Life gets scarier for migrants in Florida

Anew, all-encompassing anti-illegal-immigration law, with several malevolent components, will take effect in Florida on July 1. Its main goal, sadly, is simple: To guarantee that no undocumented immigrant in Florida can rest easy.

But it will impact us all, economically, socially and for some morally.

The law, pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis as a far-right response to President Joe Biden’s perceived inaction on border policy, will discourage undocumented immigrants from settling down in Florida by making it so difficult for them to find work, health care and receive relatives’ assistance that they will leave or avoid Florida altogether.

“In Florida, we will not stand idly by while the federal government abandons its lawful duties to protect our country. The legislation I signed today gives Florida the most ambitious anti-illegal-immigration laws in the country, fighting back against reckless federal government policies and ensuring the Florida taxpayers are not footing the bill for illegal immigration,” DeSantis said when he signed the bill into law in May.

Now, the impact of this master plan will begin to be felt as aspects of the bill take effect in just over a week.

In a special report Sunday, Miami Herald reporter Clara-Sophia Daly gave readers a glimpse of what this new law will mean for undocumented migrants, who quietly help prop up the South Florida economy, whether we admit to it or not.

It’s apparent, she learned, that fear is spreading not only among the undocumented workers already in the shadows, but also immigrant activists, and even employers, who usually hire the undocumented for jobs like picking fruit and vegetables and paying them under the table.

This law, of course, is a trophy from a compliant state Legislature that he can hoist in the air on his cross-country campaign for president, especially in areas where relocating immigrants from the Texas border to liberals strongholds, as DeSantis has done, is a badge of honor, not shame.

In essence, the law closes all doors on any chance the undocumented can live a regular life in Florida:

It punishes not only these migrants, but also anyone who helps or employs them. And it makes it more onerous for them to seek medical treatment.

It requires private employers with 25 or more employees to use the E-Verify system for new employees beginning July 1. It also expands penalties for employers who fail to comply with E-Verify requirements, including the possible suspension and revocation of employer licenses and the imposition of specific penalties on employers knowingly employing migrants who entered the country illegally. In the past, E-Verify has been unreliable in its results.

It creates a third-degree felony for an unauthorized immigrant to knowingly use a false ID document to gain employment.

It prohibits a county or municipality from providing funds to any person or organization for the purpose of issuing IDs or other documents to a migrant who entered the country illegally.

Undocumented migrants will no longer be permitted to rely on out-of-state driver’s licenses. If another state issued a license to someone unable to prove lawful presence in the United States, that person is prohibited from operating a motor vehicle in Florida.

The law also enhances the penalty for human smuggling when smuggling a minor, when smuggling more than five people and when the defendant has a prior conviction for human smuggling.

DeSantis’ law is aimed at making Florida a living hell for migrants who entered the country illegally, and it will touch the lives of the rest of us.