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Q&A Of The Day - Is E-Verify A Key To Deterring Migrants In Florida? Part 1
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email:brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Parler & Twitter: @brianmuddradio
Today’s entry: If the federal government will not enforce immigration policy and instead promote the free flow of illegal aliens into our country, then why can’t we do something on the state level?
Why can’t Florida begin to enforce the E-verify system? I believe that Governor DeSantis signed into law mandatory E-verify for state and local government offices but what about the private industry? What haven’t our state representatives, mine being Chip LaMarca, done anything to advance legislation for E-verify for private industry? After all, this is where most of the illegal immigrants are employed. It seems to have disappeared from consideration.
It is my opinion that if the Feds won’t do anything about illegal immigration, then it is up to the states to do something about it. Think about it, if all the Red states start enforcing E-Verify employment with strict fines, the illegal aliens would naturally flow to the Blue states. Let the states that promote open boarders shoulder the cost. Sure, it would raise wage rates for contactors, supermarkets and restaurants etc. but isn’t that what the people of Florida voted for anyway with the minimum wage ballot initiative?
Bottom Line: You raise multiple good points and questions. There are also numerous challenges in breaking it all down. That’s because Biden’s border policy has significantly shifted the way those who seek to flout the US immigration system’s legal process go about doing so. Without getting technical you can look at it this way. It used to be that border crossers attempted to avoid Border Patrol. Now they line up to get processed by them. And the reason for that remarkable shift addresses the first consideration you offered up. You asked about what Florida could do to stem the flow of illegal aliens into Florida. The border crossers who evaded Border Patrol of times gone by were illegal immigrants. These new Biden border crossers aren’t under federal law.
While abuse of the US asylum system was readily attempted under the Trump administration as well, President Trump’s policy to keep those seeking asylum status in Mexico ensured the only asylum seekers entering the United States were legitimate, according to the courts (and thus legal) prior to entering the United States. The Biden border crisis has placed that in reverse. With migrants being allowed into the United States while seeking asylum status, once they’re granted a “notice to appear”, which occurs prior to migrants being bused to end destinations like Florida, they’re legitimized. They’re not considered illegal immigrants under federal law. Most likely will eventually be, based on asylum approval rates in which most recently 71.6% of those seeking asylum are denied by the courts, but until and unless a migrant who’s been granted a notice to appear is a no-show for their court hearing or is denied asylum by a judge, they’re legally authorized to remain in the United States. That impacts access to resources as well as addresses other aspects of your question.
Non-profit organizations assist Border Patrol in processing asylum seeking migrants. This includes arranging for legal documents, transportation to end destinations, and available government programs, including housing if necessary. A Center for Immigration Studies report indicated 63% of Non-Citizen Households are on welfare programs - ironically the largest of any demographic in the country. Most of those benefits are federal, as opposed administered at the state level, thus it doesn’t matter what state they’re bused to in that regard. It also means all American taxpayers, including Floridians, subsidize these migrants. Regarding your points on E-Verify in Florida...I’ll address those in the second part of today’s Q&A.