Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 1718 into law on May 10th. This law targets federal border policies and aims to increase immigration law enforcement in Florida.
The bill also provides $12 million to the Division of Emergency Management to transport immigrants who are in the country illegally to other states. Furthermore, the bill enhances human smuggling offenses in Florida, imposing a $5,000 fine and up to 5 years in prison if someone is convicted of trying to smuggle five or more adults into the United States. The penalty increases to up to 15 years in prison if someone tries to smuggle a minor.
Continuously, Bill SB 1718 prohibits counties and municipalities from issuing IDs for those not legally in the country and invalidates out-of-state IDs for anyone without legal permission to be in the country. It also makes it a felony to use a fake ID to gain employment.
One of the critical components of the bill is requiring certain hospitals to collect patient immigration status data on admission or registration forms, allowing the state to track how much is being spent on those in the country illegally. Additionally, law-enforcement agencies are required to take DNA samples from individuals held on federal immigration detainers, which would be sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
