Florida: Ron DeSantis' Anti-Immigration Law Starts Hurting Businesses

A month after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' controversial immigration law came into effect, Florida businesses are struggling from the lack of workers turned away by its harsh rules.

DeSantis proudly called his law "the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country." It was part of the governor's push to attract more of the GOP base to his side as he runs for president, but the law has proven costly for local businesses in agriculture, construction, and hospitality that mostly rely on undocumented immigrants because of the cheap labor they provide.

Since it took effect on July 1, Florida hospitals are now required to ask patients their immigration status and employers are now required to use an electronic database to identify if the people they hired are in the country illegally. Under this new law, undocumented immigrants are also not allowed to have driver's licenses, and the driver's licenses from some states that allow undocumented immigrants to have one are deemed invalid.

This has driven many undocumented immigrants, from laborers to cooks to farm workers to construction workers to move out of the state and look for work elsewhere. Many move to Georgia where farms tend not to care about immigration status.

Housing prices in Florida are sky-high right now, which means it should be good for the construction industry. However, Yahoo! News reported that developers often find it difficult to complete their big projects in the state because of the lack of cheap labor that undocumented immigrants provide.

While there are immigrant workers allowed to work in the US, many of them also have families who are undocumented. They also left the state for fear for their loved ones as they are afraid they might be persecuted under this new Florida immigration law.

Rising Fear and Confusion Brought by Florida Immigration Law

Thanks to Ron DeSantis' new law, immigrants are now scared of going to the hospital because it might lead to them getting deported, with undocumented migrants also fearing discrimination if it is found that they are undocumented.

Paul R. Chavez, senior supervising attorney for the Immigrant Justice Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, slammed the vague wording in the law, saying, that it does not comport with the laws of the federal government.

Groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center are suing the Florida government and trying to have the law thrown out. Chavez stated that there is existing case law where states like Georgia and Alabama tried similar anti-immigrant laws. This means that there is a good chance that they might win.

Injunction Sought Vs. Ron DeSantis' New Florida Immigration Law

The Florida immigration law has already been challenged on its constitutionality as attorneys for migrants and advocates asked a federal judge for a preliminary injunction against it on Tuesday.

The immigrant advocates target the section that targets the transportation of migrants, arguing that federal law governing this issue will trump state law, according to CBS News.

"(The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals) has squarely held that Congress has preempted the entire field of migrant transport - that states cannot enact any laws in this field," the filing said. "That alone establishes that (the disputed section of state law) is preempted and must be enjoined. (The section) is also preempted because it prevents immigrants from entering Florida, and because it creates a new immigration classification that does not exist in federal law. Clear precedent establishes that both are impermissible."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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