Anti-illegal immigration bill advances after tense hearing

By Ernesto Sampera

Published Mar. 15, 2023, 9:58 p.m. ET | Updated Mar. 15, 2023

Migrant caravan of over 1,000 enters into El Paso, Texas on Dec. 11, 2022. (@BillFOXLA, Twitter)

Lydia Nusbaum contributed to this report.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – A bill filed by Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, aims to crackdown on illegal immigration in Florida and approved 15-5 by a Senate Rules Committee Wednesday.

The bill increases penalties for businesses hiring illegal immigrants, requires certain hospitals to track how much money is spent on illegal immigrants, and enhances penalties for human smugglers.

Ingoglia has called the bill the “strongest, state-led anti-illegal immigrant” reform put forth.

“We are not anti immigrants. We are anti-illegal immigrants,” Ingoglia said in committee. “The federal government refuses to fix this problem. They absolutely refuse to fix this problem.”

SB 1718 would do the following:

Enhanced fines and penalties on Florida businesses that hire illegal immigrants up to $10,000 per worker and revocation of all business licenses in the state; additionally authorizes FDLE to conduct random audits of businesses for compliance with this immigration law;
Enhanced criminal penalties for those caught engaging in the human smuggling of illegal immigrants;
Florida will not recognize any out of state licenses issued to illegal aliens;
Prohibition on local governments from giving money to non-profits to create identification cards for illegal immigrants;
Authorizes Sheriffs in county jails to take DNA samples when an illegal alien is arrested and an ICE detainer is issued;
Mandates that hospitals receiving Medicaid dollars from the state start tracking how much money is spent on illegal immigrants in Florida emergency rooms;
Removing the law that allows illegal immigrants to get a law license in the State of Florida

Ingoglia introduced an amendment, which passed, that would expand the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s ability to conduct compliance checks to public employers as well as private.

Kate Danehy-Samitz, founder and Vice President of Women’s Voices of Southwest Florida was reprimanded by the committee’s chairwoman after unleashing a barrage of attacks directed towards the legislature and governor in the midst of her remarks in opposition to the bill..

Florida is “not only where woke goes to die, it’s where liberty goes to die as well,” Samitz said. Later calling the legislature’s supermajority a “human centipede bent at the will of Ron DeSantis.”

Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, called the proposed bill a “human rights nightmare.”

“These are not aliens, these are human beings,” said Jones. “The vagueness of this bill is so unfortunate, because some people are going to find themselves in unpredictable situations.”

Chairwoman of the Rules Committee, Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, spoke in favor of the bill.

“We have a process in this country and we’re not trying to hurt or harm people that are here illegally,” Mayfield said. “But that doesn’t mean that people can come illegally across the borders and come to our state.”