The Honduran Foreign Minister, Eduardo Enrique Reina, affirmed that the immigration law SB 1718, promoted by the governor of the state of Florida, Ron DeSantis, which severely punishes irregular immigrants, and those who help them in Florida, is a cruel measure to thousands of people who live in this southern state of the United States.
Florida’s controversial rule SB 1718, which, among other things, penalizes companies that hire undocumented immigrants, hospitals, and people who collaborate with immigrants, has caused thousands of undocumented immigrants to move to other states, fearful of possible deportation. in the midst of an internal exodus from the United States.
The new regulation in Florida requires companies with more than 25 employees to use a program to verify the immigration status of each of their employees, and makes it a crime to travel in a car across state lines with an undocumented person serious that can lead to a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.
Given this, the Honduran foreign minister stated that the law will affect everyone in a timely manner. As I tell a large number of immigrants and their families (…) It will be a cruel and dramatic law that will almost cause an exodus of thousands of people who will go out and look for opportunities,” Reina said in statements to Channel 5 of Tegucigalpa.
He noted that Honduras proposed to Guatemala and El Salvador to define a common position regarding the SB1718 law, promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis. “We as Honduras have been talking with Guatemala, with El Salvador, to perhaps see a common position on this issue,” he said.
Chancellor Reina affirmed that he will not visit or travel through Miami again to protest SB 1718, which he considers strong legislation and that Florida must feel the impact of the rejection of the countries. “The most we can do is try to alleviate it by supporting our immigrants in whatever we can, in their documentation, in whatever is necessary,” he asserted.
SB 1718 threatens almost 400,000 undocumented immigrants who work in six important sectors in Florida, which represents almost 10% of the state’s labor force. Florida’s new immigration measures will directly affect work for undocumented people, their children’s schooling, and their access to the public health system.
With information from EFE
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