What effect does the promotion of a policy of open borders have on the United States and Florida? The answer is simple, it places a high demand on already stressed enforcement and provider systems and places enormous financial strains on state and local governments to keep their communities safe.
As of the latest April 2023 data provided by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there have been over 1.8 million Customs and Border Protection enforcement acts with over 24,000 arrests of individuals with criminal convictions or those wanted by law enforcement. Customs and Border Protection enforcement has seized over 1.5 million of currency and other monetary instruments. They have also seized 3,500 lbs. of marijuana, 1,500 of cocaine, 8 lbs. of heroin, 4,900 of methamphetamine, 509 lbs. of fentanyl, and 63 lbs. of other drugs. Customs and Border Protection has also apprehended 377 affiliated gang members. The amount of time placed into these encounters and seizures along with the necessary documentation and transport comes with an astronomical financial burden and security cost to all Americans.
Employment opportunities for these illegal aliens coming to our country and states are very limited. Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, it is illegal for any U. S. employer to knowingly; hire, recruit or refer for a fee an alien knowing that he or she is unauthorized to work; continue to employ an alien knowing that he or she has become unauthorized; or hire, recruit or refer for a fee, any person without following the record keeping requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Some of the illegal immigrants found loops holes in which to circumvent the system and the Florida Legislature passed a new law which helps to combat the hiring of illegal aliens, reduces their ability to possess a Florida Driver’s License, provides additional disclosure requirements of their immigration status to health care facilities and dedicates $12 million to relocate illegals to sanctuary jurisdictions.
Senate Bill 1718 requires private employers of 25 employees or more to use E-Verify to check the employment status and fines the employer $1,000 per day for those who fail to use the E-Verify system Beginning July 1, 2024, amends the penalties for an employer’s noncompliance to register and use the E-Verify system to include reporting requirement and provides a provision to allow suspension and revocation of employer licenses in certain circumstances. The new law established a third-degree felony for an unauthorized alien to knowingly use a false identification document, or who fraudulently uses an identification document of another person, to obtain employment. SB 1718 prohibits anyone from operating a motor vehicle if their driver’s license is issued by another state which exclusively provides such a license to undocumented immigrants who are unable to prove lawful presence in the United States when the licenses are issued. It also provides that certain existing exemptions from obtaining a Florida driver license for nonresidents do not apply for undocumented immigrants.
The bill repeals the Florida Statute which allows an unauthorized immigrant to be admitted to the Bar by the Florida Supreme Court if certain conditions are met. Requires a person who is in the custody of a law enforcement agency and subject to an immigration detainer being booked into a jail, correctional facility, or juvenile facility to submit a DNA sample. Requires any hospital that accepts Medicaid to include a question on its admission forms inquiring about whether the patient is a United States citizen, is lawfully present in the United States, or is not lawfully present in the United States. It also requires each hospital to provide a quarterly report to the Agency of Health Care Administration, detailing the number of emergency department visits or hospital admissions by patients who responds to the admission form question of immigration status.
Now that we have discussed the new law, let’s discuss the illegal alien financial burden to the U.S. taxpayers and Floridians. The total federal illegal alien expenditures are estimated to be over $66 billion and total illegal alien state and local expenditures are estimated to be over $115 billion for a total national illegal alien expenditure of over $181 billion. The estimated tax contribution of illegal aliens of both federal, state, and local taxes is estimated at over $31 billion. The total illegal alien financial burden is the difference between the total federal illegal alien expenditures of $181 billion less total tax contributions of illegal aliens of over $31 billion leaving a total illegal alien burden on taxpayers of $150 billion. Florida is home to approximately 1.5 million illegal immigrants and their children. The estimated cost of illegal aliens to Floridians is over $8 billion dollars which is approximately $5,000 per alien to the Florida taxpayer. We are all paying a monumental price for citizens who do not believe in our principled ideals and have any respect for our justice system. I will leave you with those thoughts and that concludes this issue of The Straight Truth with Mary Ann Hutton.