The recent legislation in Florida and Texas targeting undocumented immigrants has led to many Hispanics reconsidering which state they want to live in.
Following the recent signing of a bill by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) which placed sanctions on employing undocumented workers, videos have started going viral featuring empty workplaces.
Mario Carrillo, campaigns manager for America’s Voice, a progressive immigration advocacy group stated about the video that while they were a form of protest and a way of showing that the undocumented workers were needed, it also exhibits a sense of fear that the community is experiencing following the new legislation.
The Florida law is scheduled to go into effect on July 1 and is going to make life for undocumented immigrants and their communities much tougher. Domingo García, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) stated that “Florida is a dangerous, hostile environment for law-abiding Americans and immigrants” but that this has not always been the case. He added that they wanted everyone to understand that people could be arrested for just talking to someone at the hospital or Disney World.
As part of the provisions of the new bill, the state would also not recognize driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants from other states. Florida counties would also be completely blocked from issuing any form of ID cards for undocumented immigrants. Finally, all employers would be required to use E-Verify prior to hiring someone in order to prevent those without the proper authorization from getting work. However, those who oppose this have pointed out that the E-Verify system will often return false positives blocking even those who should be allowed to work from getting a job.
