Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Florida Immigration Bill 1718 into law on May 10, 2023. This new law, which is frequently discussed by Governor Ron DeSantis, aims to reduce illegal immigration in Florida by:

1. Requiring private employers to use the E-Verify system if they have 25 employees or more;

2. Expanding the definition of “human smuggling” to include the transport of one or more unlawfully present individuals into Florida (with some exceptions);

3. Failing to recognize out-of-state licenses given to classes of persons with unlawful presence in the United States;

4. Requiring that some hospitals collect data on patients’ legal status in the United States;

5. Implementing penalties for employers that knowingly employ, hire, recruit, or refer for employment immigrants that are not authorized to work;

6. Criminalizing as a 3rd degree felony the use of a false ID to work or the fraudulent US of an ID to work;

7. Expanding Florida’s DNA database to collect DNA samples of persons in custody with local law enforcement under an immigration detainer;

8. Adding $12 million to the “Unauthorized Alien Transport Program” to relocate certain unlawfully present migrants from Florida to another location.

Most provisions of the new Florida Immigration Bill 1718 go into effect on July 1, 2023.