Florida lack of work accelerates stricter immigration policy

At the moment there is a lot of talk in the Florida legislature about operating unauthorized workers in the state. It is not the first time either. In recent years, several iterations from E-Verify, a software system with which the authorization of employees in the United States has been checked, have been issued by the legislators.

Why are there several iterations from E-Verify? Because the versions approved by legislators contain gaps on behalf of the construction and agricultural trees that they find difficult to enforce.

Immigrants in Florida make up 47% of the workforce in agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting and mining; 38% under construction; and 25% in services. An estimated 37-47% of the workforce in agriculture from non-citizens is estimated. Why is e-verify so difficult to enforce in our state? The reality is that our economic and supply chains are completely dependent on workers with a migration background. If we pursue our immigrants' workers, this means full stop prices for consumer goods in our supermarkets.

Florida's own office for economic and demographic research recognizes the acute lack of work in the state. In a study in 2024 entitled “Florida: A Economic Overview” it says that the state's participation rate has scored a goal since 2020 and is expected to decrease steadily in the next ten years. In addition, add the current tariff regime, which is initiated and threatened by the Trump administration under the patronage of the balance between trade deficits and negotiations by the immigration authorities. These tariffs are elevated to vital trading partners for the USA such as Canada and Mexico and for important materials such as aluminum, which affect all types of goods, for example small companies such as breweries are on a prior increase for cans and steel devices such as barrels and fermenting tanks.

In addition to this economic uncertainty in relation to our trade policy and the continuing instability in the Middle East, a region that contains crucial shipping routes such as the Hormuz street and the Suez channel and is a decisive oil producer for global consumption. It is quite confusing to see how the legislator in Florida takes senseless steps to tighten our lack of work, with the recent lifting of teaching fees an excellent example. It comprised undocumented pupils who have completed the high school in the state at least three years and allowed them to pay the same tuition fees that a US citizen would, without public advantages of all kinds. is unaffectedly expensive, three to four times more than what you are currently paying.

We have already invested in these students in the form of their K-12 training. Why shouldn't we want you to connect the workforce in a state that is exposed to the shortage of labor on nurses, teachers and more? The same applies to e-verify. It may seem like a good policy to present a tough immigration at the moment, but it's bad politics. Immigrants do not work from people, they generate them by returning income to an economy in which the jobs historically increase with the population. Inflation has steadily receded in recent years, partly due to the fact that the supply chains were strengthened by the arrival of migrants who reduced the jobs. It is no coincidence that inflation in January in January due to customs threats and the tougher immigration authorities increased in January.

What is the state legislator doing to tackle it while attacking our immigrant workforce? You hire another proposal to continue to weaken children's work laws by working on young people in the school nights earlier than 6:30 p.m. and after 11 p.m. and at the same time eliminating their breaks. Back to the children's work policy, which is reminiscent of the gilded age, is not an answer in a civilized society to combat workers shortage and disturbed supply chains. We already have a domestic worker to tackle these problems. What we have to do is to stop playing politics, bringing them to work of permits and occupational safety and avoiding them so that they can do the hard work that puts food on our table, builds up our houses and shops and keeps our economy going.

Thomas Kennedy is a former member of the National Democratic Committee. He worked with organizations such as the Florida Immigrant Coalition and the Immigration Center and in the Florida legislature.