The Quote Below—More Misinformation from the Media
“Florida’s newest crackdown on illegal migrants doesn’t take effect for weeks, but already the legislation is uprooting families and unsettling key pillars of Florida’s economy. It’s another reminder of how poorly we treat the powerless who take some of the most difficult jobs, and of the price that communities, employers and consumers face so that Republican leaders can weaponize their nationalist agenda. Florida needs to change course with immigration policies that are both humane and promote the state’s own interests.
“The new law that goes into effect July 1 makes it harder and riskier for some employers to hire immigrants who entered the country illegally. It expands the worker verification process and requires that businesses with 25 or more employees use E-Verify, an online citizenship check. The legislation prohibits local governments from funding programs that provide ID cards to people who “do not provide proof of lawful presence in the United States,” and it invalidates driver’s licenses that those migrants obtain from other states. The measure creates a third-degree felony for knowingly transporting such immigrants into Florida, and it requires major hospitals to collect a patient’s immigration status and to report those caseloads to the state.
“Gov. Ron DeSantis has seized the border crisis as a defining issue in his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. But whereas the law is a talking point in the 2024 campaign, its impacts in Florida are affecting real people. Hispanic groups organized demonstrations in Tampa and other Florida cities, warning the law would harm the economy. As the Tampa Bay Times’ Juan Carlos Chavez reported, viral videos showing abandoned farms and construction projects have sprung up on social media. Latino truck drivers also called for a suspension of deliveries to and from Florida on the day the law takes effect. . . .
“The law won’t ease the pressure on the border, or cause Florida’s economy to collapse. But it already has created more anxiety for undocumented families — many of whom have lived in and contributed to Florida for years — and brought greater uncertainty to the job market in key state industries.” – Here’s How a New Immigration Law Works against Florida’s Interests, Opinion, Tampa Bay Times, 6/15/23 [Link
Fact Check of Above Quote: The claim that the new Florida law will harm the state’s economy by prompting an immediate mass exodus of illegal workers is preposterous. E-Verify only applies to newly hired workers. People already employed, including illegal aliens, will not be checked. As for the restriction on IDs, most of the resident “undocumented” aliens already have bogus ID documents. Thus, we should take with a grain of salt those viral videos showing “abandoned farms and construction projects,” which the aliens supposedly fled before the Florida law was even enacted. This opinion piece itself momentarily touches on truth when it concedes that the law won’t “cause Florida’s economy to collapse.”
What the law will do is send a message to illegal aliens that they are not welcome in the state. Over time this may discourage new arrivals while encouraging a slow but steady exodus of resident illegals. If more states followed Florida’s example, there would be less of a magnet to draw foreigners to cross our border.
This piece truly misleads when it claims that the Florida law was an action against the “powerless.” In reality, illegal aliens have the backing and support of the most powerful economic and political interests in our country. These interests don’t have the interest of our country at heart, as evidenced by their unrelenting efforts to erase our southern border. Aiding and abetting them are their media servants like the Tampa Bay Times.