As it stands, taxpayers are footing the bill for a host of services and benefits for illegal immigrants. After arriving, it's easy for them to find work in the hospitality, farming and agriculture, and food services industries, to name just a few, and many states have made it legal to obtain government-issued driver’s licenses. With the Biden administration's failure to secure the southern border, and now every state feeling the effects of the influx, Florida Republicans got to work on addressing the issue. And it appears to already be working.
In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 1718, "the strongest anti-illegal immigration legislation in the country." One part of the law prohibits driver's licenses being issued to those who cannot provide proof of their lawful presence in the country, and deems out-of-state driver's licenses issued to illegal immigrants invalid, which went into effect on July 1.
"Someone who is in our country illegally and has violated our laws should not possess a government-issued ID which allows them access to state-funded services and other privileges afforded to lawful residents," DeSantis said in a statement. "The Biden administration may continue to abdicate its responsibilities to secure our border, but Florida will stand for the rule of law. Even if the federal government refuses, Florida will act decisively to protect our citizens, our state, and our country."
According to a CBS report titled, "Migrant workers said to be leaving Florida over new immigration law," it appears to already be working.
"We are hearing people are starting to leave," Yvette Cruz with the Farmworkers Association of Florida told CBS News of reports of migrant workers abandoning fields and construction projects. "We're just gonna keep seeing that more as the law will take effect."
The law also includes harsh penalties for those who try and hire or transport undocumented migrants, which critics say can include family members.
It also requires hospitals that receive Medicaid funds to ask for a patient's immigration status. (CBS News)
At a recent campaign rally, DeSantis explained why illegal immigration has become such a big issue: "At the end of the day, you wouldn't have the illegal immigration problem if you didn't have a lot of people who were facilitating this in our country."
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As of July 1, licenses from Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont are no longer valid if the driver is in the country illegally.
