Driver's licenses from five states are no longer valid in Florida under a new immigration law.
The crackdown on out-of state licenses is part of a larger immigraton legislation signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and that went into effect on July 1.
The bill prohibits the issuance of a driver license to anyone who does not provide proof of lawful presence in the U.S. and specifies that out-of-state driver licenses issued exclusively to undocumented immigrants are invalid in Florida.
Anyone presenting an invalid out-of-state driver license during a traffic stop will be subject to a citation for driving without a valid license.
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The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles published a list of out-of-state license classes that are invalid in Florida.
They include:
- Connecticut licenses that indicate "Not For Federal Identification"
- Delaware licenses that indicate "Driving Privilege Only" or "Not Valid for Identification"
- Hawaii licenses that indicate "Limited Purpose Driver’s License" or "Limited Purpose Instruction Permit" or "Limited Purpose Provisional Driver’s License" or "Not Valid for use for official Federal purposes"
- Rhode Island licenses that indicate "Not for Federal Identification" or "Driver Privilege Card" or "Driver Privilege Permit"
- Vermont licenses that indicate "Not for REAL ID Purposes Driver’s Privilege Card" or "Not for REAL ID Purposes Junior Driver’s Privilege Card" or "Not for REAL ID Purposes Learner’s Privilege Card"
The bill, SB 1718, also requires private companies with over 25 employees to use E-Verify, an online employment verification system, to prove the legal employment eligibility of workers.
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Penalties will be applied to employers who knowingly have immigrants without documentation working for them, with the severity dependent on how many undocumented immigrants were employed.
Additionally, Florida hospitals that accept Medicaid will be required to document whether or not a patient is a United States citizen, and whether or not the patient is an undocumented immigrant.
However, neither citizenship nor legal status will affect their medical care, and undocumented patients will not be reported to immigration authorities.
DeSantis, who blames the Biden administration for what he says is a crisis at the southern border, said the bill and license crackdown is meant to combat illegal immigration.
“Someone who is in our country illegally and has violated our laws should not possess a government-issued ID which allows them access to state-funded services and other privileges afforded to lawful residents," DeSantis said in a statement Wednesday. "The Biden administration may continue to abdicate its responsibilities to secure our border, but Florida will stand for the rule of law. Even if the federal government refuses, Florida will act decisively to protect our citizens, our state, and our country."
Critics say the new immigration legislation is among the harshest state laws in the country and makes life harder for Florida’s roughly 775,000 undocumented immigrants.
