One of the most prominent Latino advocacy groups in the United States is recommending that immigrants avoid traveling to Florida after new immigration rules go into effect in July.
The Republican governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce his presidential candidacy this week, signed a law last week that requires employers with more than 25 employees to verify the immigration status of their workers or risk facing fines of $1,000 per day until they provide proof that their workers are legal citizens.
Additionally, the law invalidates driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants to prevent people without status from driving in the state. Individuals transporting undocumented people may face heavy fines and possible imprisonment.
Domingo Garcia, president of the Latino advocacy group League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), called the new immigration law “hostile and dangerous.”
“As a result, for the second time in LULAC’s history, we are issuing a travel alert for those traveling to Florida,” Garcia said at a press conference. “Laws like this, which do nothing but intimidate immigrants, are bad for a state’s economy,” added Lydia Guzmán, who leads LULAC’s immigration committee.
Against Racism
Another advocacy group is also warning people about traveling to Florida.
The NAACP, a group fighting against racial injustices, issued a travel advisory for Florida “in direct response to … DeSantis’s aggressive attempts to erase Black history and restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools,” the group said on Saturday (20) in a statement.
“Be alert, your life is not valued,” said NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson to CNN on Monday (22). He cited a new law backed by DeSantis that allows gun owners to carry a firearm without a permit, as well as educational policies that include banning the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation until the 12th grade.
“Florida is openly hostile to African Americans, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals,” said the NAACP. “Before traveling to Florida, understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions and challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”
The NAACP stated that DeSantis’s actions are “in direct conflict with the democratic ideals upon which the organization was founded.”
“Let me be clear: failing to teach an accurate representation of the horrors and inequalities that Black Americans faced and continue to face is a disservice to students and a dereliction of duty to all,” Johnson told CNN.
Source: CNN