Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) has proposed what is being hailed as the nation’s toughest crackdown on illegal immigration, and the Florida legislature is moving swiftly to enact it. Florida will have the strongest prohibitions against illegal immigration in “modern Florida history.” The Washington Examiner called it the “legal equivalent of a physical wall.” The act would reportedly make it considerably more difficult for illegal immigrants to earn a livelihood in the state by restricting their access to resources.
On February 23, the governor outlined his policy strategy. Its purpose is to combat the border crisis generated by President Biden’s administration and dissuade illegal immigrants from entering the Sunshine State.
Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Florida) is a strong advocate for the proposal. He introduced a law that has several immigration restrictions. It promotes stricter criminal punishments for concerns ranging from people smuggling to using fraudulent identification cards for employment authorization. This includes harsher penalties for traffickers under 18 years old. The idea also intends to monitor the immigration status of hospitalized individuals.
Ingoglia said Bill 1718 is the most comprehensive and toughest state-led anti-illegal immigrant legislation ever proposed. Ingoglia said it is regrettable that state governments must intervene to safeguard their citizens from the Biden administration’s ineptitude and illegal open-border policies.
According to James Massa, CEO of NumbersUSA, the legislation will strive to construct “a legal barrier” rather than a physical barrier, as stated in DeSantis’ approach.
Under the new legislation, out-of-state driver’s licenses would be invalid, including those granted to one million illegal immigrants in California.
The governor’s proposal would overturn a 2014 legislation allowing some illegal immigrants to attend college at in-state tuition rates and ban them from acquiring a law license.
Employers found to be employing illegal immigrants would be liable to a sliding scale of financial fines and jail time, with license revocation as the last sanction for persistent violators. Using investigative subpoenas, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement could do random inspections at businesses.
This latest bill by DeSantis and the Republicans has incensed the left. The Hispanic Caucus of Congress described Ingoglia’s measure as “inhumane and disgusting.” But, Ingoglia believes that the Republican-controlled House and Senate will approve the law before the session ends in early May.
When the governor weighs in on a piece of legislation like this, you can know that it will pass and become law, Ingoglia stated in a phone interview on Friday.
Ingoglia argues that DeSantis’ comprehensive policy might model how other Republican states handle immigration. People will continue to cross the border illegally unless you remove the incentives for doing so, he said. If states such as Florida and Texas approve comparable laws removing the magnets, it will compel the federal government to repair the legal immigration system and secure the border. But the federal government will never act without outside forces, which is why Florida is doing it.