Now Reading
FED-UP: DeSantis immigration law protest draws huge Hispanic presence

FED-UP: DeSantis immigration law protest draws huge Hispanic presence

FED-UP: DeSantis immigration law protest draws huge Hispanic crowds

A specifically-targeted community bravely protested at Freedom Tower in Miami-Dade County Thursday to protest some of the most draconian immigration legislation ever passed in this country.

South Florida Hispanics and their supporters expressed their fury in protest against Gov. DeSantis’s cruelest immigration bill yet, Senate Bill 1718, signed into law on Wednesday.

DeSantis brags that the law is the “strongest anti-illegal immigration legislation in the country.”

The legislation has drawn travel advisories from advocacy groups around the country warning groups to avoid visiting Florida.

It is also called out as one of the most inhumane pieces of legislation ever — and that fact motivated people to take to the streets in spite of the serious risk, according to NBC News Miami:

“‘People saying I don’t want to go out to the streets. I don’t want to go where there is a group of people because I’m afraid they are going to be detained,’ said Miami Pastor Carlos Carbajal. ‘Even if the law doesn’t declare that specifically, people are scared and confused.'”

“Undocumented immigrants and their families are skipping church and work. Workers’ rights activists say construction, hospitality, and farm workers are some of the areas reporting staff not making it to work.”

If there is even a scintilla of a silver lining to the destruction DeSantis dredged with this legislation is that perhaps Florida business interests will finally realize the economic fortunes brought to them by the undocumented community.

But that realization comes at a horrific cost.

The single most awful portion of the legislation requires hospitals to collect information on a patient’s immigration status.

I am a landed immigrant and dual citizen from Canada — and I never forget that I’m an immigrant in brotherhood with my immigrant family of all colors across the country.

But I seriously doubt that my immigration status would ever be checked. As noted by NBC Miami’s report above:

“It’s a violation of privacy,” said Adelys Ferro, Executive Director of Venezuelan American Caucus. “Someone that goes to the hospital has all their data be given to the legislature. Where is our constitutional right to privacy? We are human beings.”

The fact that some Hispanics are afraid to go to church (one of the safest places to gather in what is traditionally a highly religious group) or go to work gives weight to the bravery of the people who protested who risked being targeted.

It is still in question as to whether hospitals and doctors will follow the legislation that is in direct violation of the Hippocratic Oath: “Above all else, do no harm.”

One can easily perceive the legislation as harming undocumented immigrants seeking medical care.

Wink News reports that South Florida doctor Antonio Gonzalez, who serves the immigrant community, fears the consequences:

“This is gonna really be a devastation when it comes to the medical care of immigrants,” Gonzalez said. “Because they are afraid of immigration [authorities] and they don’t want to be deported. And now with this policy, more people won’t go to the offices and to the ER, and I think that this is going to create a bigger problem.”

And even if most hospitals and doctors simply ignore the mandate as a violation of their oath and check the “legal” box (without checking their patients’ status), the law will still act as a deterrent because there’s never a guarantee.

Which is precisely why it’s in the legislation.

Provisions this evil, intended to make fellow human beings, perhaps someone with shortness of breath, decide whether to “see what happens” or go to the hospital and “see what happens,” could likely only happen in Florida and under DeSantis’s watch.

The cruelty is the point and brought forth fury in Miami-Dade County’s “Freedom Tower,” surrounded by people who are considerably less free than they were last week.

I can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com and on Twitter @JasonMiciak.

Editor’s note: This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author.

Jason Miciak
Jason Miciak is an associate editor and opinion writer for Occupy Democrats. He's a Canadian-American who grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He is a trained attorney, but for the last five years, he's devoted his time to writing political news and analysis. He enjoys life on the Gulf Coast as a single dad to a 15-year-old daughter. Hobbies include flower pots, cooking, and doing what his daughter tells him they're doing. Sign up to get all of my posts by email right here:

© 2022 Occupy Democrats. All Rights Reserved.

Scroll To Top