Gov. Ron DeSantis was Ron "Defiant" on Wednesday. Floridas chief executive called a news conference in Winter Haven to reiterate his request for state lawmakers to convene a special session on immigration in less than two weeks. Despite this, leaders in the Florida House and Senate remain firm in their opposition.During the over-an-hour-long media event, DeSantis outlined his plan to prepare Florida for President-Elect Donald Trumps mass deportation initiative. The fellow Republican has promised to implement it on day one of his presidency, January 20.The governors eight objectives include establishing state crimes for illegal migration, requiring local law enforcement to fully comply with federal immigration law, mandating voters affirm their citizenship and residency, and appointing a state immigration czar to oversee the entire process.This renewed push for immigration enforcement follows criticism from fellow Florida Republicans in the legislature, including the Senate President and House Speaker. In a joint statement on Monday, Senate President Ben Albritton (R-Bartow) and House Speaker Danny Perez (R-Miami) described the idea as premature and irresponsible. They preferred to wait for the White House to issue specific orders before drafting laws, considering the regular session is just weeks away in March.DeSantis wasnt happy about it.It just appalls me to see these guys who run for office tell the voters what they want to hear. Then they get inits like they get in, and they get amnesia DeSantis said. No, its not premature to stand strong against illegal immigration. If anything, its overdue.Under the leadership of Perez and Albritton, lawmakers have shown signs of increased autonomy for weeks, whether through comments or rejection of specific policy goals supported by the governor. It marks a departure from previous years when DeSantis had significant influence over the legislature, rarely not getting his way.Last month, we asked President Albritton about the governors political influence. He described DeSantis as a reasonable person and dismissed the notion that pressure would change his stance on certain topics.I view it as an interaction, said Albritton. We have a dialogue, which matters, right? The other thing that the three of us, the speaker, the Governor, and I, work very hard to do is to listen well, to communicate well. Were all Republicans. We all largely want the same thing. Its just we want to come at it sometimes from different angles. We have different experiences.Beyond the controversy, the governors ideas have received mixed reviews outside the legislature. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri expressed his support for the concept.You know - we need to see the specifics of it, he said. None of us want to be or see people victimized by criminals, and if youre here illegally and committing crimes, you need to go.Meanwhile, immigration attorneys have cautioned that the ideas may conflict with the US Constitution, which grants broad immigration authority to the federal government.Anything that has to do with nationality discrimination would most likely be challenged in court, and the challenging party would prevail, said Renata Castro, a Florida-based immigration attorney. Even if Trump has a very staunch, hard stance on immigration law, he still has to respect due process in the American Constitution.Florida Democrats continue to criticize the special session as rushed, tone-deaf, and a waste of time.People are concerned about property insurance, said Florida House Minority Leader Rep. Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa). Theyre concerned about housing affordability. What the governor is proposing does none of that.