Florida senate moves to prevent DACA lawyers from working in the state

The Florida Senate has passed an immigration bill that now heads to Governor Ron DeSantis’ desk which prohibits minors who were brought into the country illegally as a child from practicing law.

Senate Bill 1718 states that effective November 1, 2028, applicants who apply to the Florida Bar that were brought into the country illegally as a child and has been present within the United States for more than 10 years will no longer be accepted into the program.

The bill states that the repeal of this previous Florida Statute will not affect the validity of licenses issued before November 1, 2028. 

The bill also prohibits the giving of funds to persons or organizations for the purpose of issuing identification to a person who does not provide proof of lawful presence in the US.

A class of license given to undocumented immigrants by another state would be deemed invalid in Florida under the bill, with law enforcement officers being directed to give the driver a citation for driving without a license, and a list will be maintained of out-of-state classes of driver’s licenses that are invalid in Florida.

Hospitals that accept Medicaid under this bill would be required to include a provision in their patient admission or registration forms to indicate whether the patient is a United States citizen, lawfully present in the country, or within the country illegally.

"The inquiry must be followed by a statement that the response will not affect patient care or result in a report of the patient’s immigration status to immigration authorities," the bill states.

A quarterly report must be submitted by each hospital indicating the number of admissions or emergency department visits made by those who responded that they were US citizens, lawfully present, unlawfully present, or declined to answer.

Employers found to be employing illegal immigrants unauthorized to work in the US will be placed on probation for one year, being required to submit quarterly reports demonstrating compliance, and additional violations found within a 24-month period after the initial violation would be grounds for suspension or revocation of licenses.

DeSantis has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration, taking action last year by flying those in the state and country illegally to Democrat-controlled sanctuary jurisdictions like Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.