Southwest Florida businesses and residents protest DeSantis's new immigration laws

Thousands of Hispanic and Latino residents in Southwest Florida protested Gov. Ron DeSantis's anti-immigration bill, which went into effect 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.

Several local businesses in Fort Myers with large Hispanic clientele closed for the day, including Maxx Food, Taqueria San Julian, and Coya's Artisanal Icecream, while residents participated in demonstrations, marches, and protests.

Businesses and residents in Immokalee and Naples also participated in the activities, with organizers saying up to 5,000 people gathered in Immokalee.

The actions are part of a wider statewide movement that spread like wildfire through social media, where immigration organizations asked the community to not go to work as a way to demonstrate their contributions to the economy.

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.

Unidos Immokalee, which describes itself on Facebook as a collective of people elevating voices and demanding change, spread the word about a Thursday afternoon march in Immokalee, the rural Collier County community where about 40% of the population was born outside the United States.

Their social media posts encouraged people to: “Show the world the importance of our contribution to the economy. DO NOT GO TO WORK.”

The immigrant-rich Immokalee labor force is critical to Southwest Florida’s agricultural, construction, and tourism industries. The Immokalee protest was expected to include a 2-mile walk, a community open mic, and information on SB 1718. Under ways to help, the group suggested making donations, not buying gas, not buying any products, and for business owners to close up shop.

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In Lee County, more than 100 people in the summer heat marched from Fowler Street and U.S. 41 to downtown Fort Myers. Volunteers from closed businesses passed out water, while bystanders honked or cheered the protesters in solidarity.

Valentine, who would only identify himself by his first name, is a Mexican immigrant with a daughter and two sons. He works a construction job in the morning and at a restaurant at night.

He said he saw a post on Facebook that prompted him into action as he walked in the front of the line.

“Thank God that so many people came out," he said.

He, like many critics of SB 1718, said the law unfairly targets the Hispanic community. Valentine said immigrants help feed this country and are integral in making America stronger.

"Let us live in peace," he said.

DeSantis signed SB 1718 into law in May.

Under the law, criminal penalties for human smuggling are increased to third-degree felony charges for anyone caught knowingly or willingly transporting anyone illegally in the country across state lines into Florida and makes transporting a minor or more than five undocumented people into the state a second-degree felony.

The law enhances employment requirements by mandating businesses with 25 or more employees to use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of new workers and gives state law enforcement officials the ability to conduct random audits of businesses suspected of hiring undocumented workers.

In addition, the bill 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 repeals a 2014 law that allowed undocumented immigrants to be admitted to practice law in Florida.

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Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.

News-Press reporter Janine Zeitlin contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: SWFL's Latino community and businesses protest DeSantis's immigration bill