Florida’s Republican governor and likely presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed into law a sweeping bill that significantly toughens conditions for undocumented migrants seeking work and health care in the southern US state.
DeSantis has long accused Democratic President Joe Biden of being lax on migration as the country prepares for an influx of migrants at its border with Mexico when pandemic-era rules expire on Thursday.
DeSantis signed the bill into law at an event in Jacksonville, the Sunshine State’s most populous city, with the slogan “Biden’s border crisis” written on his podium in big block letters.
“The Mexican drug cartels have more to say about what goes on in the southern border than our own US government does,” said the governor.
The law entering into force July 1 will require hospitals that accept federal health insurance to collect data on their patients’ immigration status, which, critics say, could prevent undocumented migrants from seeking treatment.
The law also makes it illegal to knowingly bring undocumented people to Florida from another US state, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Furthermore, it requires private employers to check prospective workers’ immigration status in an online system.
DeSantis, 44, a rising figure on the American right, was reelected governor in 2022 in a landslide victory, and has pursued a conservative agenda on issues related to education, abortion rights and immigration.
Human rights groups complain that the immigration bill DeSantis signed Wednesday is inhumane.
“Florida is penalizing immigrants for having the sheer bad luck of being born in countries that are in turmoil and having the courage to seek peace and prosperity here,” Tessa Petit, head of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said in a statement.
