DeSantis revives E-Verify enforcement amid fight with GOP legislators
After being called out by Republican lawmakers for not enforcing the state’s E-Verify laws, Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration on Wednesday issued warning letters to 40 companies.
The notices — which blame the Legislature for not funding the program — are an apparent response to the bitter fight this week between DeSantis and the GOP-controlled Legislature over how best to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.
Earlier this week, top Republicans noted that his Department of Commerce had issued eight enforcement letters to companies during DeSantis' tenure for potentially not screening employees through E-Verify, the federal program that checks the legal eligibility of new workers.
None were issued since 2023, when DeSantis signed legislation requiring all companies with 25 or more employees to screen their employees through the program.
The lack of action was part of the reason, top Republicans said, that immigration enforcement should be removed from the governor and given to the state’s agriculture commissioner, part of sweeping legislation lawmakers passed this week.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2025/01/30/desantis-revives-e-verify-enforcement-amid-fight-with-gop-legislators/
It's a cage fight between Florida's MAGAt Republican governor who wants the publicity from rounding up undocumented immigrants and the MAGAt Republican legislature who know Florida (and their personal) businesses depend on that labor.