Florida immigrant exodus could spell workforce disaster. What its immigrant population looks like
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1718 into law in May, implementing a slew of tough restrictions and penalties to curb illegal immigration, he used it among a litany of other bills passed by the Florida Legislature to illustrate his platform when he filed to run for president weeks later.
Now Florida Republicans are highlighting loopholes in the legislation to prevent a potential disaster after the new law incited a movement among Florida’s sizable immigrant population to leave the state, according to NPR.
“This bill is 100% supposed to scare you,” Rep. Rick Roth told attendees at a faith-based event in Hialeah, Florida, on Monday. “We are losing employees that are already starting to move to Georgia and other States. … It’s urgent that you talk to all your people and convince them that you have resources, state representatives and other people that can explain the bill to you.” he added.
Florida immigration law explainer: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs sweeping immigration bill SB 1718 into law. Five takeaways:
Immigrants in Florida make up a little over 21% of its total population, according to Migration Policy Institute (MPI), a nonpartisan institution that provides research data and analysis. Florida is ranked fourth in terms of the highest percentage of foreign-born population, trailing behind California, New Jersey and New York.
Here’s a look at Florida’s migrant population and how it stacks up to the rest of the country.
What does Florida’s immigration population look like?
As of 2021, there are 4,608,653 foreign-born immigrants living in Florida, which makes up 21.2% of its total population. Between 2000 and 2021, its immigrant population grew 72.6%, up 12% from 1990 to 2021.
Just under 60% of foreign-born immigrants identified as one race, while the remaining identified as two or more races.
About 58% of Florida’s foreign-born population identified as having Latino origin.
Where do Florida’s immigrants come from?
The overwhelming majority of Florida’s migrant population (75.6%) is from Latin America, which includes South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Asian immigrants account for 10.8%, European immigrants make up 9.8%, while Africa (1.6%), Oceania (.2%) and North America (2.1%), which includes Canada, Greenland and Bermuda, make up the remainder.
MIP breaks these numbers down further by country here.
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Florida’s immigrant workforce
In a 2020 study by the Center for Migration Studies, the institute found that immigrants make up about 28% of Florida’s essential workers and 26% of its total workforce, giving credence to Republicans’ concerns that a mass exodus could leave the state in a precarious position.
How many migrants illegally enter Florida?
MIP estimates that there are about 772,000 migrants who have illegally entered Florida. The majority of these migrants come from Mexico, Central America and South America.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida immigrants make up 21% of its population. Here's a breakdown
