Several hundred people protested yesterday Saturday in Homestead, an agricultural city south of Miami, against the SB1718 immigration law, which entered into force on July 1 in Florida, and to defend the contribution of immigrants to the culture and economy of This status.
More than half a thousand people, of all ages and mostly Mexicans and Central Americans who work in the fields and their families, gathered in front of the City Hall with flags and banners.s alluding to a state law that is considered the harshest against irregular immigration in the entire US.
After listening to various community and religious leaders and witnessing the performance of folkloric groups, the participants began a march through the city, one of many in Florida in which immigrants were heard yesterday Saturday asking that the validity of the law and protect your rights.
“Without the undocumented, like the farm workers and all the others who do the hard jobs, Florida falls apart,” Antonia Catalán, a Mexican activist with the Soy Poderosa organization, which helps immigrant women in the south, told EFE. of the state.
Catalan, who also criticized the restrictions on legal abortion and other laws promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis, was early in the square where the rally was held with the slogan “Freedom for all.”
The Mexican activist maintained that there is “panic” among the undocumented who have decided to stay in Florida, unlike many others who have headed north to work in states like Georgia and North Carolina and South Carolina.
Entry into force
“Now that the law has come into force, they don’t want to leave their homes,” said Catalán, who said he had invited some people to join the march, but they gave him a “no” answer.
Another woman, Rosa Elera, spokeswoman for the Florida Immigration Coalition (FLIC), also acknowledged to EFE that the community is “scared,” but urged immigrants to fight for their rights and trust that community organizations will protect them.
This law that entered into force today was going to be much tougher but the pressure caused the Florida Congress, totally dominated by the Republican Party, to “soften” it, he stressed.
According to Elera, initially it was going to be punishable to live with undocumented people even if they were from the same family.
“We have to have faith and raise our voices, they are not going to intimidate us,” said the activist.
This same Saturday, a group of civil organizations announced that they will file the first lawsuit against Florida’s immigration law SB1718 for violating “the fundamental rights” of people living in this southern state.
The lawsuit, brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and its Florida chapter, Americans for Immigrant Justice and the American Immigration Council, alleges that this “discriminatory” law represents “a threat to the rights and well-being of every individual in the state,” not just for immigrants.
“SB 1718 is unconstitutional and undermines our democracy,” said Paul R. Chavez, senior supervising attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Immigrant Justice Project.
lawsuit against desantis
The lawsuit will be filed against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on behalf of several individuals and the Florida Farm Workers Association.
The law was promoted by Governor DeSantis, who is a candidate in the Republican primary with a view to being a candidate in the 2024 presidential election and has made the fight against irregular immigration the workhorse of his electoral campaign.
The lawsuit will specifically focus on the provisions of Section 10, which criminalizes the transportation to Florida of persons to Florida who may have entered the country without federal inspection.
SB 1718 requires companies with more than 25 workers to use an official immigration status verification program for each one, under penalty of fines and loss of license.
In addition, hospitals that accept public health insurance (Medicaid) must ask and record whether or not their patients are legal residents, among other provisions.