by Domenico Maceri * –
SAN LUIS OBISPO (USA). “We fought illegal immigration and banned sanctuary cities…. and we even shipped illegal immigrants” to other liberal places. So Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, in a recent meeting with voters in Iowa, which will be the first state to hold the primaries for the Republican nomination.
The immigration issue had been exploited by Donald Trump when he began his presidential campaign in 2015. The then tycoon accused Mexico of sending the worst elements to the United States. Even after his election in 2016 and in his four years of presidency, Trump continued with a very hard hand against immigrants. DeSantis is now trying to challenge the former president, going beyond Trump’s cruel policy towards migrants.
Last month, the Sunshine State Legislature and Senate passed the toughest anti-immigrant law in the country. Immigration is legally a federal matter but states have some freedom to pass laws as long as they don’t break federal ones. Leveraging supermajorities in both state houses, DeSantis signed SB 1718 which includes a number of measures of concern to the state’s migrants. It requires employers with more than 25 employees to check their immigration status through a federal system called E-Verify. It is not mandatory at national level as there are other more effective methods and it is not uncommon for this system to give erroneous results, preventing people with legal residence from getting jobs. The new law makes driver licenses issued by other states that do not require proof of legal residence illegal in Florida. Revokes a 2014 law that allowed lawyers without legal residence to practice their profession. It prohibits the use of public funds to issue identification cards for local use.
Superficially the law might seem acceptable but obviously not the verification of eligibility to work as it excludes small businesses which will be able to continue to employ individuals without the right of legal residence. This obviously creates some imbalances as it gives these small companies advantages over their competition which follows the letter of the law.
The effects of the anti-migrant law directly affect the weakest elements of society. Starting with the fear for this group of people already in constant tension of being deported at any moment. Suspicion of authorities such as law enforcement is increasing as migrants are viewed as possible immigration agents. Yet the vast majority of local and state police do not do immigration work and seek to build trusting relationships with undocumented migrants to encourage them to report crimes and serve as witnesses without fear of being returned to their home countries. Fear also increases not only with the transportation factor but also with sanity. Hospitals and medical staff do not require information on the legal residence of their patients but this law will increase the suspicion of signing documents of any kind even when it comes to accessing essential medical resources.
The new law will also have a negative impact on all companies due to labor shortages. Right now unemployment in America is around 3.5 percent but in Florida it’s 2.6 percent. Employers therefore find it difficult to find employees. The vast majority of migrants work in the hospitality sector and in agriculture. These two industries are heavily dependent on migrants. An investigation by the non-partisan Florida Public Institute warned that the loss of migrants could shrink Florida’s economy by $12 billion annually. An estimated 6 percent of Florida’s workforce lacks legal residency papers. In agriculture, 300 of the 500,000 workers have no legal documents and it is feared that products such as fruit and vegetables could rot on the fields.
The law also allocates $12 million in funds to move undocumented individuals out of state. In this light DeSantis has already distinguished himself with possible legal troubles. Javier Salazar, sheriff of Bexar County in Texas, announced a criminal investigation against DeSantis accusing him of illegally transporting 49 migrants from Texas. These individuals were lodged on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, a vacation spot for wealthy progressives from New York and Boston. DeSantis has not learned his lesson and in recent days he has been accused by political leaders in California of having transported two groups of migrants from Texas to Sacramento, the capital of the Golden State. Also in this case judicial investigations could emerge now that the Florida Division of Emergency Management has confirmed his responsibility. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said these individuals were duped with promises of work and then transported to the Golden State. California Governor Gavin Newsom also expressed concern, suggesting that it could be a crime of kidnapping.
Beyond the anti-immigrant bill, DeSantis has managed to push through others that limit the rights of African-Americans, Latinos, teachers, and even gays. In the case of the latter group, the governor even stumbled upon Disneyworld by eliminating the tax district the playground had enjoyed for several decades. On the campaign trail, DeSantis promised to do to the nation what he did to Florida. Luckily his road is uphill. Firstly because he would first have to overcome Trump’s obstacle to win the Party nomination. Secondly because with his extremism and lack of charisma Joe Biden would in all likelihood defeat him. And in the very unlikely event that he wins the White House he would also need the same supermajorities in the House and Senate to overshadow America as he did in his state.
* Domenico Maceri, PhD, is professor emeritus at Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria, California. Some of his articles have won awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications.
