Groups Sue DeSantis Over Latest Anti-Immigration Policies

What's the story?

• Several human rights groups sued the DeSantis administration on Monday over its latest immigration law, FL SB 1718, arguing the policies inflict “enormous harm on people’s ability to go about their daily lives.”

What is the law?

• DeSantis has been at the forefront of efforts to transport undocumented migrants to Northern Democrat-led states, in a move human rights groups have condemned.
• The law allows authorities to charge someone with human trafficking if they knowingly transport an undocumented migrant across state lines. It would prohibit undocumented migrants from driving even if they possess a driver's license from another state.
• The law requires state hospitals that receive Medicaid to ask patients about their immigration status.

What's the lawsuit about?

• FL SB 1718 is the latest in a series of policies introduced by DeSantis, who has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration's handling of the border crisis.
• Several groups, including the American Immigration Council, Americans for Immigrant Justice, Southern Poverty Law Center, and the ACLU Foundation of Florida brought the lawsuit. 
• There are also nine unnamed plaintiffs filing the suit, including a private citizen who runs a nonprofit transporting migrants across state lines for medical appointments who worries about the bill's impact on her relief efforts.

• The lawsuit states that FL SB 1718:

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. 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 want to block the state from enforcing the policies, stating that they have the potential to impede federal immigration authorities and contribute to "unlawful arrest, prosecution, and harassment." The lawsuit contends that the law is unconstitutional.
• Paul R. Chavez, from the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund, said:

"This bill will push hundreds of thousands of people into the shadows, including U.S. citizens, putting freedom and even our state's economy at risk. This cruel and misguided effort will negatively impact public safety and public health and cause harm to all Floridians."

 Do you support the lawsuit?

—Emma Kansiz 

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