Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on May 10 – the day before Title 42 was lifted – signed Senate Bill 1718, which he called the "strongest anti-illegal immigration bill." This would mandate businesses to bar undocumented workers in the Sunshine State beginning July 1.
Once effective, businesses with 25 or more employees will be required to use the federal E-Verify system to check the legal status of all new employees. Businesses would face heavy fines for defying the law and employing undocumented migrants.
Florida is the third most populous state in America with 22.2 million residents. As per the Migration Policy Institute think tank, 772,000 of them are undocumented migrants working in important sectors such as agriculture, construction and hospitality.
The Florida Policy Institute warned that the state's economy might suffer a loss of $12.6 billion. There might also be losses in state and local tax revenue and reduced overall economic activity. But DeSantis thinks otherwise, touting the new law as a tool to combat crime and drug trafficking associated with illegal immigration.
The news release following the signing of the recent bill stated: "The Biden Border Crisis has wreaked havoc across the U.S. and has put Americans in danger. In Florida, we will not stand idly by while the federal government abandons its lawful duties to protect our country. The legislation I signed today gives Florida the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country, fighting back against reckless federal government policies and ensuring the Florida taxpayers are not footing the bill for illegal immigration."
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DeSantis, who is likely to go face-to-face with former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has been pushing the conservative agenda on issues like education, abortion and illegal immigration. (Related: The Zelenko Report: Roger Stone blasts Ron DeSantis over his plan to challenge Trump in GOP primaries for 2024 – Brighteon.TV.)
Many undocumented foreigners criticized DeSantis' stance. "All the politicians want their share of the cake and we pay the cost," one illegal worker said. "We came here to work, send money to our families, spend it here and pay taxes. This is unfair."
SB 1718 enhances crime of human smuggling in certain cases
Apart from the bill requirements mandating businesses to use E-Verify to determine whether the employees are legally allowed to work in the country, it will also invalidate driver's licenses issued in other states to drivers who lack legal status and prohibits local governments from providing money to organizations that issue identification cards to immigrants without legal status.
Moreover, it will require Florida hospitals that accept Medicaid to include a citizenship question on forms. This will discourage many illegal immigrants from getting medical care.
The law also provides $12 million for DeSantis' migrant relocation program. Last year, the governor flew a group of Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, to protest federal immigration policy.
According to Florida's official website, SB 1718 will also enhance the crime of human smuggling when smuggling a minor, when smuggling more than five people and when the defendant has a prior conviction for human smuggling. This bill also adds the crime of human smuggling to the list of crimes allowed for prosecution under the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act.
Visit DeSantisObserver.com to read the latest stories about the Florida governor.
Watch the video below where DeSantis announced he'll bus undocumented immigrants to Delaware.
This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.
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Florida liberal activists arrested after STORMING and occupying Gov. DeSantis' office.
Democrats float bill to allow LGBTQ migrants to walk into U.S. unrestricted.
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