The anti-immigrant law SB 1718 enacted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and which will go into effect on July 1 to punish undocumented immigrants, can also be applied to any resident of the state who violates it, said the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). ) in a recent article.
SB 1718, among other provisions, limits social services for undocumented immigrants, allocates taxes to expand DeSantis’ immigrant resettlement program, invalidates driver’s licenses issued by other states to undocumented persons, and requires Medicaid-funded hospitals request the immigration status of patients, in addition to imposing the E-Verify system to verify the immigration status of any worker.
To better understand the scope of SB 1718, it is convenient to know the penalties that are imposed for violating this state law.
For breaching the contracting rule
SB 1718 will require private employers with 25 or more employees hiring new workers to use E-Verify, the database employers use to confirm whether someone is eligible to work in the US.
The Governor’s website has a graphic stating that employers who do not use E-Verify will be fined $1,000 per day. For workers, it will be a felony to use a false ID to get a job.
Other penalties range from requiring repayment of any economic development incentive to revoking or suspending state licenses to operate a business.
Sanctions considered as human trafficking
A person who transports someone to Florida who they know (or should have known) to be an undocumented immigrant could be charged with felony human smuggling.
If you are found transporting fewer than five immigrants on your first offense you could be charged with a third degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison per person or a $5,000 fine for each undocumented person, with penalties increasing by one. subsequent offense or for transporting more people or children.
But, a much more serious implication is that SB 1718 expands the scope of Florida’s RICO statute to include “trafficking in persons” as “an activity of organized crime” which could be a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to AILA.
Declare illegal driving licenses for undocumented immigrants
SB 1718 established that non-Florida driver’s licenses are “invalid” if they are issued “exclusively to undocumented immigrants who cannot demonstrate lawful presence in the United States when the licenses are issued.”
The types of licenses that are not valid also include state identification cards, which would only be legal with the security standards established by the REAL ID Act.
A person with an illegal license under SB 1718 can be cited for driving without a license, with a fine of up to $500 or up to 60 days in jail.
What will be the impact in Florida
Although it is not yet possible to quantify the impact that SB 1718 will have since it has not yet gone into effect, experts estimate that its impact on the state’s economy is likely to be significant.
A 2019 report from the Migration Policy Institute estimated that there are more than 700,000 undocumented people in Florida’s workforce.
Similarly, a 2021 report from the New American Economy Research Fund indicated that approximately 42% of Florida farmworkers are undocumented.
Keep reading:
– Activists affirm that the new Florida immigration law will leave millions in losses in the state
– Florida Republicans who voted for Ron DeSantis’ SB 1718 now urge immigrants not to flee
– Immigrants warned of racism in Florida with Ron DeSantis’s SB 1718 Law