DeSantis Tells Cops: 'Make The Smart Move To FL'

FLORIDA — Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has a message for Chicago-area police officers, and it's slated to show up soon on billboards across the city: Be smart. Move to Florida.

On Thursday, DeSantis' office announced plans to erect billboards throughout the Greater Chicago area "where crime rates are soaring," according to a release, to recruit law enforcement officers to the Sunshine State.

Through the Florida Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Payment Program, out-of-state police officers who opt to relocate to Florida will receive a $5,000 signing bonus, according to the governor's office.

"Citizenship Matters. Law Enforcement Matters," the billboards will read, according to an image obtained by Fox News. "Make the Smart Move to Florida!"

According to the governor's announcement, DeSantis targeted Illinois due to a law allowing foreign nationals to become police officers.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 3751 into law in July. The bill, which bucked federal law, drew outrage from some, including Colorado Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who tweeted that in Illinois, "illegals can now become police officers" and that "people who are breaking the law by their presence here can now arrest American citizens."

Despite Boebert's claim, the law does not allow people who are in the United States illegally to apply for police jobs. According to the legislation, "an individual who is not a citizen but is legally authorized to work in the United States under federal law is authorized to apply for the position of police officer."

DeSantis' office also cited the elimination of Illinois' cash bail system, a policy his administration has rejected.

According to the governor's office, more than 750 law enforcement officers from 48 states and two U.S. territories have relocated to Florida. More than 37 were from Illinois.

"Florida strongly supports law enforcement and has consistently enacted commonsense criminal justice policies to keep our communities safe," DeSantis said in a release. “We stand behind our citizen officers, and we give them the tools to succeed professionally and personally. Other states deputize non-citizens, enact policies that favor criminals over victims, and work to overtly or covertly defund the police, but not in Florida. I look forward to welcoming the Illinois men and women in blue to the law-and-order state."