July 1 was a difficult day for Lucho.
That was the day that SB 1718 went into effect, allocating funds for undocumented immigrant relocation and putting pressure on employers not to hire undocumented workers or to report them to immigration authorities.
“People told me nothing is going to happen, others said everything is going to get worse,” said Lucho, a 39-year-old construction worker who asked not to be identified by his full name for fear of deportation. “I understood that now I could be pulled aside in a grocery store and be asked to show papers.”
In May, after signing SB 1718 into law, DeSantis said in a press release, that it "gives Florida the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country, fighting back against reckless federal government policies and ensuring the Florida taxpayers are not footing the bill for illegal immigration.”
The new law increases funding for the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program, and requires employers to register employees under E-verify to make sure employees have documents to work. It also fines employers for hiring or keeping undocumented workers, including imposing a daily fine of $1,000 and “allowing for the suspension of employer licenses after multiple findings of noncompliance.” Senate Bill 1718 also requires hospitals that use Medicaid to ask for a patient's immigration status.
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