The True Severity of Florida Immigration Law, Analyzed by a Subject Matter Expert

One day before the Title 42 came into force on May 11, Ron DeSantis signed a law to regulate immigration that ignited the fear of many undocumented people living in Florida. As part of a battery of rules issued prior to his launch as the Republican candidate for the presidency of the United States in 2024, the governor issued CS/SB 1718.

The concern of immigrants increases as July 1 approaches, the date on which the regulation will enter into force and which entails, among other things, prison sentences for those who move immigrants within the state and fines for those who hire undocumented people in their companies.

Such is the commotion that this norm has aroused, both in Florida and in the rest of the country, that the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest in the country, alerted about the dangers of visiting the southern state after the approval of the law.

In addition to the sanctions established for employers and their employees, CS/SB 1718 grants DeSantis a budget of $12 million to activate initiatives to migrant relocation in other states, much like last year’s controversial move of people to Martha’s Vineyard.

In dialogue with LA NACION, Andres Echevarria, partner of the international legal firm Vivanco & Vivanco, analyzed the main assumptions of this regulation and its consequences.

-What is expected from the entry into force of the law?

This law is likely to be challenged in court and lawsuits will likely be filed against it for unconstitutionality. From now on, it generates a lot of stir. CS/SB 1718 affects employers, irregular and regular immigrants. According to the Migration Policy InstituteIn the United States there are close to 11 million undocumented immigrants and many of them live in Florida.

A problem that is evident in Florida is that employers do not get labor, that is, unqualified personnel. Because of this, many times they hire immigrants without documents and that, under this law that DeSantis proposed, and which has already been approved by the state Senate, imposes very serious penalties, fines and even criminal liability, that is, criminal.

-Is this the most severe immigration-related law in the United States today?

It is a state law, not a federal one, so it only impacts Florida, but it is very relevant because there are many immigrants in that state, especially from Latin America. As a restrictive measure, it is not so severe in terms of what it proposes, which is that immigrants who are not in order should not be hired, which is actually a logical norm.

However, he faces a reality, which is that there are 11 million undocumented immigrants and the federal government does not deport them because it is a process that costs more or less 8,000 dollars. Many of the people without documents work and even pay taxes..

There is also a deportation priority band, which covers people who are not documented, who entered the country illegally and who also committed a crime. Those are susceptible to being expelled, but then, the majority of immigrants are subjected to the prosecutorial discretionthat is, the State has the discretion to make them a fiscal persecution. They are not deported by decision of the State, because it costs money and somehow it benefits them that they are there.

So, as a law it is not so severe, because nothing very far-fetched is being considered, but regularity in the people who are hired in the United States and that employers, when they hire someone, have to register them in a system called E-Verify, which already existed, but now the requirements are a little stricter.

Then, if a business owner is found to have undocumented employees, very high fines and criminal liability apply. From this, perhaps the most severe is criminal liability, and this is something that was not established for the employer before. However, it may be that the latter does not prosper, since in a judicial dispute, this law may not advance.

On the other hand, there were already very strict laws in Texas and Arizona, which are more traditional states in terms of immigration policies. In contrast, they are California or New York, which are known as “sanctuary states and cities”and which refers to jurisdictions where immigrants who have entered irregularly have a slightly easier path, since they are not subject to many inspections or if they are detected, nothing happens, but in other states it is.

-What are the most important aspects of this law?

First, the compliance obligations that employers have, who must register all their employees, nationals and foreigners, in E-Verify and comply with the I-9 form. In addition, they are subject to inspections.

In the case of detecting undocumented employees in the workplace, there will be sanctions. That’s the most important thing, because It affects both companies and employees.. In the case of the former, they can be penalized, while the latter could be detected as undocumented immigrants and start the deportation process.

Sometimes, the same state of Florida can identify a person as undocumented and send them to a detention center.

What kind of sanctions does the law establish?

The law itself does not establish penalties for immigrants because that falls under federal jurisdiction. What can happen is that, when immigrants who are in an irregular situation are detected as a result of the operation of this state law, federal agencies such as ICE may be given intervention (Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service), CBP (Office of Customs and Border Protection) or Uscis (Citizenship and Immigration Service) and that exercise control of migratory permanence, for which reason they are empowered to transfer a person and put them in a detention center.

-What happens if a person transfers an undocumented family member within Florida?

Whenever there is an undocumented immigrant, that person is at risk of being detained, sent to a care center and deported. That can happen at any time. It doesn’t happen in many cases because there is a state decision not to act, but it can happen.

What the law does contemplate is the transfer of undocumented immigrants, and whoever does so may be subject to civil or criminal liability. This is to combat human smuggling and trafficking. There is a significant problem around this, since there are people who move their family that may be undocumented and some are American citizens who were born in the United States and their parents came here illegally two decades ago.

The thing is, that person is subject to the same law as a smuggler.

-After the end of the application of Title 42, which restricted migration for public health reasons under Covid-19, are President Joe Biden’s policies the most restrictive so far?

It is very interesting to see how economic policy is being handled, which swings depending on whether the government is Republican or Democrat. In general, the former are more conservative or restrictive, while the latter are more open.

But when the government of Barack Obama restrictive measures began to be implemented for immigration, because there were a lot of people coming into the country. Even though it was a Democratic administration, he was oriented towards the prohibitions in that matter.

From Obama (2009-2013 and 2013-2017) until now, the measures have always been restrictive. Also with Donald Trump and Biden, who until now has not done anything to make them more flexible, beyond the fact that this was part of their campaign platform.

-In an eventual victory of Ron DeSantis as president of the United States in 2024, could you promote immigration rules like the one you enacted in your second term as governor of Florida?

DeSantis has a very restrictive view of immigration. As governor he pushes for laws that only affect Florida, but as president he could influence immigration policy.

The executive power what you can do is limit it by restricting policiesbut it cannot change the law because that is the power of the Legislative Branch, but it can make the processes more difficult, slower and that is a way of reducing immigration.

-If the new Florida immigration law is not so severe, compared to others, why was it initially formulated that way?

The law has an objective that is to create a media shock. Besides, is a rule that comes in response to the removal of Title 42. So, there is a Democratic government that took some measures that, in principle and technically, were for immigration flexibility. Now that it’s gone, people can present themselves at the border for asylum in a slightly less risky way of being quickly deported. It’s no coincidence that DeSantis signed this law into law the same week that Title 42 came to an end.