Florida to Go After Parents Who Pay Cartels to Smuggle Their Children Into US

Unaccompanied minors hold hands as they await transport after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States from Mexico on a raft in Penitas, Texas, on March 12, 2021. Adrees Latif/Reuters

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to investigate and prosecute parents who pay transnational criminal organizations to smuggle their children illegally across the U.S. southern border.

DeSantis filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court on June 17 requesting that a statewide grand jury be impaneled for the initial duration of a year.