In Florida, immigration policy is not some empty, red-meat issue for cynical, blowhard career politicians. Brick by brick, the state has built America’s most aggressive sub-federal control system for illegal aliens.
This was driven by a clear premise: unlawful immigrants are bad news for Americans.
That effort reached a turning point on May 10, 2023, when Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1718, a sweeping measure that required larger employers to use E-Verify. The law also restricted identification access for illegal aliens. It furthermore penalized the transport of unlawful immigrants and tightened the incentives that draw illegal aliens into the state.
The law took effect on July 1, 2023, with the explicit goal of deterring illegal employment and reducing the taxpayer burden.
Florida did not stop there.
In March 2024, additional legislation increased penalties for illegals re-entering the state and barred recognition of certain foreign-issued identification documents. This closed loopholes that had allowed unlawful aliens to carry on across Florida.
Then, in February 2025, the state went further still.
Either grady judd has bumped his head real hard, or he is somehow becoming incredibly wealthy. A believer a financial audit is due.