Current:Home > MyFlorida's immigration law brings significant unintended consequences, critics say -WealthFlow Academy
Florida's immigration law brings significant unintended consequences, critics say
EchoSense Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-11 06:36:00
Tampa, Florida — Raquel Lopez Aguilar — a Mexican father of two who is in the country illegally — was working as a roofer in the Tampa area until he was charged with smuggling under Florida's controversial new immigration law.
"I think that it will be difficult to prove the human smuggling aspect of this case," Mark Arias, an attorney for Aguilar, told reporters. "This is a brand new law."
Aguilar is facing four felony counts for driving a group of roofers in a work van from a job in Georgia, along with a misdemeanor count of driving without a valid license.
The new sweeping immigration legislation, signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in May of 2022, prohibits anyone from transporting illegal immigrants into the state.
Among other restrictions, the law imposes penalties on Florida businesses that hire undocumented immigrants, and requires a citizenship question on patient forms for hospitals that accept Medicare. Under the law, Florida also no longer recognizes drivers' licenses issued to undocumented immigrants from other states.
"This is the strongest legislation against illegal immigration anywhere in the country," DeSantis said at the time of the signing.
But after Hurricane Idalia devastated parts of the state in August, some businesses say the law created a worker shortage, slowing Florida's recovery.
Rogelio Rauda, an undocumented worker from Honduras doing construction in Crystal River, Florida, says only eight workers he knows came to the disaster zone out of the hundreds he says typically show up.
"The fear is that someone is going to stop you, ask for your papers, and that you could be deported," Rauda said.
Tim Conlan, who runs a roofing company in Jacksonville, said the same trend is also happening outside disaster zones.
"Historically, though, we've had plenty of crews," Conlan said. "In the last year our crew count has been cut in half."
The law requires businesses like his, with 25 or more employees, to check employees' legal status through a database called E-Verify. He says it's cumbersome and puts him at a disadvantage with smaller roofers who don't have that requirement.
"I am not a fan of open borders," Conlan said. "But I am a fan of putting people to work in this community who are contributing to the community. There's got to be a way to get them into this system where they get paid a fair wage, and they pay their fair taxes, and everybody gets back to work."
— Aaron Navarro contributed to this report.
- In:
- Immigration
- Florida
Manuel Bojorquez is a CBS News national correspondent based in Miami. He joined CBS News in 2012 as a Dallas-based correspondent and was promoted to national correspondent for the network's Miami bureau in January 2017. Bojorquez reports across all CBS News broadcasts and platforms.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (2)
Related
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Time's Running Out for Jaw-Dropping Prime Day Hair Deals: Dyson Airwrap, Color Wow, Wet Brush & More
- Bring your pets to church, Haitian immigrant priest tells worshippers. ‘I am not going to eat them.’
- Angel Dreamer Wealth Society: Empowering the Future, Together with Angel Dreamer
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Angel Dreamer Wealth Society: Insight into Market Trends, Mastering the Future of Wealth
- 'We're just exhausted': The battered and storm-weary prepare for landfall. Again.
- A Georgia mayor indicted for allegedly trying to give inmates alcohol has been suspended
- Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge
- Hoda Kotb details 'weird' decision to leave 'Today' show after 16 years
Ranking
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Second minor league umpire sues MLB, alleges firing was retaliation for sexual assault complaint
- EPA reaches $4.2M settlement over 2019 explosion, fire at major Philadelphia refinery
- Tennis star Frances Tiafoe curses out umpire after Shanghai loss, later apologizes
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Disputes over access to the vote intensify as Ohioans begin to cast ballots
- Man arrested in Michigan and charged with slaying of former Clemson receiver in North Carolina
- Want to follow election results like a pro? Here’s what to watch in key states
Recommendation
Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
Hoda Kotb details 'weird' decision to leave 'Today' show after 16 years
Love Is Blind's Amber Pike and Matt Barnett Expecting First Baby
Shop Amazon's October Prime Day 2024 Best Kitchen Deals & Save Up to 78% on KitchenAid, Ninja & More
Costco membership growth 'robust,' even amid fee increase: What to know about earnings release
Muggers ripped watch off Dodgers pitcher Walker Buehler’s arm, police say
Some East Palestine derailment settlement payments should go out even during appeal of the deal
When do new episodes of 'Outer Banks' come out? Season 4 release date, cast, where to watch