The SB 1718 approved by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is a headache for Florida migrants. Legislation that will take effect on July 1, 2023, provides for measures and sanctions for undocumented immigrants residing in or entering that state.

According to estimates by the Migration Policy Institute, a think tank based in Washington DC, there are 772,000 undocumented immigrants in Florida.

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The Florida law, passed on May 10, contains a series of measures that are of concern to the migrant community in this state and are even criticized for being believed to violate certain human rights.

Only Immigration and Customs can detain a migrant based on his legal status.

According to the document signed by the reissued DeSantis, SB 1718:

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Fearing the detention of undocumented migrants by some government agency, experts in the field have said that only the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) can detain a migrant because of their legal status.

On the other hand, an immigration lawyer explained to El Nuevo Herald what happens to migrants who are currently processing asylum (Humanitarian Parole), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and Deferred Action Status for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Héctor Benítez Cañas clarified to the US media that the new law of the governor of Florida does not apply to migrants that some of these three figures are processing.

The immigration attorney explained that SB 1718 only directly affects immigrants who do not have any type of document.

For this reason, he pointed out that those who entered the United States through land borders without documents; or those who arrived on some kind of visa, but remained in the country contrary to the specificity of that permit, but currently have Asylum, TPS, or DACA processingis not affected by Florida law.