Activists Issue Travel Warning for Florida Due to “Hostile Laws”

Several civil rights groups have issued a travel advisory for Florida, due to laws and policies pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature that they called “openly hostile to African-Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ people.”

The measure was announced by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP for its initials in English), the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Equality Florida, an activist group that defends the rights of homosexuals.

The advisory, approved Saturday by the NAACP board of directors, warns tourists that before traveling to Florida, they should understand that the state “devalues ​​and marginalizes the contributions and challenges of African-Americans and other communities of color.”

So far, DeSantis’ office had not commented on it.

Florida is one of the most popular states in the United States for tourism, which comprises one of the largest sectors of its economy.

More than 137.5 million tourists visited Florida last year, matching pre-pandemic levels, according to Visit Florida, the state’s tourism promotion agency.

Tourism supports 1.6 million full-time or part-time jobs, and tourists spent $98.8 billion in Florida in 2019, the most recent year for which figures are available.

The NAACP’s decision comes after the DeSantis administration in January rejected a curriculum for African-American studies.

DeSantis and the Republican-dominated Legislature have also advanced bills barring universities from having diversity, equality and inclusion programs, and passed a law that prohibits certain conversations or discussions about race in schools and businesses.

In its warning to Hispanics considering traveling to Florida, LULAC cited a law that prohibits local governments from giving money to organizations that provide identity cards to those in the country illegally, and voids the driver’s licenses of others states held by immigrants without documentation, among other things.

The law also requires hospitals receiving Medicaid to include a citizenship question on the intake form, which critics say is an attempt to prevent those in the country illegally from seeking care.

“The actions taken by Governor DeSantis have created a shadow of fear among communities across the state,” said Lydia Medrano, Vice President of LULAC’s Southeast Region.

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