SB-1718 is toxic and will hurt Florida’s Economy

For Immediate Release
Press Contact: Kristian Ramos, KristianR@mifamiliavota.org

Washington D.C. – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed SB-1718, his toxic immigration bill, into law. Héctor Sánchez Barba, Executive Director and CEO of Mi Familia Vota, released the following statement in response:

“Mi Familia Vota has organized against Nativist anti-immigrant legislation since our inception. In California, we fought against Proposition 187; in Arizona, we fought against SB-1070; and now, in Florida, we will fight Ron Desanti’s draconian SB1718. We will continue to build Latino political power and defeat this legislation in Florida.

Make no mistake; this law is wrong and will hurt Florida’s economy. Under this law, businesses could face a $10,000 fine for every undocumented employee, and the state could revoke their business license. The bill also has a crackdown on healthcare, saying that hospitals must report patients’ immigration status if they use Medicare.

This legislation will go into effect on July 1st, and immigrants are already leaving the state, leaving construction jobs incomplete and businesses scrambling to find workers. This law is as punitive and xenophobic as possible; it does not provide any solutions and will only worsen things. We know that our country is at its best when we create opportunities for people to come and contribute when we unlock the full potential of working people, who are a part of our country in every way but their legal status.

We will continue building political power in Florida to defeat extremists and help elect people who we will hold accountable to the policy priorities of our community and will honor the contributions of immigrants. ”