Approval Of SB 1718 Is An Attack On Human Dignity

Ron DeSantis is back at it again.

The Florida governor, who has earned a controversial reputation for his stance on COVID-19 and education, has set his sights on another deeply contentious issue—immigration.

Yesterday, DeSantis signed a comprehensive immigration bill, SB 1718, into law.  It will negatively impact the lives of the estimated 800,000 undocumented immigrants who live in Florida. 

Rather than strive for bi-partisan reform, the governor created policies that hurt everyone and benefit no one. 

As someone who was undocumented, I believe DeSantis’ approach is misguided.

One of the most controversial stipulations in SB 1718 includes the allocation of $12 million to the state’s immigrant relocation program. 

This will expand DeSantis’ initiative to send undocumented immigrants to other states. Something he has already done to further his political agenda. 

Undocumented or not, treating any human being as mere pawns in a political game is deeply unethical. 

Aside from this, the new legislation will also yield harsher punishment for small businesses that hire undocumented immigrants.

Denying the opportunity for immigrant communities to contribute to society would be catastrophic for the economy; many of the farmworkers in the agricultural industry are undocumented.

Undocumented immigrants who have a driver’s license from another state will also no longer be able to drive legally in Florida. 

Denying an immigrant the privilege to drive will not stop them from doing so. The passing of this bill will only generate more unlicensed and uninsured drivers, making our roads less safe. 

In the realm of education, the bill initially proposed to remove a law that allows undocumented immigrants to receive in-state tuition. Without that help, it would have been impossible for me to attend Miami Dade College.

That would have made it impossible for me to serve as the editor-in-chief of The Reporter, participate in several other clubs, graduate with honors and earn a full-ride scholarship to attend Duke University next fall. 

The aforementioned points are all an attack on the undocumented community, but it gets worse.

As part of the new legislation, any hospital in the state would be obligated to collect information about a patient’s immigration status. 

That means an emergency visit to the hospital will be met with hesitancy, something that will trigger a loss of lives for fear of deportation.

Immigration has become such a politicized issue that we’ve gone to these lengths to make a political point. 

Illegal immigration affects every aspect of society, therefore, we should put aside our political differences to provide a reasonable solution to this complicated issue.

While it may not be right to enter the United States illegally, we shouldn’t treat undocumented immigrants as third-class citizens. 

Most people who come here illegally do so because of safety and economic issues in their native country. They aspire for opportunities to make a good life for their family. 

You can argue that people need to get in line and do the process legally. However, when it takes years for the immigration process to play out, it’s easy to see why people who don’t have time to spare come here illegally. 

Rather than dishing out severe punishment to a community that is already battered by circumstance, our nation should focus on the real enemy—our outdated and deeply inefficient immigration system.