Florida's new immigration law sparked more than a dozen protests across the US. Here's why

Protests and business strikes took place across Florida Thursday to stand together in solidarity against the state’s new immigration law, which will impose sweeping changes to employment requirements and health care for undocumented immigrants and give millions to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ migrant relocation program when it goes into effect on July 1.

The new law, SB 1718, was widely criticized by opponents when it was introduced in early March, who called it cruel and vague, and warned that it could lead to racial profiling and intimidate undocumented migrants from seeking

The new legislation strengthens employment requirements, bans local governments from contributing money to organizations creating identification cards for undocumented immigrants, bars driver’s licenses issued to non-citizens in other states from use in Florida and requires hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status.

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Videos depicting vacant construction sites, empty grocery store shelves and calls for trucker boycotts have recently circulated social media but Thursday’s protests were the first concrete signs of pushback since the bill was signed into law on May 10.

Here’s why people are protesting the bill and a look across the state.

‘A day without immigrants’ — Why people are protesting Florida’s new immigration law

“A day without immigrants” is the name given by organizers for a national boycott meant to protest against Florida’s new immigration law. Protests were organized in cities spanning seven states including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, South Carolina and Texas. Six Florida cities officially participated: Pierson, Jacksonville, Immokalee, Tampa and Orlando, and businesses from across the state joined in solidarity.

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Organizers called for the protest after DeSantis signed SB 1718 into law in May, imposing some of the toughest steps taken by any state to deter immigrants without legal permission and touches on everything from employment to health care.

In the event details, organizers asked allies to join a rally in their city and to close their businesses. "This is a community-led labor strike in solidarity with our indigenous immigrant community. We can put a stop to these anti-immigrant bills by boycotting. Enough is enough. Join the strike! This is your opportunity to support our indigenous/immigrant community," the page reads.

Click here to jump down to five highlights from Florida's new immigration bill

What did Florida protests look like?

Vero Beach

TC Palm covered the protests in Vero Beach, reporting that hundreds of demonstrators wrapped themselves in Mexican, Guatemalan and Puerto Rican flags as they marched on the Merrill P. Barber Bridge Thursday afternoon.

“It is a tragedy and a crime this is happening to their rights because even though they’re not legal, they have rights in this country,” said Katty Beniquez, event organizer. “We (immigrants) have to be treated like humans and not trash.”

Immokalee

News-Press reported that businesses and residents in Immokalee and Naples also participated in the activities, with organizers saying up to 5,000 people gathered in Immokalee.

Cande Maria, a protester in Fort Myers, said the issues affect the whole Latino community. She has kids who were born here, but she and her husband are still in the process of getting their citizenship.

"We are all immigrants, and we deserve respect, and an opportunity to live here," Maria said.

West Palm Beach

The Palm Beach Post reported that hundreds gathered to march in protest of Florida's new law.

“I’m trying to support all of the immigrant people,” said Victor Prado, general manager of El Mariachi restaurant in West Palm Beach, which was closed Thursday. “They come to this country to get a better life. We left everyone in our country to come to this beautiful country to live better.”

Southwest Florida

News-Press reported that thousands of Hispanic and Latino residents in Southwest Florida protested Thursday with rallies, marches and work stoppages.

Waving flags from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and America, the Fort Myers Hispanic communities walked from the Edison Mall to downtown Fort Myers as they chanted in Spanish  “¡Si se puede!”, and “¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!" The phrases translate to "Yes we can!" and "The people united will never be defeated!" and greatly reflect the attitude of those showing solidarity with the immigrant community.

Pierson

In Pierson, almost 300 people, mostly Latin American immigrants, as well as government officials gathered Thursday night at the Mission San Jose of Saint Peter Church in Pierson, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.

Attendees got the chance to ask Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood questions about how his officers would continue to work as law enforcement agents rather than as immigration officers.

“I want to assure you that in my seven years of being the sheriff, we have never been agents of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or immigration,” Chitwood told the crowd.

Sarasota-Manatee

The Sarasota-Manatee area wasn't named in part of the official protests, but the Herald-Tribune reported that at least six Hispanic-owned businesses and restaurants closed for the day in solidarity.

What does Florida’s new immigration law do?

Dive deep into SB 1718: How Florida's new immigration law impacts workers, employers, hospitals and everyone else

Senate Bill 1718 is an expansive law that has widespread impact on immigrants’ lives, and could potentially impact migrants who legally live in Florida. A full breakdown of the law can be found here, but below are five takeaways:

Strengthening employment requirements

Employers are required to verify a new employee’s employment eligibility within three business days after the first day the new employee begins working for pay.

On July 1, private employers with 25 or more employees must use the federal E-Verify system to verify a new employee’s employment eligibility. Public agencies are also required to use the E-Verify system to verify a new employee’s employment eligibility.

Employers cannot continue to employ an unauthorized alien after obtaining knowledge that a person is or has entered the county illegally.

It is unlawful for any person to knowingly employ, hire, recruit or refer, either for herself or himself or on behalf of another — for private or public employment within the state — a “foreign national” who is not authorized to work in the U.S.

Hospitals must ask patients about their legal status

Any hospital that accepts Medicaid must include a provision on its patient admission or registration forms for the patient or the patient’s representative to indicate whether the patient is a United States citizen, lawfully present in the United States, or not lawfully present in the United States.

Florida immigration lawyer Susan Pai says that hospitals would then need to turn the data over to the governor and the Florida Legislature quarterly and annually, noting that the data would not identify the individuals.

Out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to ‘unauthorized immigrants’ no longer valid

Driver’s licenses and permits issued by other states exclusively to people living in the country illegally will no longer be recognized in Florida. The National Conference of State Legislatures says there are 19 states and the District of Columbia that issue these licenses to people living in the country illegally, and Pai says this bill could “open the flood gates” of racial profiling and increase the danger for drivers across the state.

“If you have an undocumented alien who can get a valid license, they can drive legally, they can buy insurance. They’re not going to flee the scene of an accident because they have a valid license. It just makes things more dangerous for everybody,” said Pai.

Juvenile DNA database

Section 18 would force arrested adults and even juveniles with an immigration detainer (an “immigration hold”) to provide their DNA to the state.

SB 1718 expands FDLE’s mission to include immigration matters

The most sweeping sections of the bill outline the expansion of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s mission to include immigration matters.

Section 13 states “FDLE, with respect to counter-terrorism efforts, responses to acts of terrorism within or affecting this state, coordinating with and providing assistance to the Federal Government in the enforcement of federal immigration laws, responses to immigration enforcement incidents within or affecting this state, and other matters related to the domestic security of Florida as it relates to terrorism and immigration.”

Sections 14 through 17 expand several Florida anti-terrorism laws to include immigration law enforcement, which Pai says is a “very smart way” to skate around having to create state-specific immigration crimes that are not also federal crimes.

Pai says this “huge” expansion of power is ultimately going to “dilute” anti-terrorism resources in the state.

“There’s no appropriation that goes along with this huge expansion of power to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies and organizations in the state of Florida who are charged with anti-terrorism and now immigration enforcement incidents within or effecting the state,” she said.

Additionally, Section 21 appropriates $12 million from the General Revenue Fund, which is funded by taxpayer dollars, to be used for DeSantis’ “unauthorized alien transport program.” The same program made headlines when DeSantis flew about 50 Venezuelan migrants in two charter planes from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Contributors: Gianna Montesano - TC Palm, Luis Zambrano - Fort Myers News-Press, Brenno Carillo - Daytona Beach News-Journal, Ana Goñi-Lessan and John Kennedy - USA Today Network Capital Bureau

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Florida immigration law prompts protests in several states. Here's why