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Florida Senate passes sweeping legislation on illegal immigration during special session

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Senate voted Thursday to pass sweeping immigration legislation.

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The legislation aims to make several major changes, including:

Read: Required death penalty sought in immigration plan

Make it a state-level crime to knowingly enter into Florida illegally

Deny bail and raise penalties for undocumented immigrants who commit a crime

Appropriate $250 million for local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law

It would also slash in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants

Read: New York isn’t alone when it comes to granting driver’s licenses to immigrants without legal status

Democrats also attempted to pass last-minute amendments to the legislation.

However, all of those last-minute amendments failed, including the attempt to save in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants. Some students watching inside the State Capitol got emotional when the amendment failed.

Read: ACLU sues for access to migrants flown to Guantanamo this month

If everything passes the House and is signed by the governor, it would have an effect this summer.

Watch our full report in the video above.

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