TALLAHASSEE, Fla — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed three bills that addressed changes in criminal penalties and identification guidelines that the governor’s office touted as combating illegal immigration on Friday.
The three proposals are CS 1036, Reclassification of Criminal Penalties, CS 1589, Driving Without a Valid Driver License, and HB 1451, simply titled, Identification documents.
The first new law would change the crime classification if the suspect was previously convicted of a crime related to the reentry of removed aliens. Individuals who remain in the country after having been deported or removed would also see higher classification of potential charges.
In Florida, we don’t allow illegal aliens to get drivers licenses and we won’t recognize drivers licenses that sanctuary jurisdictions give to illegal aliens. By increasing the penalties for driving without a valid license, the law I signed today is another tool to help law… pic.twitter.com/NEIZxTbsU7
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) March 15, 2024
In addition, the law creates new guidelines for an individual who commits an offense for the purpose of a transnational crime organization.
Under this new law, each misdemeanor or felony charge would be upgraded to the next highest level it would have before the law was passed. For example, if the suspect was charged with a felony of the third degree before, they would be charged with a felony of the second degree.
This graphic breaks down the changes in charges classification. (Office of the Governor)
The next law signed Friday revises penalties for driving without a valid driver license, and requires a minimum jail sentence for a third or subsequent conviction of such an offense.
The final law would prohibit counties and municipalities in the state of Florida from accepting certain ID cards or documents that are knowingly issued to individuals who are not lawfully present in the country.
The Office of the Governor said that the combined laws, “continue Florida’s efforts to maintain law and order and take proactive measures against illegal aliens who engage in criminal activity,” according to a press release.
“The federal government has failed in its responsibility to secure our southern border, leaving states to fend for themselves,” DeSantis said. “In Florida, we do not tolerate illegal immigration, let alone lawlessness committed by illegal aliens who shouldn’t be here in the first place. The bills I signed today further enhance Florida’s capabilities to uphold the law.”
Anna Lamb is an immigration advocate, and she’s been fighting back against bills like these for years.
But she’s staying positive and, most importantly, keeping the community informed.
“We understand that we need to follow the laws, but these types of bills are not helping,” Lamb said. “They want to punish undocumented people, but they are forgetting that those undocumented people may have family and children who are U.S. citizens.”
With the recent signing of these bills, she’s educating those in the chat about them and the impact they could have.
She says many of the immigrant community she interacts with are already fearful of law enforcement and bills like these can only add to that.
“If we are coming to this country to do better things to have goals and to build a family, we need to do it in a setting where there is no fear,” she said.
She says right now much of the immigrant community has questions and she’s hoping to answer them.