TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Earlier this year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1718 into law, which came into effect on July 1. One of the key provisions of this law is that Florida will no longer recognize driver’s licenses issued by certain states to illegal immigrants.
The states whose driver’s licenses fall under this category are Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, and Vermont.
Dave Kerner, the executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV), spoke with Townhall about the new law. He explained that this legislation sends a clear message to illegal immigrants that Florida is not the state for them if they intend to enter the country unlawfully without going through the proper legal channels to establish their presence.
Kerner emphasized that the law does not apply to immigrants who have self-reported to federal authorities, such as Border Patrol, applied for asylum, and obtained lawful presence in the country. The focus of the law is to discourage and not incentivize those who choose to remain undocumented after entering illegally.
Governor DeSantis has been firm on his stance that states should not provide incentives for individuals who cross the border illegally to evade detection and remain undocumented. Florida is committed to not providing this incentive, and if individuals cannot prove their lawful presence, they will not be allowed to obtain a driver’s license in the state.
Kerner highlighted that if an illegal immigrant is caught using one of the driver’s licenses specified in the law, they will be charged with a misdemeanor for driving without a valid license. The law leaves no room for discretion in such cases.
In a separate incident along the southern border, the Texas Department of Public Safety discovered two juveniles, aged 14 and 16, being smuggled inside the trunk of a car during a traffic stop. Edwin Giovanni Barrientos Linares, an illegal immigrant, presented the troopers with a California driver’s license issued to undocumented individuals.
