'Florida Will Stand For The Rule Of Law': DeSantis Unveils New Measures To Crack Down On Illegal Immigration

On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) announced his intentions to further crack down on illegal immigrants by limiting the number of out-of-state licenses that will be recognized, many of which are licenses that are given to illegal immigrants in the country.

The bill, SB 1718, was approved by the governor back in May but has just now taken effect as of July 1st. The bill's primary purpose is limiting the access to social services that undocumented immigrants can receive and expanding the budget of DeSantis’ immigrant relocation program. 

The aspect of the bill that is relevant to DeSantis’ Wednesday announcement is the crackdown on government identification issued by other states. The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle Department released a list of the different licenses that would not be permitted any longer, including certain licenses from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

All the IDs that are being restricted for use are not full, proper IDs but instead certain types that are given specifically to illegal immigrants. These include ones that say “not for federal identification” and ones for driving privileges. Any person who is pulled over on the road and presents any of these will receive a citation for driving without a license. 

“Someone who is in our country illegally and has violated our laws should not possess a government-issued ID which allows them access to state-funded services and other privileges afforded to lawful residents,” the governor said in a statement. “The Biden administration may continue to abdicate its responsibilities to secure our border, but Florida will stand for the rule of law. Even if the federal government refuses, Florida will act decisively to protect our citizens, our state, and our country.”

The crackdown on immigrants has been a hot topic in the state of Florida, with many arguing that it will have negative effects on the economy. The Florida economy is still expected to be completely fine even without the full support of immigrants, so the veiled threats from progressives have little impact on the governor's decisions.

DeSantis is intent on cracking down on illegal immigrants and their access to state-funded programs. They are already taking jobs and other resources away from legal citizens and commonly not paying taxes on their income either. These illegals do not deserve access to state-funded programs and any decision to crackdown on it is the right one.