ORLANDO, Fla. — Some Florida church leaders fear a proposed crackdown championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis could criminalize giving immigrants without legal status rides to services, Sunday school or doctor’s appointments.
State lawmakers are considering a sweeping immigration package that would make “willfully and knowingly” concealing or transporting a person who is in the country illegally a felony crime punishable by up to five years in prison.
Supporters say the legislation is intended to address a national crisis and deter people from crossing the border illegally.
But evangelical leaders say the bill (SB 1718) could infringe on their religious freedom and hinder their ability to aid immigrants and refugees in need. Florida is home to more than an estimated 700,000 undocumented immigrants.
“We may, in good faith, find ourselves breaking the law because we’re in the business of helping people,” said Father Jose Rodríguez of Iglesia Episcopal Jesús de Nazaret in Orlando.
Sister Ann Kendrick, who founded the Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka that helps Central Florida’s immigrant families, called the bill cruel and unusual punishment.
“I cart people around all the time who are undocumented,” she said. “I’ll go to jail for… helping a kid? Wow, isn’t that the American way?”
The language in question would make it a third-degree felony if someone transports a person who they know or “reasonably should have known” entered the country illegally and has “not been inspected by the federal government.”
If someone is found to be with five or more immigrants in the country illegally, they could face upgraded charges punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The bill also makes it a crime to knowingly conceal, harbor or shield from detection someone who’s in the country illegally.
State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, the bill’s sponsor, said he doesn’t think it would apply to “incidental transport” of immigrants without legal status.
“Unfortunately, the evangelical community is falling prey to the misinformation — the purposeful misinformation — by open-border activists in our state. ... The claim of criminalizing incidental transport is 100% inaccurate,” Ingoglia said in a prepared statement in response to questions about his bill. “As a Christian, I have great respect for the evangelical community. Having said that, I suggest they read the bill for clarity.”
But when asked during a legislative meeting last month if priests could face criminal charges for giving a ride to a family in the country illegally, Ingoglia, a Republican, said it was possible.
“If the person ... knew that the people who they were transporting were in the country illegally and they did not go through the proper means, then yes,” he said.
It’s already a crime to knowingly bring immigrants without legal status into Florida. Ingoglia’s bill would extend that to transportation within the state.
Federal law also makes it a crime to knowingly conceal or transport such people in “furtherance of such violation of law.”
The phrase “furtherance of such violation of law” has generally led courts to find that transportation related to incidental rides to things like worship, school, and doctor’s appointments are not illegal, said Dale Schaeffer, a superintendent with the Church of the Nazarene’s Central and North Florida district.
Florida’s proposal should be amended to provide clarity, Schaeffer said.
“Religious liberties are at stake for literally tens of thousands of Christians across the state of Florida,” Schaeffer said during a news conference on the legislation.
Other church leaders said their lawyers are telling them the bill would prohibit busing people in the country illegally to services and other church functions, even if that isn’t the Legislature’s intention.
DeSantis, widely seen as a 2024 presidential contender, is calling for the Legislature to crack down on illegal immigration. He made national headlines last year when he flew dozens of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.
The GOP governor unveiled his latest proposal in February with a sign that read “Biden’s Border Crisis.”
“We need to do everything in our power to protect the people of Florida from what is going on at the border,” DeSantis said.
Lawmakers incorporated many of his ideas into a bill moving through the Florida Senate.
Businesses that knowingly employ immigrants without legal permission would face tougher penalties, along with employees who submit fake documents. Florida would no longer allow immigrants in the country illegally to practice law.
Out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to undocumented residents wouldn’t be recognized by Florida. Community ID programs, including one under consideration in Orange County, would be banned for residents without legal status.
Hospitals would be required to include a question about immigration status on admission forms. That’s sparked concerns that immigrants may avoid medical care out of fear.
“Who’s going to go to the hospital now,” Sister Kendrick said. “They’re going to stay home and die.”
Supporters say hospitals are not allowed to turn anyone away based on immigration status, and the requirement is intended to gather information on how much money is spent on health care for people without legal permission to be in the United States.
Two significant aspects of DeSantis’ proposal haven’t gotten traction in the Legislature so far.
One would require private businesses to verify an employee’s legal status through a federal database called E-Verify. Right now, public employers and their contractors are required to use E-Verify. The system, though, is optional for private employers.
Mandatory E-Verify is in the House’s immigration proposal, but it hasn’t gotten a hearing. It isn’t included in the Senate version.
DeSantis also proposed repealing a 2014 state law that granted in-state tuition for children whose parents brought them into the country illegally. That measure hasn’t been included in the immigration bills.
Although some key provisions aren’t getting traction, advocates for the immigrant community are still concerned about the proposal.
The legislation will damage the economic engines of Miami and Orlando, which have boomed thanks to the contributions of immigrants, said Felice Gorordo, an entrepreneur and investor who is the son of Cuban immigrants.
Creating a hostile environment for immigrants is bad for business, said Gorordo, CEO of eMerge Americas, which is focused on making Florida a global tech hub. He said he’s hired “Dreamers,” young immigrants brought to the country illegally, and they were excellent employees.
“It makes no sense from a business perspective or an economic perspective,” Gorordo of the immigration legislation. “I think we’re going to drive away talent, and we’re going to make ourselves less competitive as a state.”
Construction, agriculture and tourism sectors are experiencing labor shortages and need immigrant workers, said Samuel Vilchez Santiago, Florida state director for the American Business Immigration Coalition.
“When we see our food prices go up because our agricultural businesses don’t have enough people to pick our strawberries and tomatoes, when we see our housing costs go up because we don’t have enough people building our homes, we really need to think about what is the purpose of this bill,” he said. “In our view and the view of our members, it is not strengthening our economy.”
In Central Florida, Double C Bar Ranch, a cattle and blueberry farm, is struggling to get workers to pick blueberries during the three-month season, said Denton Chapman, who runs the blueberry side of the operation.
Mandatory E-Verify could extend the time it takes for the Osceola County ranch to find workers, which it secures through contractors that handle the permits and other paperwork, he said.
Ingoglia, the immigration bill’s sponsor, said the bill is targeting illegal immigration — not immigrants who come to the United States legally.
He said he hopes Florida’s bill will spur the U.S. Congress to act on the issue.
“I want the federal government to get off their ass and start doing something,” Ingoglia told lawmakers.
As lawmakers move forward with the immigration bill, church leaders are considering how they will fulfill their duties if it becomes law.
“Some of us are going to have to make a choice,” Rodriguez said. “Are we going to disobey an unjust law or are we going to follow the letter of the law in hopes of being useful to the people we serve?”
(Staff writer Natalia Jaramillo contributed to this report.)
