TALLAHASSEE, FL — This week, the Florida State Legislature voted to pass mandatory E-Verify legislation. In response, FWD.us Florida State Director Ted Hutchinson issued the following statement:

“This week, lawmakers in Tallahassee passed harmful mandatory E-Verify legislation despite the avalanche of concerns from business and community leaders across Florida. It makes no sense to target Florida’s immigrant communities who help power and grow major sectors of the state’s economy, drive innovation, and create jobs through legislation such as this, especially since one in every five Floridians is an immigrant. Reports project that the implementation of mandatory E-Verify legislation will lead to the loss of approximately 253,500 jobs, $1.25 billion in annual state and local tax revenues, and $11 billion in earnings in Florida, hitting key sectors like agriculture, tourism, health care, and construction the hardest.

“By mandating that local businesses participate in this program, it effectively shifts the financial burden of federal immigration enforcement onto the Florida business community and makes it more difficult to find the employees needed to run a successful business. We strongly urge Governor DeSantis to look beyond his campaign promises, and truly consider the detrimental economic and community impact of mandatory E-Verify implementation without federal workforce legalization and ask that he reject this legislation.”