A bill that has been cataloged as one of the most aggressive in the entire country to combat illegal immigration it continued to advance in the Florida Congress, albeit with substantial changes that have softened some of its more contentious aspects.
On Friday of last week the project, promoted by the Republicans and Governor Ron DeSantis, was approved by the state Senate and began its process in the House where it is expected to receive the green light.
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If so, the project would move to DeSantis’s desk before the end of the month and the The law would enter into force from July of this year.
However, in the draft that was approved on Friday and that is now taking its course in the Chamber, they disappeared or Three of the provisions that had generated the most criticism among Democrats were adjusted, pro-immigrant groups and churches.
Initially, the bill raised criminal charges, with sanctions up to 5 years in prison, to any person who transported or harbored an illegal in the state. Under that wording, from legal relatives to priests, nuns, activists and home landlords faced the possibility of going to prison for knowingly or unknowingly helping an illegal.
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In the new text, only people who transport illegals to Florida are punished but from another state but without mentioning their mobilization within the state or for providing them with refuge or a place to live.
Another of the original provisions, pushed by DeSantis, required all private employers to use the E-Verify program to establish whether a person had permission to work and included stiff penalties for violators.
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The program has always been questioned by employers as it is prone to errors and very onerous to apply. But, above all, because many in practice -especially in the hotel and tourism, agriculture, gardening, and construction sectors- depend on a workforce that is made up of illegal immigrants.
This is going to be very expensive for us because many illegal
they will not go to hospitals for preventive services for fear
to be reported
According to data from the Migration Policy Institute in Florida live at least 800,000 illegals. Of these, 20 percent are Colombian or Venezuelan.
In the new version, the requirement is only for companies with more than 25 employees.
In addition, Other measures prevented illegals from offering reduced prices on university tuition What are state residents entitled to? Something that directly affected the so-called “dreamers” or illegals who were brought to the US as children and since then have not known another country.
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In the version approved by the Senate, no mention is made of this prohibition.
To a large degreethe three changes were the result of a great effort lobby both the business sector -which needs employees- and religious and human rights groups that offer services to this population.
“It was terrible and inhumane legislation. I can understand the frustration that exists with an immigration system that doesn’t work. What is not fair is taking that out on immigrants,” says Archbishop of Miami Thomas Wenski.
How are we going to stop this crisis if many states offer illegal jobs, free education, medical services and even educational licenses?
An effort that is based on votesbecause both churches and businessmen have a lot of power in a state that is considered vital to the interests of the Republican party.
And the same can be said of the power of the immigrant community since a quarter of the population of Florida has this origin and weighs when it comes to defining winners and losers in the elections.
Even so, the project contains harsh measures that continue to be questioned by its detractors for whom it is a “draconian” initiative that will turn Florida into a police state.
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In addition to prosecuting those who transport illegals – no one knows in practice how a police officer is going to determine who is bringing illegals from another state – and the requirement of E-Verify for companies with more than 25 workers, there are other controversial measures.
Like, for example, the project invalidates driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants by other states, requires hospitals to collect and share information on the immigration status of all patients, prevents local governments from issuing any form of identification to those who cannot prove their legal status and removes a previous provision approved by the also former Republican governor of Florida, Rick Scott, which gave access to the Florida Bar Association (the Bar) to undocumented graduates of law schools in the state.
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“This is going to be very expensive for us because many illegals are not going to go to hospitals for preventive services for fear of being reported and, when they do, it will be when they are very sick.. It will cause a health crisis“said Democratic Senator Lori Berman, commenting on one of the aspects that most worries her about the law.
But according to Senator Blaise Ingoglia, one of the authors of the project, what is sought is not to persecute legal immigrants or make Florida an inhospitable state, without discouraging illegal immigration both to the state and to the country.
“How are we going to stop this crisis if many states offer illegal jobs, free education, medical services and even educational licenses? Where is the incentive in that for them to come but legally?“, affirmed Ingoglia when defending his initiative.
SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI
WASHINGTON
EL TIEMPO correspondent
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