Florida Planning Toughest Statewide Crackdown on Illegal Immigration in U.S.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is leading the charge to introduce a comprehensive suite of measures aimed at combating illegal immigration in the state, which, if passed, will represent the most stringent clampdown on irregular immigration by any state in over ten years. These measures are designed to take on President Biden’s “open borders agenda,” which has directly contributed to a humanitarian crisis at the country’s southern border. Both chambers of the Republican-dominated legislature have overwhelmingly backed this legislation, and it is expected to pass in the coming weeks.

If passed, these measures would criminalize the harboring, employing, or transportation of undocumented immigrants, carrying potential felony charges. Hospitals would also be obliged to verify the immigration status of patients and report it to the state. Out-of-state driver’s licenses obtained by illegal immigrants will be rendered invalid, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will have a new responsibility of supporting federal authorities in enforcing the country’s immigration laws.

Aside from these measures, Gov. DeSantis has proposed a separate bill to revoke a 2014 law enacted by his forerunner, Rick Scott, now serving as a U.S. senator, that provides in-state college tuition for undocumented students and DACA beneficiaries brought to the U.S. as minors under the Obama administration.

If implemented, these new measures would become the most comprehensive immigration legislation enacted by a state since Arizona’s 2010 “Show me your papers” law requiring police to check the immigration status of individuals they detained and had reasonable suspicion of being in the country illegally.

“With this legislation, Florida is continuing to crack down on the smuggling of illegal aliens… Florida is a law and order state, and we won’t turn a blind eye to the dangers of Biden’s Border Crisis,” said DeSantis in a press conference in February.

These bills’ supporters include Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, who argued that human smuggling, drug trafficking, and other unlawful operations increasingly spill across the southern border into the state, harming residents’ hard-earned wealth and freedoms through criminal endeavors.

Republican leaders and lawmakers have blamed President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for losing control of the situation after the U.S.-Mexico boundary recorded a historic 2.5 million migrant apprehensions last year. In response, DeSantis chartered two private planes last year to move Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Massachusetts’ Martha’s Vineyard, sparking outrage from left-wing activists and wealthy locals. He also declared a state of emergency in January, deploying the National Guard when boats carrying Cuban and Haitian migrants arrived at the Florida Keys, which occurred again the next month.

“When Biden continues to ignore his legal responsibilities, we will step in to support our communities,” DeSantis said in January.

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