TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With the recent passage of some of the most stringent illegal immigration enforcement laws, many undocumented immigrants may choose to stop showing up for work due to fear of being detained, which some say could impact Florida’s economy.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the three bills into law Thursday, after a bruising legislative process between the governor and Republican lawmakers.
“Today, the Florida Legislature has passed the strongest legislation to combat illegal immigration of any state in the entire country,” DeSantis said before signing the bills and handing a sharpie to each of the legislative leaders standing behind him. “We are ahead of the curve on ending the illegal immigration crisis.”
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democrat representing Orlando’s District 17, expressed concerns during Thursday’s special session.
“They want us to reduce the labor shortage, they want us to lower costs, they want cheaper groceries, and this bill ain’t it, senators. It’s going to make it worse, on all of those fronts,” he said.
Many democrats emphasized that Florida’s economy could suffer if undocumented immigrants stopped working while discussing the laws in the state capitol.
Democratic Sen. Tina Scott Polsky from Boca Raton highlighted the state’s low unemployment rate and the demand for workers in various sectors.
“They need landscapers at Mar-a-Lago. They need cleaning staff, they need construction workers,” she said.
According to the Pew Research Center, Florida ranks third among states with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations, with 1.2 million in 2022. Nationwide, about 8.3 million U.S. workers were unauthorized immigrants, making up about 8% of Florida’s workforce that year.
Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, Executive Director of Hope Community Center, a nonprofit assisting immigrants, discussed the challenges they face.
“Many folks are feeling discriminated [against]. Others are afraid to even get out of their house, which only creates even more pressure on our economy, even more pressure on the labor shortage, even more pressure in the mental health crisis that we’re living in this community,” he explained.
While some argue that immigrants take jobs from U.S. citizens, Sousa-Lazaballet emphasized their importance to the workforce.
“About 50 percent of farm workers are undocumented here, and countless in the construction and hospitality industry are undocumented, or maybe in some sort of a quasi-status like temporary protective status that will be taken away literally in a couple of months,” he said. “Without them, I’m not sure how we’re going to continue to function.”
Sousa-Lazaballet believes that a clearer pathway to citizenship would benefit both immigrants and the economy.
“The immigration system is inhumane, and it does need to be fixed. Not the way that they are talking about it in Tallahassee, in a real way that both works for our economy, works for everyday Americans, and protects the dignity that all of us have simply for being a human being,” he stated.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily:
