Licenses issued by the states of Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont will not be valid in Florida, if the possessor is an undocumented immigrant. The states’ IDs are being targeted under Florida’s anti-immigration Senate Bill 1718.
As of July 1, the law prohibits a driver’s license from being issued to anyone who does not provide proof of lawful presence in the U.S. Out-of-state licenses issued to those who cannot provide that proof are also regarded as invalid, as a result of the controversial bill that was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. Per The Hill, Florida will continue to modify the list of states whose licenses fall under this classification through periodic updates as other states revise their issuance requirements.
In addition to rendering certain forms of government-issued identification invalid, SB 1718 will also require employers with 25 or more employees to use E-Verify to check if their employees’ legal status will require hospitals to ask for patients’ immigration status, and will prohibit local governments from financing “community IDs.”
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Like driver’s licenses, community IDs help people complete important tasks, like opening a bank account, entering a gated community, or simply picking up their kids from school. While Florida claims that these measures are designed to protect citizens, critics call the bill racist and say that it gets in the way of federal immigration officers from doing their job.
Indeed, five civil rights groups are suing the state over a provision in the bill that makes it illegal to transport an undocumented immigrant into Florida. According to the law, transporting an adult is now a third-degree felony, while a child is a second-degree felony.
“Our lawsuit seeks to ensure the fundamental rights and dignity of every individual in the state — regardless of their immigration status,” Kate Melloy Goettel, legal director of litigation at the American Immigration Council, told the Palm Beach Post. “No one should live in fear or face discrimination based on their immigration status, their presumed immigration status or the immigration status of their family members.”