This Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced his candidacy to represent the Republican Party in next year’s 2024 presidential elections at a public event with American magnate Elon Musk.
The event was held on the Twitter Spaces platform and moderated by David Sachs, a close friend of Musk who is also a DeSantis supporter. Almost immediately, American citizens questioned what the Republican’s immigration policies at the federal level would be and how they would affect undocumented travelers should he reach the presidency.
Here are details of DeSantis’ most controversial actions on immigration matters:
- A few weeks before announcing his candidacy, DeSantis approved immigration regulations known as ‘HR 1718’; It is the toughest law against undocumented immigration. The measure envisages mandatory use of the federal program ‘e-Verify’ for companies with 25 or more employees, which ascertains the migrant status of workers.
- The same order suggests that US residents who transfer a person with irregular immigrant status could be subject to a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
- Driver’s licenses legally issued to people without regulated immigrant status will no longer be valid.
- Law enforcement agencies would be allowed to collect DNA samples from people who do not have regulated immigration status.
- All hospitals that allow Medicaid and health centers that participate in emergencies are required to collect data on the immigration status of patients. To achieve this and other actions, DeSantis approved $12 million for the transfer of undocumented immigrants to other “sanctuary” or “reception” entities in the US.
- As if this were not enough, lawyers who do not have regulated immigrant status will be barred from practicing their profession.
In April, DeSantis also promoted amendments to the “Parental Rights in Education” law, which was listed by the political opposition and the LGBT+ population as a “Don’t Say Gay” law, aimed not only at elementary schools to reach where it is already established; But also in middle and secondary education.
- At the instigation of Florida’s current governor, the ordinance was amended to establish that lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity would be prohibited from fourth through twelfth grades. They will be taught only if required by existing state regulations and even if it is part of sexual and reproductive health classes. These last classes are optional.
Other controversial laws from Governor DeSantis include the following:
- Law CS/HB 9B, which seeks to remove so-called “self-governance” from Disney amusement parks operated in the District of Florida since 1960. It is noteworthy that the company, being one of the largest employers and taxpayers of the entity, had the special status of acting as a local government with independent decision making. DeSantis and his new legislation allowed the removal of Disney’s internal board members, and he opted to appoint five members of his choice.
- Law HB-543, which established that beginning July 1, residents of the unit could carry concealed weapons in public. Without the permit issued by the above State Govt.
- SB-300, known to Republicans as the “Heartbeat Protection Act”. The order reduces the penalty for abortion from 15 to six weeks. The medical community has pointed out that, during that time period, many women do not even know whether or not they are going to have a baby; While scientists suggest that the chambers of the heart are formed between 17 and 20 weeks of pregnancy.
If he becomes President of the United States, experts suggest that these rules will remain in force; And would even like to promote them to the federal level.
