Florida's construction and agricultural sectors claim they are facing a labor shortage as a result of a new immigration law that went into effect on July 1 driving migrant workers out of the state.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and a potential Republican candidate for president, signed the bill into law in May with the intention of making illegal immigration even more punishable. Unauthorized individuals who knowingly use a false identification to get a job are now guilty of a third-degree felony. Businesses with 25 or more employees who repeatedly fail to use the E-Verify system to check their immigration status risk having their licenses suspended, and they risk daily fines. Businesses that knowingly hire undocumented workers may also face license suspension.
Both employers and employees in Florida claim that the ranks of workers have notably shrunk.
Hitesh Kotecha, the owner of a produce packaging business in South Florida that rents land to farmers, said, "The employee who wants to work on the farm is not available anymore." "How will we manage the farms?"
Developers, construction firms, and workers in Miami's booming construction industry claim the change occurred as soon as DeSantis signed the legislation this spring. A quarter to half of their teams have left several South Florida construction sites, according to the workers there, aggravating an already difficult labor shortage for the entire sector.
According to Tom C. Murphy, co-president of Coastal Construction, which has more than 30 active projects across the state of Florida, "we've seen some fallout on job sites, particularly as it relates to hourly labor as a result of this new law."
The new law increases penalties for employers and employees, mandates that Medicaid-accepting hospitals inquire about a patient's immigration status, and revokes out-of-state driver's licenses issued to individuals not authorized to be in the country. Knowingly transporting a person into Florida who has come to the country illegally and without documentation is a third-degree felony. The law also increases by $12 million the state's funding for its migrant-relocation program, bringing the overall amount for this year to $22 million.
According to a DeSantis spokesman, the law mitigates Florida's negative effects from illegal immigration. Any company that takes advantage of this crisis by hiring illegal aliens rather than Floridians will face consequences, he warned.
Hundreds of people gathered in Homestead, Florida, on Saturday, the day the law took effect, to march in opposition. The Southern Poverty Law Center and other advocacy and watchdog organizations, including the Farmworker Association of Florida, disclosed at the march that they were looking into possible legal challenges to the law.
The Migration Policy Institute estimates that there were 772,000 undocumented immigrants living in Florida as of 2019. Since then, there has been a significant influx of immigrants into the nation, and according to census data, Florida saw the largest increase in population last year.
In order to comply with the law, attorneys in Florida are scrambling to determine how to advise their clients on hiring practices.
Miami-based immigration attorney Daniela Barshel said, "It's kind of extreme that Florida passed a law like this. Immigration law is typically a matter of federal law, so it will be difficult to interpret these new state laws alongside federal law, according to her. Blanket recommendations, such as telling clients to never hire noncitizens, are not an option because doing so could be considered discrimination based on race or national origin.
You don't want to be sued by someone because they had permission to work and you didn't hire them, she said, and you also don't want to get fined by the government.
Some of the employees leaving Florida have lived in the country for a long time. Even though some people may be able to work, they may be married to someone who isn't. Others might not have legal status but have minor children born here.
Construction cranes are commonplace in Miami's downtown area, towering over the city's rapidly expanding skyline. The narrative was the same at every location. Employees have left. Many others are keeping an eye on the situation.
A worker outside of one construction site claimed that he had lost roughly half of his crew. He claimed that they moved to Indiana because there, jobs pay $38 per hour as opposed to $25, and there, they won't have to worry about anyone watching them.
Coastal Construction is working on several projects, including Block 55, a 1.4 million square foot mixed-use structure. Before the exodus, according to Murphy, there was already a labor shortage.
"While we fully support immigrant worker documentation, the new law is exacerbating an already difficult situation," he said.
Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and a potential Republican candidate for president, signed the bill into law in May with the intention of making illegal immigration even more punishable. Unauthorized individuals who knowingly use a false identification to get a job are now guilty of a third-degree felony. Businesses with 25 or more employees who repeatedly fail to use the E-Verify system to check their immigration status risk having their licenses suspended, and they risk daily fines. Businesses that knowingly hire undocumented workers may also face license suspension.
Both employers and employees in Florida claim that the ranks of workers have notably shrunk.
Hitesh Kotecha, the owner of a produce packaging business in South Florida that rents land to farmers, said, "The employee who wants to work on the farm is not available anymore." "How will we manage the farms?"
Developers, construction firms, and workers in Miami's booming construction industry claim the change occurred as soon as DeSantis signed the legislation this spring. A quarter to half of their teams have left several South Florida construction sites, according to the workers there, aggravating an already difficult labor shortage for the entire sector.
According to Tom C. Murphy, co-president of Coastal Construction, which has more than 30 active projects across the state of Florida, "we've seen some fallout on job sites, particularly as it relates to hourly labor as a result of this new law."
The new law increases penalties for employers and employees, mandates that Medicaid-accepting hospitals inquire about a patient's immigration status, and revokes out-of-state driver's licenses issued to individuals not authorized to be in the country. Knowingly transporting a person into Florida who has come to the country illegally and without documentation is a third-degree felony. The law also increases by $12 million the state's funding for its migrant-relocation program, bringing the overall amount for this year to $22 million.
According to a DeSantis spokesman, the law mitigates Florida's negative effects from illegal immigration. Any company that takes advantage of this crisis by hiring illegal aliens rather than Floridians will face consequences, he warned.
Hundreds of people gathered in Homestead, Florida, on Saturday, the day the law took effect, to march in opposition. The Southern Poverty Law Center and other advocacy and watchdog organizations, including the Farmworker Association of Florida, disclosed at the march that they were looking into possible legal challenges to the law.
The Migration Policy Institute estimates that there were 772,000 undocumented immigrants living in Florida as of 2019. Since then, there has been a significant influx of immigrants into the nation, and according to census data, Florida saw the largest increase in population last year.
In order to comply with the law, attorneys in Florida are scrambling to determine how to advise their clients on hiring practices.
Miami-based immigration attorney Daniela Barshel said, "It's kind of extreme that Florida passed a law like this. Immigration law is typically a matter of federal law, so it will be difficult to interpret these new state laws alongside federal law, according to her. Blanket recommendations, such as telling clients to never hire noncitizens, are not an option because doing so could be considered discrimination based on race or national origin.
You don't want to be sued by someone because they had permission to work and you didn't hire them, she said, and you also don't want to get fined by the government.
Some of the employees leaving Florida have lived in the country for a long time. Even though some people may be able to work, they may be married to someone who isn't. Others might not have legal status but have minor children born here.
Construction cranes are commonplace in Miami's downtown area, towering over the city's rapidly expanding skyline. The narrative was the same at every location. Employees have left. Many others are keeping an eye on the situation.
A worker outside of one construction site claimed that he had lost roughly half of his crew. He claimed that they moved to Indiana because there, jobs pay $38 per hour as opposed to $25, and there, they won't have to worry about anyone watching them.
Coastal Construction is working on several projects, including Block 55, a 1.4 million square foot mixed-use structure. Before the exodus, according to Murphy, there was already a labor shortage.
"While we fully support immigrant worker documentation, the new law is exacerbating an already difficult situation," he said.
