landmark case.” | | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
TOMORROW — Florida’s Presidential Preference Primary Election.
BROKE > WOKE — “Why Trump’s White House record mattered more than DeSantis’ culture-war fights,” by the Wall Street Journal’s Jimmy Vielkind and Ariel Zambelich. “Most Republicans generally agreed with the policies and said they supported DeSantis for pursuing them. But most also said his championing of those issues wasn’t enough to dislodge their support for Trump, largely because of the former president’s handling of immigration issues and the economy. This dynamic helps explain why a rising GOP star such as DeSantis, who seemed to have a finger on the pulse of the Republican base, couldn’t stop Trump from locking up the party’s nomination for president.” VOTING PATTERNS — “Hardline border policy unlikely to cost Trump in Miami-Dade, a community of immigrants,” reports the Miami Herald’s Max Greenwood and Syra Ortiz Blanes. “Though nationally Hispanic voters are more likely to side with Democrats on immigration, a notable number of Florida’s Hispanic voters — many of whom are immigrants themselves — see illegal immigration as a pervasive problem for the U.S., according to public polling. That could help Republicans win over even more support in a voter-rich part of Florida that has shifted rightward in recent years, or at least minimize any damage.” | | | | JOIN US ON 3/21 FOR A TALK ON FINANCIAL LITERACY: Americans from all communities should be able to save, build wealth, and escape generational poverty, but doing so requires financial literacy. How can government and industry ensure access to digital financial tools to help all Americans achieve this? Join POLITICO on March 21 as we explore how Congress, regulators, financial institutions and nonprofits are working to improve financial literacy education for all. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
HEIGHT-GATE — President Joe Biden mocked Gov. Ron DeSantis over his height during his roast at the journalists' Gridiron Dinner on Saturday evening. “We're committed to helping the little guy... Ron DeSantis, but he won't take our calls,” Biden said, per The Daily Mail.
MIDDLEMAN — “A Florida man who refused to sell his home to a developer now lives in the shadows,” per NPR’s Weekend Edition. “There's something unusual about a new real estate development in the posh South Florida city of Coral Gables. Smack-dab in the middle of the million-square-foot complex, there's a small house. On all sides, it's surrounded — by parking garages, office buildings and a 14-story hotel.” BIRTHDAYS: Mizell Stewart III, president and CEO of Emerging Leaders LLC … Step Up for Students’ Ron Matus ... former Florida Education Association President Andy Ford | | | | A message from the Florida Bankers Association: CONGRESS: OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL:
Cyber-attacks are on the rise, with large retailers like Target falling victim to breaches that expose customer information to hackers and foreign countries. Now, mega-retailers like Walmart and Home Depot want to leave you even more vulnerable to credit card cyber-attacks so they can pocket billions of dollars in additional profits. After Senator Dick Durbin passed similar routing mandates for debit cards in 2010, the fraud rate for debit cards increased by NEARLY 60%. A similar outcome for credit cards would likely cost OVER $6 BILLION in additional fraud and likely require passing much of the bill onto consumers. Congress must protect consumers, preserve the integrity of the payment ecosystem, and reject this detrimental and unnecessary government intervention into the U.S. payment system. Learn more: https://handsoffmyrewards.com/security/ | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
