This week, I made a visit to the U.S. Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas where I assessed U.S. border security and saw with my own eyes the Florida assets that are in Eagle Pass. The border crisis is a man made crisis and the Biden Administration has dismantled the deterrence measures that kept people from crossing the border. Through our various emergency agreements, Florida is providing critical personnel to support Texas. Florida is a force-multiplier. At every engagement with an illegal immigrant, they’re putting their lives at risk. When these folks cross the border, they don’t just stay in Texas. They’re coming to Florida, and many of them have dangerous intentions. Governor DeSantis deserves much praise for deploying these assets, and as the guy who controls the checkbook, I’ll continue supporting this mission.

Additionally, this morning, I was honored to join Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Florida Task Force 2 at their training facility in Miami. It was a great opportunity to assess our state’s disaster preparedness efforts and highlight the hard work of these heroes ahead of the 2024 hurricane season. These men and women are the first boots on the ground following a disaster including the Surfside Condo Collapse and Hurricane Ian and I can't thank them enough for all they have done and continue to do to protect Floridians. As CFO & State Fire Marshal, I will continue to fight to ensure that our US&R teams have all of the training and resources they need.

Lastly, I announced that more than $33 million in unclaimed property was returned to Floridians during the month of March. Since I took office in 2017, nearly $2.4 billion in unclaimed property has been returned to Florida citizens. An estimated one in five Floridians has unclaimed property just waiting to be claimed. That’s why I encourage every Floridian to search now for yourself, your friends, your loved ones, and even your business at FLTreasureHunt.gov. 

Sincerely,

Jimmy Patronis Chief Financial Officer State of Florida

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