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Ada is a Mexican who immigrated to Florida, in the United States, in search of a better life more than ten years ago. She, but she did it illegally and now she does not have documents that grant her immigration status to live and work in the Sunshine State.
She admits she is concerned after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, gave the green light to SB 1718, which, among other things, requires employers with more than 15 workers to use the E-Verify system, to certify that they can work legally. The law also contemplates sanctions of up to 1,000 dollars a day for companies that fail to comply with it.
“I am concerned because I live alone with my two children, and I am the one who works and pays everything in my case. If I lose my job, then everything becomes complicated for us, ”she admitted during a conversation with the voice of america. The possibility of emigrating from Florida to another state in the country is something that she does not contemplate because she is here established with her family. In addition, she -she explains- “she would also have the same problems when it comes to work” because she does not have papers.
“We are still here without papers and if we go to another state, we go to the same thing. There are immigration agents here and in another state, so what’s the difference between leaving? Leave what little we have here to go to another place where we don’t have an income or a job? So, we prefer to stay here and ask God to protect us to get ahead ”, he affirms.
But the truth is that, according to various pro-immigrant organizations, the undocumented immigrant community in Florida is frightened by the entry into force of the law, scheduled for July 1.
“I am feeling the community’s concern because they do not understand how this law is going to affect them directly or indirectly, and more than anything, how it is going to affect their jobs,” says Guadalupe de la Cruz, American Friends Committee of Florida, while ensuring that “many people even plan to leave Florida.”
Informative sessions for undocumented immigrants
In this context, several informative sessions have begun to be organized these days with the aim of explaining in detail what this new legislation approved by the Florida governor consists of.
The Florida Farm Workers Association is one of the organizations leading these types of initiatives. Claudia González, its director in the Homestead area, one of the rural areas of Florida where agriculture is the main economic engine and where farmers work, many of them undocumented.
“All the people who are coming want to know more about what was left in the law and what are the protections they may have, but the most important thing is that we can talk about how they can protect themselves and what they should do in case they they are asking for documents that they do not have,” says González.
Mexicans and Central Americans, the majority working in the fields
In this session, which was attended by some thirty members of the Homestead community, it has also had the participation of members of the governments of El Salvador and Mexico, since many of Florida’s agricultural workers come from Central America and the neighboring country.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 455,000 undocumented migrants are working in Florida. Of those, 24% work in construction, 17% in administrative or household tasks, 15% in the food service area, 9% in stores, and 8% in other services.
“There is a lot of misinformation”
José Manuel Murillo, consul for the protection of Mexicans for legal affairs at the Mexican Consulate in Miami, Florida, assures that there is “a lot of stress” and “concern” in the community about this law. Therefore, they have decided to join this initiative and promote information sessions to publicize the most important points of this legislation.
“The first thing we must do as a consulate is to inform people. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation on social networks and what people are saying in some places, so we believe it is very important that people are informed through official channels,” says Murillo, who will be traveling to some places over the next few weeks. Florida, where there is a larger Mexican community, to report on that law.
Florida Governor’s Stance
According to consulate sources, it is estimated that there are half a million Mexicans residing in Florida and that at least 30% is a population that does not have papers in the state.
The governor of Florida, for his part, defends himself against criticism and ensures that this measure serves to respond to “the negative effects of the border policy” of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, after the end of Title 42 and the replacement of Title 8, which obliges the authorities to follow the rules on the asylum application process, a measure that was suspended as a protection measure due to the pandemic.
“In Florida, we have recognized this from day one and have really acted since (Joe Biden) took office to combat the negative effects of his border policy,” he said recently after signing SB 1718 and defending that “no one has the right to emigrate to this country, no foreigner.”
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