Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill that ends “squatters’ rights,” allowing homeowners to call police and remove illegal occupants.
The bill, HB 621, goes into effect on July 1.
During a press conference, DeSantis said, “What passes muster in New York and California is not passing muster here. You are not gonna be able to commandeer someone’s property and expect to get away with it.”
“We are, in the state of Florida, ending the squatter scam once and for all.”
Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody explained in a press release that the bill follows illegal immigrants sharing their plans to “take over homes.”
“Biden has allowed millions of illegal immigrants to flood across the border. After video evidence of their plan to take over homes emerged, we’re ensuring Floridians are protected from this egregious and brazen scheme,” Moody stated. “I’m grateful to Governor DeSantis for signing this important legislation into law, and to Representative Kevin Steele for carrying this bill through Session.”
Last week, Venezuelan migrant Leonel Moreno posted a video on TikTok telling migrants how to take unoccupied homes in the United States.
“I have thought about invading a house in the United States. I found out that there is a law that says that if a house is not inhabited we can seize it,” he says in the video.
He added some of his friends have “already taken about seven houses.”
According to Newsweek, Moreno is wanted by ICE as an “absconder.”