Florida\u2019s draconian new immigration restrictions, signed into law by DeSantis two months ago, are now taking effect. They will have a devastating impact on at least two of the state\u2019s major industries: agriculture and construction.<\/p>\n The\u00a0new law<\/a>\u00a0imposes tough penalties on both undocumented employees and the employers who hire them. A job applicant who presents a false Social Security number or other documentation during the hiring process will be subject to a third-degree felony and could serve five years in jail. The statute also requires employers with more than 25 workers to use the federal E-Verify system, which has a\u00a0documented history<\/a>\u00a0of both rejecting legitimate workers and clearing those who aren\u2019t authorized. \u00a0If employers hire unauthorized workers, they could end up losing their business licenses.<\/p>\n Workers are apparently fleeing the state in response<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 and not just those who are in the country illegally. Many immigrant families have mixed status: an undocumented parent or spouse and legal immigrants or U.S. citizens in the same household. One\u00a02017 study<\/a>\u00a0estimated that more than 900,000 Floridians lived in mixed-status households, and when a family member faces the risk of becoming a felon, they may decide that staying in Florida isn\u2019t worth the risk.<\/p>\n The Wall Street Journal recently\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that in Miami\u2019s booming construction industry, between 25% and 50% of local construction workers have already disappeared from job sites. The owner of a large farming and packaging company told the WSJ that he\u2019d lost half of his employees because of the law.<\/p>\n Construction and agriculture depend heavily on unauthorized workers nationally and in Florida. A\u00a0recent Kaiser Family Foundation analysis<\/a>\u00a0estimates that almost 40% of agricultural workers in the state are noncitizen immigrants (most of whom are also undocumented), as are 23% percent of its construction workers. These employees are not easily replaceable \u2013 and certainly not with American workers. Florida\u2019s economy will take a dramatic hit because of DeSantis\u2019 efforts to woo the MAGA base with anti-immigrant measures.<\/p>\n Yet\u00a0DeSantis has been touting Florida\u2019s economy as a reason Republican voters should support him<\/strong>. And it\u2019s true that Florida is first in a\u00a0recent ranking<\/a>\u00a0that measures which states were most successful in attracting talent. The governor noted in a\u00a0press release<\/a>\u00a0about the rankings, \u201cFlorida is leading the nation in net migration and talent attraction. As other states continue to struggle at the hands of poor leadership, people and businesses are flocking to Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s statement also boasts about the 388,000 new residents added to the state between 2016-2020. What he doesn\u2019t say is how many of those new residents were immigrants, legal and illegal. A whopping\u00a021% of Florida\u2019s population is foreign-born<\/a>, including about\u00a0775,000 who are undocumented<\/a>.\u00a0 Immigrants are\u00a0well represented across various occupations in the state<\/a>, including 32% of service occupations and 23% of management, business, and science occupations. But the state\u2019s tough new law may end up making Florida a much less attractive state in which to work or establish a business \u2013 certainly in industries that rely on immigrant workers.<\/p>\n What is ironic about DeSantis\u2019 move is that Florida\u2019s illegal immigration problem has improved over the years, despite influxes of newcomers from Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America.\u00a0 According to the Pew Research Center, which provides one of the best historical analyses of immigration trends available, there were\u00a0more than 1 million undocumented people living in Florida in 2007<\/a>.<\/p>\n DeSantis is struggling to gain support, which won\u2019t happen if he keeps being a poor imitation of the other prominent Florida-based candidate running for president.\u00a0DeSantis should be trying to convince voters that he\u2019s been a job creator in Florida and he will do the same for the country.<\/strong><\/p>\n Making it more difficult to hire people to do essential jobs tarnishes his credentials. He ought to be telling Republicans that we need to make it easier for people whose skills we need to come to the United States legally, and that he\u2019ll push for necessary reform of our immigration laws when he becomes president. He understands that workforce growth means more for everyone, not just individual workers and their families but the communities in which they live and spend their money. DeSantis says the 2024 election is about the future \u2013 and he\u2019s right. But the future is not about building walls or driving workers away but welcoming them. It\u2019s not about protecting jobs but creating them.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/s3\/files\/inline-images\/GettyImages-1247867250-700x420_1.jpg?itok=tIaJUlWg\")
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