Fears over Florida immigration law surface as residents prepare for Hurricane Idalia

As Hurricane Idalia intensified Tuesday morning, people like Laudi Campos have been fielding calls from community groups asking if Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stringent immigration law will limit their ability to help immigrant families prepare for the storm. As residents in Volusia County, just outside the Orlando area, tried to decide whether to evacuate or hunker down in a safe place, some were asking if people who went to shelters in the state would be asked for identification and what the potential impact would be for those lacking legal immigration status. Campos, who is the state director for the Hispanic Federation, one of the nation’s largest Latino advocacy organizations, has been letting community organizations know that identification is "not a requirement." "They should go to a shelter, if they feel that their life is in danger," she said. The Hispanic Federation as well as other Latino and immigrant rights organizations in Florida have been reminding residents bracing for Hurricane Idalia that anyone can request shelter, regardless of their immigration status. The reminder comes weeks after DeSantis' SB 1718 law went into effect on July 1, imposing restrictions and penalties meant to deter the employment of undocumented workers in the state. Some of them make it a felony to “knowingly and willfully” transport an undocumented person into the state (including relatives and acquaintances), invalidates out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to immigrants who lack legal status and requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to ask about immigration status (though patients may decline to answer the question). “Floridians & immigrants CAN request shelter & aid!” the organization said in a social media post Monday as it urged residents to share the information. Even though shelters are not required to ask about immigration status under SB 1718, the law has already sowed doubt in immigrant communities “because they know that they have already been targeted,” Campos said. Some have already left the state because of fears around the law. Latino and immigrant rights organizations have said shelters should not ask anyone for identification in order to provide refuge. Immigration authorities are also not supposed to operate during a state of emergency. Campos encouraged families to contact the Hispanic Federation hotline during business hours or the hotline from the Florida Immigrant Coalition if shelters or emergency response personnel do otherwise. Tessa Petit of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, which advocates for immigrant rights, said her organization has learned of instances in which counties had asked people for identification to provide sandbags or access to shelters during previous natural disasters. Those accounts, combined with the uncertainty surrounding SB 1718, prompted Petit to remind immigrant families of their rights, especially if they have relatives without legal immigration status. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.