The University of Florida Board of Trustees has made a controversial appointment as school president, and Sen. Ashley Moody co-sponsors a bill that is aimed at making it easier to remove some "criminal aliens" from the country.
University of Florida Board of Trustees approves Santa Ono as president
The University of Florida’s Board of Trustees has signed off on the school’s new president. It will be Santa Ono, who will begin taking over the university in Gainesville.
He replaces Ben Sasse, who stepped down last year. Ono was not a slam dunk to get approval from the board Tuesday.
He faced pushback from conservative leaders because he had supported DEI initiatives in the past, including in a speech Ono gave in 2023 when he was president at the University of Michigan.
“Racism is one of America’s original sins, and the University of Michigan has not been immune," he said." "So, as we look to DEI 2.0, let us strive to nurture thoughtful and understanding citizens. And further establish campuses and communities where each individual can live in peace and safety. And can learn and grow and thrive."
On Tuesday, Ono told the board he told no longer believes in DEI, and supports Gov. Ron DeSantis in outlawing it in Florida.
But not everyone is impressed. Sarasota Rep. Greg Steube has been vocal in his opposition to Ono.
He continued that Tuesday afternoon, writing: “The UF board of trustees has made a grave mistake. Today doctor Ono gave it his best college try, walking back his woke past, claiming he’s evolved, but I’m not sold. This role is too important to gamble on convenient conversions.”
The Florida University system’s Board of Governors still has to approve Ono as UF president.
Moody sponsors legislation seeking to make it easier to remove 'criminal aliens'
Sen. Ashley Moody is introducing legislation to support President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Called the Expedited Removal of Criminal Aliens Act, Sen. Eric Schmitt is co-sponsoring the measure with Moody.
“The American people gave President Trump a mandate to clean up Biden’s mess," Moody said in a statement. "Democrats and lower-level, partisan judges, however, have sought to block his efforts at every turn," she argued. "They have claimed that dangerous criminal illegal aliens and MS-13 gang members like Kilmar Abrego Garcia are just family men living quiet lives in America and they couldn’t be more wrong.”
The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered that the federal government facilitate Abrego Garcia's return to the U.S. after the Trump administration admitted his deportation was "an administrative error."
A U.S. immigration judge had shielded Abrego Garcia from deportation to El Salvador in 2019, ruling that he would likely face persecution there by local gangs that had terrorized his family. He also was given a federal permit to work in the United States, where he was a metal worker and union member, according to Abrego Garcia's lawyers.
Despite administration officials' claims, Abrego Garcia's family and attorneys say he has never been a member of MS-13.
If passed, the bill would authorize the expedited removal for illegal immigrants who are identified as being a member of any of three categories: Being a member of a criminal gang or organization; a member of a foreign terrorist organization or someone who has provided material support to such an organization; or someone who is a convicted felon.
