In May 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill (SB) 1718 into law. Set to take effect on July 1, 2023, the legislation makes sweeping changes to the state’s immigration policies in response to anticipated growth in immigration activity at the border following the end of Title 42 restrictions on border entry that were implemented during the COVID pandemic. Among other actions, the law requires hospitals to collect information on immigration status, creates penalties for hiring undocumented immigrants, expands employment verification screening requirements to all employers with 25 or more employees, invalidates out-of-state drivers’ licenses for undocumented immigrants, establishes criminal penalties for transporting undocumented immigrants into the state, increases funding to relocate or bus migrants to other parts of the U.S., and expands the authority of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to carry out immigration enforcement.
These changes could have far-reaching health and other impacts on immigrant families, beyond the undocumented immigrants it targets. Overall, there are roughly 1.8 million noncitizen immigrants in Florida, including both lawfully present and undocumented immigrants, who make up over 8% of the state’s population (Figure 1). A larger number of Florida residents live in immigrant families, which often include people of mixed immigration statuses, including U.S. born children.
Figure 1
WNBA star Sophie Cunningham has shut down allegations about her supposed falling out with former podcast co-host West Wilson. Cunningham has called out media outlets for spreading false informatio...