Florida state congressmen Rick Roth, Alina García and Juan Fernández-Barquín voted for SB 1718, which punishes undocumented immigrants, but are now asking these people not to flee the state.
The Republican legislators were called by religious leaders to speak to the community of Hialeah, a city that is part of the Miami-Dade metropolitan area.
Roth, García and Fernández Barquín told attendees that the law has “loopholes” that can complicate the law against immigrants and recognized that the initiative was created to “scare immigrants away.”
Lawmakers now fear the flight of undocumented workers, due to requirements for employers with more than 25 workers to use the E-Verify system.
“It is very dangerous for agriculture. We desperately need more legal workers and this will make it worse,” Roth warned, according to an NPR report.
In addition to the provisions for workers, Law SB 1718 contemplates penalties for those who transport undocumented immigrants to Florida, requires hospitals that work with Medicaid to ask about the immigration status of patients, and ignores the driver’s licenses that other states grant to undocumented immigrants.
Roth assured that the law is aimed at employers, not immigrants, although it has generated fear among this population and affects them by limiting their possibilities of working and obtaining services.
“The bill really has a lot of loopholes that give you peace of mind,” Roth said. “And the main goal of the bill is to discourage people from coming and strengthen enforcement going forward.”
The norm also limits social services for undocumented immigrants, in addition to allocating millions of dollars to expand the immigrant relocation program promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Despite those punishments, Roth says, “It’s not as bad as you heard.”
“So that’s why I’m trying to tell people that it’s more of a political bill than a policy,” he said. “I am a farmer and the farmers are very angry. We are losing employees who are already starting to move to Georgia and other states. It is urgent that you talk to all your people and convince them that you have resources, state representatives”.
Several reports from civil organizations and employers warn of the exodus of workers, something that is expected to increase as of July 1, when the law is implemented.
Lawyers even warn that the rule could lead to racist actions.