Isaret Jeffers, community leader and founder of Colectivo Árbol, has received more than 50 calls and texts in recent days from farm workers, parents and their volunteers.
They’re all asking the same question: What will happen to them after the bill passed Tuesday by the Florida Legislature is signed into law?
Jeffers, who has worked on immigration and human rights issues for more than a decade, said that for the first time, he couldn’t come up with a clear answer.
The only suggestion I could offer? keep calm
“There’s a lot of fear in the community,” Jeffers said.
Now headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, the bill would expose Floridians to felony charges for transporting people without permanent legal status and would invalidate driver’s licenses issued by other states for such immigrants.
It also expands worker verification requirements. Employers with more than 25 workers will be required to use mandatory E-Verify to check the immigration status of their workers. If they do not comply with this requirement and a person is found to be illegal, the employer or company will be fined.
DeSantis supports the bill, but advocates in the Tampa Bay area and community leaders across the state criticized it, calling it disruptive, discriminatory and divisive.
“These laws perpetuate discriminatory actions toward the immigrant community who are simply trying to do what’s best for their families,” said Nathalie Setoute, immigration organizer for the nonprofit Faith in Florida.
The bill requires hospitals to collect immigration information from patients on admission and registration forms, and prohibits local governments from issuing identification documents. The measure will provide $12 million for DeSantis’ migrant relocation initiative, which made headlines last year for flying migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.
Yadira Sanchez, executive director of Poder Latinx, a nonprofit that works each year with a new group of future leaders in states where the Latino vote could be key, said DeSantis is using the immigrant community as a political pawn as apart from a possible presidential candidacy. . He said the legislation would encourage other states to follow suit with similar rhetoric and policies.
“Our voter registration efforts are underway in Florida and in several states and we will continue our voter mobilization work, letting them know the power of each vote,” Sanchez said.
Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, criticized lawmakers for using communities as “political scapegoats.” Petit believes the bill seeks to create a false border between Florida and the rest of the nation.
Jared Nordlund, director of advocacy for the state of Unidos USA Florida, said the bill targets all immigrants living in Florida, regardless of their legal status or how many years they have lived in the state. He wasn’t the only one. Kirk Bailey, political director of the ACLU of Florida, said the measure creates a “show me your papers” environment. He called the bill shameful.
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Jeffers held an emergency meeting with supporters Wednesday to discuss the impact of the immigration bill. [ Facebook ]
Meanwhile, Jeffers, the human rights activist and immigrant from Mexico who visits farmworkers in Plant City twice a week, said he will host a couple of virtual meetings to address the issue.
Two days ago, he already invited an immigration lawyer to his Facebook to answer questions such as: “What will happen to the people who work in the fields and construction? Can they no longer be hired?” or “What will happen to us if we have to take our children to the hospital and provide our information?”
“This is not over,” Jeffers said. “We will fight to the end.”
