Fox Host Confronts DeSantis on Immigration Regulation

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ new immigration regulation poses to make existence extra difficult for immigrants living and operating in Florida, even when some of those exact individuals served rebuild the state after a normal catastrophe.

DeSantis has taken what some see as a harsh stance in opposition to immigration, this kind of as relocating immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border to California in June or professing accountability for buying two planeloads of migrants to journey from Texas to Martha’s Winery past September. DeSantis’ stance from immigration only heightened after he announced his 2024 presidential marketing campaign as he tries to influence Republicans to vote for him somewhat than previous president Donald Trump, who continues to dominate Republican polls for the presidential race. In Might, DeSantis permitted more powerful steps against undocumented immigrants dwelling and doing work in Florida, and the legislation went into impact July 1.

On Monday, Fox Business’ discuss present host Stuart Varney pressed DeSantis on the new law, arguing that he’s viewed immigrants performing in Florida, primarily aiding rebuild the point out just after it was ravaged by Hurricane Ian last slide.

Soon after the 2022 hurricane damaged the condition, immigrants hailing from New York, Louisiana, Houston and Dallas traveled to Florida to assist maintenance the harm. But less than DeSantis’ new legislation, the immigrants could encounter legal outcomes by visiting the state in the upcoming, even with excellent intentions these kinds of as helping rebuild its infrastructure.

“Do we have to have these migrants to perform?” Varney requested DeSantis throughout an on-camera interview. “I do see migrants rebuilding the southern part of the state soon after Ian.”

DeSantis responded and reported he desired “equipped-bodied Us citizens” to function alternatively.

“You get the job done lawfully,” he mentioned. “We want a predicament in which in a position-bodied Americans—particularly able-bodied men—are doing the job.”

A spokesperson from DeSantis’ office environment explained to Newsweek that the immigration law “counteracts the consequences of illegal immigration on Florida, a dilemma willfully enabled by the Biden Administration’s refusal to protected our nation’s southern border.

“The media has been intentionally inaccurate about this difference amongst legal and illegal immigration to make this pretty sort of outrage based on a fake premise,” the spokesperson mentioned. “Any organization that exploits this crisis by utilizing illegal aliens rather of Floridians will be held accountable.

“Just about every nation has a sovereign ideal to protect its borders,” the spokesperson included. “The U.S. must as properly. Governor DeSantis will act inside of his authority when the Biden Administration fails or refuses to do so.”

Newsweek arrived at out to the Florida Immigration Coalition by electronic mail for remark.

One particular of the sides of DeSantis’ new regulation puts undocumented staff at possibility of getting rid of their jobs. The law expands the E-Verify process, which needs organizations with much more than 25 workers to examine the employees’ immigration standing. If a public company has “very good religion” that a contractor employs undocumented employees, they are justified to finish the contract.

The law also invalidates driver’s licenses issued to undocumented people today by other states criminalizes the transport of undocumented immigrants into, inside of or out of Florida prohibits regional governments from funding systems issuing local community identification (ID) to undocumented migrants and necessitates hospitals to inquire patients for their immigration status in advance of admitting them into treatment.

Critics of the new law have termed it “unconstitutional” and DeSantis’ try at a “point out-run immigration enforcement program”, according to a report by The Palm Seaside Put up.

A team of five civil rights organizations are organizing to sue DeSantis about the controversial regulation, which include The Southern Poverty Legislation Heart, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, Us citizens for Immigrant Justice and American Immigration Council.

The lawsuit will be filed before long and addresses a distinct aspect of DeSantis’ new immigration legislation that restricts the transportation of undocumented immigrants into Florida. A venue for the lawsuit has not still been decided.

“Gov. DeSantis’ try to create a individual, competing point out-operate immigration enforcement program impedes the federal government’s capacity to do its career,” Paul R. Chavez, senior supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Regulation Center’s Immigrant Justice Project, explained, explained in a push launch about the lawsuit. “This bill’s punitive impact will erode community basic safety and general public well being, pushing thousands and thousands of mixed-status family members into the shadows, and earning them ripe for exploitation.”

Newsweek achieved out to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Undertaking through e mail.

Update 7/11/23, 10:56 a.m. ET: This story was updated to consist of comment from Ron DeSantis’ business office.