Florida’s House of Representatives passed the legislation in a vote of 77-34 on Friday morning. The state Senate passed the bill earlier this week.
The bill creates an Unauthorized Alien Transport Program though the state’s Emergency Management Division to facilitate the transport of "inspected unauthorized aliens within the United States," according to an official summary of the measure.
Last year, DeSantis sent by airplane approximately 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, in a political statement against US President Joe Biden’s mishandling of the nation’s southern border with Mexico.
Martha’s Vineyard was chosen as an end destination for the migrants due to its status as a so-called "sanctuary jurisdiction," where immigration laws are enforced selectively.
Earlier this month, US media reported that approximately 600,000 migrants who crossed into the United States are in legal limbo as the Biden administration continues to release them without charging documents or court appearance dates.
During his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, Biden called on lawmakers to work together to address mass migration via the US southern border as a bipartisan issue. Illegal immigration will remain an unfixed issue until Congress takes action, Biden said.