A group of left-wing immigration advocates challenged Gov. Ron DeSantis's (R-FL) new immigration law in a federal lawsuit Monday, claiming the legislation was "anti-immigrant" and violated people's right to due process.
The new law, which went into effect on July 1, allows Florida authorities to arrest and charge someone with human trafficking if they knowingly transport an undocumented immigrant into the state. The groups claim the law, Senate Bill 1718, could lead to “unlawful arrest, prosecution, and harassment.”
EXPERTS TORN OVER SUPREME COURT DIRECTION IN NEXT SECOND AMENDMENT CASE
"[The law] puts thousands of Floridians and residents of other states—both citizens and noncitizens alike—at risk of being arrested, charged, and prosecuted with a felony for transporting a vaguely-defined category of immigrants into Florida,” the lawsuit alleged. “Families may be unable to visit each other across state lines. Parents who live near the state border may be unable to drive their children to medical appointments or soccer matches.”
The groups named in the lawsuit consist of the American Immigration Council, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU Florida, and Americans for Immigrant Justice.
"Florida’s draconian Senate Bill 1718, which went into effect on July 1, 2023, includes a host of provisions designed to marginalize immigrants and purportedly enforce federal immigration law," the AIC said in a statement. "At the direction of DeSantis, the Florida legislature drafted a law that is so unclear that it potentially sweeps in many immigrants with permission to live and work in the United States. Plaintiffs contend that with Section 10, Florida has impermissibly intruded on the federal government’s central role in regulating immigration, and violated their right to due process."
The groups urged the Miami federal court to rule that the new law is "unconstitutional" because it allegedly goes further than federal immigration policies. The new law requires Florida hospitals that accept Medicare to check the immigration status of patients, and prohibits undocumented immigrants from driving a car in Florida, even if they have a driver’s license from a different state.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“The Biden Border Crisis has wreaked havoc across the United States and has put Americans in danger,” DeSantis said in a statement when signing the bill in May. “In Florida, we will not stand idly by while the federal government abandons its lawful duties to protect our country."
The law also provides $12 million in funding for transporting illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities. It comes less than a year after DeSantis transported 50 immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. He also recently transported illegal immigrants to other sanctuary cities.