Truck drivers across the United States are rallying together in protest against a new bill against undocumented immigrants in Florida.
In response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ new legislation, drivers are refusing trips to the state and transporting goods there. They are using their power to “support their people.”
As per Univision, many truck drivers “across several states” are uniting to boycott driving to Florida. They are expressing solidarity with undocumented immigrants affected by the strictest immigration law in the country.
As drivers express their disapproval of the bill and their intention to protest, some wonder if Florida will experience limited supplies. Still, many more applaud drivers for creating “pressure” in the state and try to make a change.
DeSantis’ Florida bill affects undocumented immigrants significantly
On May 10, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ signed the state’s latest immigration bill. Now, it is considered one of the most aggressive in the country.
The bill will force employers with 25 or more employees to check employees’ immigration status and employment eligibility. Those employing undocumented immigrants will be “penalized,” racking up $1,000-per-day fines if they do not check work eligibility.
Under the bill, local governments can no longer give ID’s to undocumented immigrants. Additionally, it requires hospitals to ask about a patient’s immigration status and report it, invalidates out-of-state ID cards for undocumented immigrants and suspends the license of employers who “knowingly employ” anyone undocumented.
It will also make “knowingly transporting” five or more undocumented immigrants, or one minor, a second-degree felony. Fined at $10,000 with a possible 15-year prison sentence, this law has the power to break families into pieces. Especially those with differing statuses.
In response, many claim the bill will “devastate” Florida’s economy. Others refer to the legislation as downright “racist,” and many more note how countless worksites in the state are now completely empty:
Truck drivers refuse to take trips to Florida as they boycott the state’s sweeping immigration crackdown
As many social media users have posted, many Florida worksites have become graveyards of what once was.
Here, you can see a construction site in Davenport, Florida, left utterly empty after the governor signed the bill:
Moreover, this viral TikTok video also shows the legislation’s effect, showing empty fields, construction sites, and warehouses:
While Florida’s economic pressure was already building, the buzzing truck driver boycott might be the final straw. As Univision explains, the primarily Latino drivers refuse to transport goods to or from Florida to protest the new laws. While some assert the boycott hasn’t started just yet, pointing to June 1 as the start date, a look at TikTok shows truck drivers are spreading the word fast.
For one, truck driver and TikTok user @elarracadas91.1 regularly posts about his Florida boycott on the app. One video, which has 3.6 million views, tells followers “No Florida for truck drivers,” for “what they’re doing to immigrants.”
Apart from asking fellow drivers to join in on the Florida boycott, he turned to other workers as well. “I ask you with all my heart, everyone who works in construction, restaurants, in the field, don’t work for two weeks.”
“We’re going to educate [DeSantis],” he added.
Telling all his followers to “spread the word,” he said, “Let’s see if all the Florida citizens… they cover the need for labor.”
While many others are also urging drivers to boycott Florida, just one look at @elarracadas91.1’s comments section says it all.
One commenter wrote, “I’ve already rejected seven trips to Florida.” Another echoed, “I’ve already rejected 20 loads to Florida,” with yet another writing, “I’m Cuban and have canceled 22 Florida trips.”
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