(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill that prohibits illegal immigrants from using their sanctuary state IDs as proof of citizenship, the Washington Examiner reported.
“In Florida, we will not stand idly by while the federal government abandons its lawful duties to protect our country,” DeSantis said in a tweet announcing the new law.
“The legislation I signed today 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,” he added.
Florida Democrats denounced the move, arguing that the law would harm illegal immigrants.
“This bill is politically driven, and it’s an anti-immigrant bill that will hurt and even kill undocumented immigrants,” Democratic state Rep. Susan Valdes said.
Currently 19 of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, have laws permitting driver’s licenses to be issued to illegals, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
That has raised particular concern for election-integrity advocates who say the IDs could be used falsely to assert voter eligibility—even in states that maintain voter ID policies—as well as other rights and privileges conferred on U.S. citizens.
DeSantis said his state will no longer recognize those IDs and that anyone attempting to use them under false pretenses may be charged with a felony.
The Republican governor and likely presidential contender also said in his statement that under the Left’s rule, the illegal immigration problem has magnified.
“The Biden Border Crisis has wreaked havoc across the United States and has put Americans in danger,” he said.
President Biden’s dereliction of duty at the border is costing Americans their lives. In Florida, we’ve taken concrete action to protect our communities by:
– Relocating illegal aliens to sanctuary cities in other states
– Enforcing E-Verify
– Establishing a task force to… pic.twitter.com/DCU6YUBxFT— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 10, 2023
All private employers with more than 25 employees must now use the state’s E-Verify program for new hires, meaning that they will be unable to hire illegal immigrants.
The law also will require that those seeking medical care be asked whether or not they are U.S. citizens.
Moreover, the bill will increase funding for the state to transport illegal immigrants into so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. DeSantis notably forced leftist elites to acknowledge their hypocritical NIMBYism last year by flying roughly 50 illegals to the liberal seaside enclave of Martha’s Vineyard.
Other self-declared sanctuary cities—notably New York City and Chicago—also have grown increasingly bitter over the transport of asylum-seeking illegals into their jurisdictions from red states such as Texas.
The good news for Floridians comes as President Joe Biden and his administration are letting the pandemic-era Title 42 protections expire, leading to yet another mass influx of illegals at the U.S. southern border.
