Gov. Ron DeSantis’ implementation of a comprehensive immigration law on Saturday has had a significant impact on Florida’s illegal alien population.
“We have reports of people starting to walk out,” Yvette Cruz, a representative of the Florida Farm Workers Association, told CBS News last week before the enactment of state Senate Bill 1718.
“As the law goes into effect, we expect to see more departures,” he said.
This legislation was signed by DeSantis on May 10, two weeks before he announced his presidential campaign.
“In the midst of Biden’s border crisis, our nation has been thrown into chaos and has put American citizens at risk,” he said in a statement at the time. “In Florida, we will not passively watch as the federal government neglects its legal responsibilities to protect our country.
“By signing the legislation today, Florida now has the nation’s most comprehensive anti-illegal immigration laws, rolling back reckless federal policies and ensuring Florida taxpayers are not burdened with the costs of illegal immigration. legal”.
SB 1718 contains several provisions intended to address illegal immigration. Transporting undocumented immigrants into Florida with knowledge of their immigration status can result in a felony charge. According to ABC News, out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to unauthorized immigrants are no longer valid in the state.
The new law also expands worker verification requirements, WTVJ-TV reports. Businesses with 25 or more employees must use E-Verify to verify the eligibility of new hires. Failure to comply could result in license revocation and fines of $1,000 per employee per day.
“Any company that exploits this crisis by employing illegal aliens instead of hiring Floridians will face the consequences,” said DeSantis spokesman Jeremy Redfern.
According to NBC News, an unauthorized immigrant, as a result of the law, plans to stay until they are asked to leave the country and return to Mexico.
Some employers are worried about labor shortages, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“Employees who used to work on the farms are no longer available,” said Hitesh Kotecha, owner of a produce packing facility. “How are we going to manage the farms?”
“We’ve seen some impacts on jobs, especially in relation to hourly work, because of this new law,” explained Tom Murphy, co-president of Coastal Construction.
“While we fully support the proper documentation of the immigrant workforce, the new law is making an already difficult situation worse,” he added.
During a recent press conference, DeSantis blamed those responsible for creating the issue of illegal immigration, making it clear that he included President Joe Biden and his administration in that category.
Against a backdrop with the words “Biden’s border crisis,” the governor stated, “Ultimately, we wouldn’t have an illegal immigration problem if we didn’t have a lot of people facilitating it in our country . And so in Florida, that’s not a favorable position to be in.”
According to a 2019 Pew Research Center estimate, Florida was home to about 775,000 illegal immigrants.
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