Florida Legislators Have Turned Their Backs on Immigrants, Poder Latinx Responds to the Passage of SB 1718
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2023
CONTACT:
Jackie Smith | 989-576-1996 jsmith@poderlatinx.org
Florida Legislators Have Turned Their Backs on Immigrants
Poder Latinx Responds to the Passage of SB 1718
ORLANDO, FL - Yesterday, Florida legislators voted in favor of passing Senate Bill 1718, which contains policies that will impact Florida’s immigrant community. This bill has been one of the many parts of Governor DeSantis's legislative attacks on the immigrant community. House Representatives introduced common-sense amendments to SB 1718, many of which would have protected mixed-status families, DACA recipients, a patient’s right to privacy, and more. Of the 18 proposed changes to SB 1718, all were voted down by the majority. As of now, SB 1718 will go into effect on July 1, 2023.
The new law creates further restrictions for employers with 25 employees or more by requiring them to use the federal E-Verify system to check on a potential employee’s status and forces hospitals receiving state and federal Medicaid reimbursements to report the status of patients they treat; presents criminal charges in the form of human trafficking against an individual if they were found to be transporting an undocumented migrant across state lines and into Florida. A previous version of this bill included text that would potentially create this same penalty for such transportation within state lines; bars out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to non-citizens from use in Florida. Currently, 16 states and the District of Columbia issue this authorization. It also prevents local governments from distributing funds to organizations creating identification cards for undocumented immigrants; repeals a 2014 law that allowed undocumented immigrants to practice law in Florida. A previous version of this bill included text that would take away in-state tuition from Dreamers; and authorizes spending $12 million for the Division of Emergency Management’s Unauthorized Alien Transport Program.
The following statement is attributed to Yadira Sanchez, Executive Director of Poder Latinx:
“Governor DeSantis is using the immigrant community as a political pawn in his efforts to gain favor ahead of his presidential bid. He is using Florida to set an example of his national intentions if he was elected president, and this narrative will likely encourage other states to follow suit with his toxic rhetoric and policies. Poder Latinx will not stop working until our community achieves the dignity it deserves and we will not stand idly by while our community is being attacked. Our voter registration efforts are underway in Florida and across various states and we will continue our work of mobilizing voters at the ballot box, informing them of the impact each and every vote has. Poder Latinx invites our community to join us in the fight to protect immigrants in Florida and beyond and mobilize citizens to protect our immigrant communities by voting, using your voices for advocacy and protest, and encouraging each other to take action.”
The following statement is attributed to an impacted individual residing in Florida. Their identity will remain anonymous for safety measures.
“Although this bill is not something we didn’t expect from this legislature and governor, it is still disheartening that a state that thrives from immigrants and diversity still feels the need to alienate its rich immigrant community. We will not forget how this legislature tried to make it a felony for U.S. citizens to live with their mixed-status families, we will not forget that instead of proposing solutions to address the driver’s license problem we face in this state, this bill invalidates many forms of identification.
As an immigrant that grew up in Florida, I am fortunate to have made friends from all over the world - some born here, some not, but all Floridians. We have seen the detriment and fear bills like this have had in other states and now our community braces itself for a similar fate. Instead of preparing for a fun Florida summer, we brace ourselves for racial profiling.
Florida had the opportunity to provide meaningful solutions for our communities, such as funding ESOL programs but instead $12 million dollars are going to expel immigrants out of the state. Instead of upholding in-state tuition for Dreamers, it was attacked. No one denies that immigration reform is long overdue but Florida attacking mixed-status families is not going to help our community overcome challenges in the immigration system. This bill diminishes the contribution that our immigrant community makes in Florida, we deserve better than that, Florida deserves better than that.”
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Poder Latinx is dedicated to building a sustained progressive voting bloc of Latinx voters in battleground states across the country.