According to a state law approved by the legislature, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has the authority to relocate undocumented immigrants anywhere in the US.
Along party lines, the legislation was approved by both Republican-controlled chambers and is now on its way to Mr. DeSantis' desk for his signature.
A lawsuit was brought about by the Florida governor's last year's flight of migrants from Texas to Massachusetts.
The Republican is a hot favorite to win the presidency in 2024.
Florida lawmakers gave Mr. DeSantis effective control of the board that monitors construction in and around Disney's state theme parks on Friday as well, raising the stakes in his conflict with the media giant, whom he has dubbed "woke.".
The bill gives the governor the power to appoint five supervisors to serve on a board that will oversee development in the Walt Disney World resort's neighborhood. The board has the authority to postpone or thwart Disney's plans to develop the 25,000 acres, such as the construction of a new theme park, hotel, or road.
This week, Mr. DeSantis declared, "There's a new sheriff in town," declaring victory in his dispute with the largest private employer in the state.
Mr. DeSantis transported undocumented immigrants on two aircraft last year from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, a wealthy community in Massachusetts that leans liberal.
The flights, according to Democrats and their allies, were a political gimmick that amounted to human trafficking.
However, during the floor discussion on the new Unauthorized Alien Transport Program on Thursday in Tallahassee, Republican lawmakers argued that it was "humanitarian" to provide a "free, chartered flight" for migrants who wanted to travel elsewhere in the US.
Buses from Texas and Arizona have also been used to transport unauthorized immigrants to Democratic-controlled cities like Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC.
Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams initially greeted the migrants, but in July he called them a "real burden" on public services.
Officials in the city recently purchased bus tickets for migrants to Canada.
According to Customs and Border Protection data, more than 2.76 million undocumented immigrants crossed the southwest US border during the fiscal year 2022, breaking the previous record by more than one million.
Many saw the initial transportation of undocumented migrants from Republican-controlled states to Democratic-controlled cities elsewhere in the US as a publicity stunt with little real significance.
It turns out that the programs have made their proponents the subject of frequent national headlines by giving mayors of cities like New York City and Washington, DC, very real problems.
Ron DeSantis has made an attempt to participate. But his problem is that there aren't that many illegal immigrants coming into his state.
The Texas Governor Greg Abbott has "good political fortune" being in a border state, according to the New York Times, but Mr. DeSantis once complained about it to donors. Despite facing legal challenges regarding the legitimacy and funding of his program, he persisted in trying his hand at migrant transportation.
With the help of this new Florida law, he will be able to increase the number of flights and buses regardless of where the migrants are, allowing him to tout his immigration hardline credentials without competing with his Texas counterpart in Florida and perhaps on the presidential campaign trail.
