Hundreds of immigrants gather at Pierson church to protest DeSantis' new immigration law

PIERSON — After Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping immigration bill (SB 1718) into law earlier last month, opponents across the country have raised concerns about the future of undocumented immigrants in the state.

In the first major sign of opposition to the new law, several protests and rallies took place Thursday, including in six Florida cities: Jacksonville, Vero Beach, Orlando, Immokalee and Pierson.

Several immigrant business owners also went on strike on Thursday as part of the initiative.

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.

Migrants and Minorities Alliance, a local advocacy organization presided by Maria Elena Valdivia, who is also head of the Farmworkers Association of Pierson, organized the event.

The crowd had the opportunity to hear Valdivia, as well as other public officials, such as Pierson councilwoman Sergia Cardenas and Antonio Jaimes, a legal counsel with the Volusia County Clerk of Court Office.

The new law comes as the southern border sees a high influx of migrants, a situation DeSantis (who announced his bid for president last month) described as "not good for our country."

What challenges do immigrants face?

Attendees also asked questions of Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, who explained how the county's deputies would continue their work as law enforcement agents and not 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.

The new law ramps up restrictions against undocumented immigrants in the state by:

• Strengthening employment requirements.

• Banning local governments from contributing money to organizations creating identification cards for undocumented immigrants.

• Barring driver’s licenses issued to non-citizens in other states from use in Florida.

• Repealing a 2014 law that allowed undocumented immigrants to be admitted to practice law in Florida.

One scenario of concern from a few members of the crowd was getting pulled over on the road.

“This bill basically says the same thing we always say: If you don’t have a Florida driver’s license, or a license from another state of which you are a citizen, you will be ticketed for driving without a license,” Chitwood explained.

Another concern included an undocumented person’s decision about whether to seek medical treatment.

Jaimes said that hospitals cannot relay patients’ immigration status information to immigration officers, nor can that information be used as an excuse to refuse treatment for any patient.

Joel Tooley, a pastor and a member of the National Immigration Forum (a Washington D.C.-based nonpartisan advocacy organization), added that hospitals that receive Medicare are required to ask an immigration status question.

“Many advocacy organizations are encouraging people to simply decline to answer those questions, regardless of your immigration status,” Tooley told the crowd.

‘We are working people … not criminals’

At the end of the Q&A, Valdivia thanked everyone for attending the event and encouraged attendees to gather and march outside.

“We don’t know where this bill is going, but we are going to fight it,” Valdivia said. “Because we are immigrants. Immigrants who work hard and help build the economy. We are not criminals; we are not animals to be treated like this.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanic or Latino people are 16.1% of the Volusia County population, which is 579,192 (which puts Volusia's Hispanic population at around 93,000).

Holding signs and waving Mexican, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican and other countries’ flags, protesters marched around the church’s parking lot, shouting words against the bill and the Florida governor.

“An immigrant is a worker, someone who has to fight to have and provide the best for their family, both here and in their home country,” said Marta Ramirez, a Texas-born citizen whose family, including her husband Angel, is from Mexico. “This is a working people. They are what give life to this country.”

Araceli Escobar, carrying a Mexican flag amid the protestors, said the “Hispanic people will always keep their voices loud.”

“We are working people, people who want to pursue a better lifestyle,” Escobar said. “And above all, we are not criminals. We are people who come to contribute to this country’s economy.”

Miguel Arenas, a Mexican native and a DeLand resident, said he thinks it is “very important” that the immigrant community stays together and support each other.

“If we are divided, they will never listen to us,” Arenas said. “We are much bigger when we get together, and it makes it easier for us to get noticed.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida immigration protests against SB 1718 include 1 in Pierson