WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis signed three bills regarding illegal immigration at a press conference in Polk County on Friday.
The following proposals were given final approval from the governor:
Here's what you need to know about the legislation:
House Bill 1451: Identification Documents
This bill will prohibit cities and counties from accepting ID cards or documents knowingly issued to people who are in the country illegally.
Current Florida law bars local governments from funding organizations that give IDs to people who can't prove they are in the country legally.
The new law would apply to what are commonly known as “community" ID cards, which can be used to adopt animals, pick children up from school or go to doctor's appointments. They can't be used for driving, voting or receiving social welfare benefits.
State Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, was one of the nine legislators who voted against the bill.
“You don’t think it’s better to have some form of identification for a person, just if they are walking around and potentially have an interaction with police, that may be created by that local government, than to not have any ID whatsoever?” she said at a Senate hearing.
House Bill 1598: Driving without a Valid Driver License
This new law would increase the maximum sentence for people charged with driving without a valid license. It also provides mandatory sentences for people who are repeat offenders.
"This is going to be a deterrent for illegal immigration in the state of Florida," DeSantis said.
DeSantis was joined by Republican Rep. Kiyan Michael, whose 21-year-old son died after his car was hit by an illegal immigrant. Michael shared her story at the press conference and said the immigrant had been deported twice. She also was one of the sponsors of HB 1451.
"My entire purpose here, today, and when I go back to Tallahassee is to make sure that no other mother, not another father, no other family has to endure what we've had to do," she said at the news conference.
The law increases the maximum sentence from 60 days to one year in jail for two or more offenses. The minimum mandatory sentence for three or more offenses will be 10 days in jail.
Senate Bill 1036: Reclassification of Criminal Penalties
This law will raise the penalty for a person who commits a crime and was previously deported.
A third-degree felony after being deported will be charged as a second-degree felony, a second-degree felony will be charged as a first-degree and a first-degree will be charged as a life felony.
The law will also enhance penalties for crimes committed to support drug cartels.
Press Conference Details
DeSantis was also joined by Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez, Attorney General Ashley Moody, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd and Nikki Jones, who lost her husband in a car accident with an illegal immigrant who was driving while drunk.
The conference was centered around illegal immigration and each of the speakers lauded the governor for what they called efforts to deter illegal immigrants from coming to Florida by ramping up the consequences.
DeSantis also gave an update on the gang violence and political instability in Haiti and said law enforcement efforts "stopped 670 vessels carrying over 13,500 illegal aliens."
Each of the speakers criticized President Joe Biden for what they said was not securing the southern border and putting Floridians at risk.
