DeSantis Proposes Nation's Strictest Immigration Measures

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing for a package of immigration measures that would be the toughest crackdown on illegal immigration by any state in more than a decade. The bills would expose people to felony charges for sheltering, hiring and transporting immigrants who are in the country without legal permission; require hospitals to ask patients their immigration status and report to the state; invalidate out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to immigrants in the country without legal permission; and direct the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to provide assistance to federal authorities in enforcing the nation’s immigration laws. Critics warn the bills will sow fear, promote racial profiling and harm Florida’s economy, and the legislative push runs counter to a trend elsewhere in the country to integrate the nation’s existing population of immigrants in the country illegally.