Businesses that fail to show evidence of E-Verify compliance, which assures they are not hiring illegal immigrants, risk having their licenses suspended by Florida. It is part of a larger initiative to safeguard Florida residents’ jobs and livelihoods as the country struggles with a major immigration issue on its southern border.
Numerous firms received emails from the Dept. of Economic Opportunity reporting them for “repeatedly refusing to respond” to the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement.
The letters warn that the notification is the “last opportunity to react before repercussions are triggered,” warning that “if you continue and fail to respond to the Dept. of Economic Opportunity (DEO), there will be substantial consequences.”
The DEP will “not give any extensions” or justifications for nonresponses, it is further stated. Companies were given a month from the day of the letter to submit an affidavit declaring they would follow the law and stop hiring illegal aliens.
The suspension of “all the licenses” held by the business “specific to the business site where the unlawful alien(s) performed work” would occur if the letter wasn’t followed within the allotted time limit. The licenses that are held by the firm at its “main place of business” will be suspended in circumstances where they don’t have a license specific to the company location where the undocumented immigrant works.
A number of businesses, including Upperline Health Inc., Prestige Cruise Services LLC, as well as the American National Red Cross, received the letter. The cutoff date is January 16th, Monday.
The Center Square was informed by Jeremy Redfern, the governor’s deputy press secretary, that Florida is “buckling down on the unlawful hiring of undocumented aliens in the state of Florida”:
“Businesses are given the chance to correct the problem and certify that all of their employees have passed the E-Verify process and have been authorized to work in the U.S. Six businesses might have their licenses to conduct business in the state suspended if they continue to operate in this manner despite receiving repeated notices. The last notices of non-compliance have been sent to them.”
E-Verify is a program that the DeSantis administration frequently promotes in the state. The administration put up signs in 2021 warning motorists that Florida does indeed employ E-Verify on all main interstates leading into the state.
DeSantis said at the time to Breitbart News, “Attempts to enact a E-Verify law in Florida for years before my administration failed, but I wouldn’t yield until this subject was addressed. I was able to collaborate with the Florida law to get E-Verify across the finish line.”
DeSantis continued by saying that the adoption of E-Verify promotes public safety and “puts upward pressure on Floridians’ incomes.”
“Given the border issue,” he continued, “ensuring a legal workforce using E-Verify is critical to sustaining the rule of law and also deters undocumented immigration into Florida.”
According to a post-election Rasmussen Findings/NumbersUSA survey, voters in the midterm elections across the country are in favor of taking action against employers who hire illegal aliens.
