Florida Governor and potential 2024 presidential contender Ron DeSantis (R) established one of the nation’s strictest immigration policies, and illegal immigrants are purportedly “self-deporting” themselves out of the state.
Before the new immigration legislation takes effect in Florida in July, one of the most famous Latino advocacy groups in the United States advises people to avoid coming there.
The act prompted the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) to warn its members from visiting Florida, calling the state “hostile and dangerous.”
Employers who do not utilize E-Verify to verify their workers’ legal right to work in the United States face daily fines of $1,000. This is only one of several new procedures mandated under the legislation. It also makes it a crime to use a phony ID to get a job and suspends the licenses of businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. Similarly, it forbids states and Non-Govermental Organizations from providing illegal immigrants with identity documents.
The bill also prohibits Florida-based agencies from providing new identity cards to illegal aliens and nullifies any such cards granted by other states. This will make it so illegal immigrants cannot lawfully obtain a driver’s license in the state. Those who aid in transporting persons in the United States who are here illegally risk heavy penalties and even jail time.
DeSantis’s possible challenge to former President Donald Trump and others in the 2024 Republican presidential primary is only one reason why he signed numerous contentious bills, including the immigration law, in recent weeks.
In a statement released after he signed the measure earlier this month, DeSantis said it was necessary to take action because federal policy is putting an economic strain on Florida taxpayers.
On Wednesday, Guzmán stated that laws like this are bad for a state’s economy.
Francisco Maldonado, a farmer, agreed, saying, “Immigrant workers are the drivers of Florida’s economy” and that the new legislation is “really punching down on the communities that make this economy run.”
