(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Florida has outlawed driver’s licenses issued to illegal aliens by five US states under a stringent new anti-illegal immigration law, its GOP Governor Ron DeSantis has announced.
Florida’s list of invalid driver’s licenses was created by the governor together with the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles under Senate Bill 1718.
SB1718 bans issuing a driver’s license to a person unable to prove lawful presence in the US and declares out-of-state licenses to such individuals invalid, The Hill reports.
The new law is the “strongest anti-illegal immigration legislation in the county,” DeSantis declared when he signed it earlier this year.
As of July 1, driver’s licenses issued to illegal immigrants by five US states – Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont – are no longer valid in Florida.
“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 declared as he announced the list of states.
“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,” added the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful.
His office added that the list could be modified based on updates as other states revise their driver’s license eligibility.
“[Florida’s motor vehicles department] and its division of the Florida Highway Patrol are prepared to strictly enforce Senate Bill 1718,” its executive director Dave Kerner said in a statement.
“This legislation supports two of our primary goals: to enhance homeland security and to interdict criminal activity. It communicates our state policy that Florida will not provide incentives to undocumented immigrants while reminding criminal cartels and those who are planning to unlawfully cross our national border that Florida should not be their destination of choice,” Kerner explained.
In other provisions, Florida’s new immigration reform law obliges companies of 25 or more employees to conduct a work status check on new hires.
It also boosts penalties for those who hire or transport illegal immigrants in the state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a list of out-of-state driver’s licenses that are no longer valid in Florida due to a new law considered to be its toughest immigration crackdown to date. https://t.co/U3JqKUiqdW
— The Hill (@thehill) July 6, 2023
