Florida's Cruel Crackdown on Undocumented Immigrants

A man wearing a black unisex t-shirt that says "No human is illegal" arched over an illustration of desert landscape. Below that reads "on stolen land."
You can get this shirt here.

We really do love a great "fuck around and find out." (For those unfamiliar with the phrase, it basically means experiencing the consequences of your horrible actions.)  Anyone who voted for DeathSantis is an absolute imbecile. Floridian Republicans will gleefully crash their own economy just to punish undocumented workers.

Ron DeSantis, the Governor of Florida, signed a horrific anti-immigration bill into law that punishes undocumented workers. This legislation bans cities from issuing identification cards for undocumented immigrants, voids identification cards and driver's licenses issued legally in other states, and requires companies in Florida to verify and document the immigration status of all new hires.

And there are other restrictions as well, including conducting random audits of businesses suspected of hiring undocumented workers, a migrant "relocation program" (which drops unprepared immigrants into blue states to "own the libs"), and requiring hospitals to ask patients if they're in the country "illegally" (which will lead to immigrants being afraid to seek any sort of healthcare, even for emergencies).

Make no mistake, this will cost lives. And because of all this, undocumented immigrants are fleeing Florida in droves. This has brought much of Florida's job sites to a stand still- including construction and agriculture. 

The United States' oldest and largest Latinos' civil rights organization (the League of United Latin American Citizens, LULAC) issued a travel warning for Latinos considering traveling to Florida due to the new law. 

Undocumented immigrants DO pay taxes, by the way. They pay sales, income, and property taxes. And in 2021, these households for undocumented immigrants contributed 30.8 billion in total taxes, including 18.6 billion in federal income taxes and 12.2 billion in state and local taxes.

Undocumented immigrants do this by filing tax returns using their ITIN numbers, which is Individual Tax Identification Numbers. That's what the IRS issues to encourage tax compliance. And with that ITIN number, they pay into Social Security, specifically, your Social Security. They are not eligible to receive benefits such as social security unless they become citizens. Yet they pay into the system so you can have your social security.

Undocumented immigrants also use an ITIN number because it can help them obtain their citizenship. They can prove they've been paying taxes this way. So, everybody who screams that “illegals don't pay taxes,” you have been lied to. That is propaganda.

Racist white Americans think they're better than Mexicans and other immigrants, but the truth is they don't even come close. They scream that Mexicans, immigrants, and “illegals” are “stealing the jobs.” Yet they either refuse to do the jobs that Mexicans, immigrants, and undocumented people do, or those that do attempt to work the jobs can't even do so efficiently or half as well, generally speaking. 

Generally speaking, Mexicans and immigrants work fast, and they do the job well. They don’t take long breaks and they don’t whine or complain about it. They’re efficient, reliable, and have an incredible work ethic. They show up and get the job done. Most white Americans simply cannot perform the work as efficiently. It’s hard labor that requires being out in the sun for long hours doing work that’s difficult on the body.  

And one more thing. No one can be illegal on land that was stolen. America was built on the blood of Indigenous people’s genocide. This land was stolen from them and screaming that there are “illegals” on stolen land is the epitome of ridiculous.

(Video credit: @gilbertoalvolante)

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