As government entities increase crackdowns on illegal immigration across the nation and law enforcement agencies in Florida begin to enforce federal and state immigration laws, Tessa Petit, a Haitian immigrant and naturalized citizen, said it’s important for immigrants to know they are entitled to constitutional rights and do what they can to protect themselves.
“The laws of the Constitution apply to every being on U.S. soil,” Petit, executive director for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said. “It was created to prevent abuse of people on U.S. soil.”
New Immigration Enforcement Begins
Keeping promises made early in his campaign to increase deportations, President Donald Trump signed 10 executive orders on his first day in office, affecting 27 nationwide immigration policies, including legislation that allows federal immigration agencies to execute arrest warrants or detain someone with probable cause at schools, churches and hospitals, all previously considered protected areas.
On May 5, several Biden-era immigration policies protecting pregnant women, infants and medically at-risk people were rescinded by the U.S. Homeland Security, saying they were “obsolete or misaligned” with the current administrations immigration priorities.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said that new immigration legislation in Florida aims to help Trump “combat illegal immigration” and “facilitate the end to America’s immigration crisis.”
Florida’s recently passed immigration measures, SB 2-C and SB 4-C, make it a state crime to enter the U.S. illegally, broadens the legal definition of gang-related activity and creates the presumption that illegal immigrants are flight risks, denying them bail.
The new measures also require confirmation of citizenship and Florida residency during voter registration, repeal in-state college tuition for illegal immigrant students and require participation from all 67 Florida counties in the 287(g) program, which empowers ICE enforcement and removal operations across three separate models.
Recent legislation activated the Task Force Model of the 287(g) program. Using the task force model, law enforcement agencies across Florida have entered into an agreement to enforce immigration laws while on duty. The model was shut down in 2012 because it led to evidence of racial profiling, according to a Department of Justice investigation.
Nearly $300 million is allocated to law enforcement agencies in the state to enforce the measures, including a $1,000 incentive bonus for participating officers.
Florida has already seen the effects of recently passed state immigration laws including a U.S. citizen being arrested in Florida on April 18 and over 1,000 people arrested after a week long ICE sting with raids across the state from April 21 to April 26.
With Florida having the second-largest Black immigrant population in the nation after New York, according to Petit, she said she believes reenacting the measures will lead to more racial profiling and feelings of anxiety, fear and paranoia for all immigrants — regardless of their immigration status.
“When I first saw messages about mass deportations, I believed the American people wouldn’t fall for it because (immigrants) have been here for such a long time and we are the fabric of this country. I was naive,” Petit said. “We are tired. It’s a lot to be a punching bag. It’s a lot to feel unwanted.”
Federal judge Kathleen Williams extended an order blocking Florida from enforcing Senate Bill 4-C (SB 4-C) on April 29, saying that the law violates the constitutional principle of federalism, a legally protected interest.
“Defendants’ argument that Plaintiffs have no legally protected interest is based on a misinterpretation of the right Plaintiffs seek to vindicate,” Williams said. “Rather than seeking to drive without licenses, work without legal authorization, or seek to obtain transportation in violation of federal and state law, as Defendants contend, Plaintiffs simply wish not to be arrested and prosecuted under a law that violates constitutional principles of federalism. Numerous other federal courts have recognized this right as a legally protected interest.”
Immediately Entitled: Activists Encourage Immigrants to “Know Your Rights”
The Florida Immigrant Coalition, a group with 83 member organizations that has advocated for the protection of Florida’s immigrants since 1998, holds virtual and in-person “Know Your Rights” (KYR) workshops and “Family Preparedness Plan” sessions to keep people informed.
Petit said it’s key for immigrants to know the constitutional rights they are entitled to so they can protect themselves from abuse, fear mongering, intentional misinformation and injustice.
“The misinformation goes beyond Americans not believing immigrants have rights,” she said. “Undocumented immigrants now believe they have no rights. The fear mongering opens the door to abuse and racial profiling. There is a fear about immigration and immigrants in America. To ease the fears of others, we see immigrants give answers to questions or sign papers after being questioned by an authority figure. That can cause them to lose their permanent status because they signed papers without a lawyer reading it over.”
Petit said there are cases of green card holders at airports being coerced into signing Form I-407, titled “Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status,” an irreversible form for immigrants to sign away their legal immigration status.
During the KYR workshops hosted by the coalition, which are available to everyone, participants are educated on their Fourth Amendment right to privacy and their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
The coalition advises the following actions when approached by immigration officers or ICE agents: Do not open the door. Do not answer any questions from an immigration agent. Do not sign anything without speaking to a lawyer.
The coalition, like many other immigration advocacy organizations, provides downloadable cards meant to be handed to ICE agents or immigration officers during an official stop or encounter. People are also advised to document the encounter if they believe racial profiling was used to initiate the stop.
“If I am pulled over and asked about my immigration status based on the fact that I have an accent, that’s racial profiling,” Petit said. “Document it.”
Through services FLIC provides to people in need of assistance with citizenship applications for Temporary Protected Status or naturalization, Petit said the coalition discovered 15 to 20% of the people participating are eligible to adjust their immigration status, but they don’t have the money or a lawyer to take the next step.
Petit advises people who are able to adjust their immigration status, including the nearly 1.2 million legal permanent residents living in Florida who are eligible to naturalize, to protect themself. She added that now is the time for families make emergency preparations by gathering all their legal documents in one location and having a trusted friend that can get documents or contact an immigration lawyer during emergencies.
“You better protect yourself now,” Petit said. “Even if you aren’t subjected to being deported, get educated so you can educate others. Undocumented immigrants should get to know their rights and be prepared. Start retaining phone numbers. Take every measure because if something happens to me I want to make sure someone I trust can find the documents. Protect yourself because we don’t know what will happen.”
Information from the coalition, including the downloadable printouts, is shared on their website and the website Raise.is.
Finding and Securing Counsel with State Immigration Lawyers ‘
An estimated 772,000 undocumented immigrants are living in Florida, according to the Migration Policy Institute. There are only 1,375 lawyers eligible to practice immigration and nationality listed on the Florida Bar, leaving a 561-1 ratio of undocumented immigrants to immigration lawyers in the state.
Immigrants with lawyers are 3.5 times more likely to be granted bond, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. Experts advise working with advocacy groups like FLIC to be connected with an immigration lawyer to increase their chances of winning their case.
“It’s imperative that you have access to an attorney if you want a fair hearing. That’s been the case for a long time,” Amy Godshall, a legal fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said. ” What is making it harder now is Trump is revoking the status of people who have temporary protective status, which means there are even more people who need to figure out what to do. There is even more demand for (immigration lawyers).”
Godshall works to change policy by representing clients who report rights violations in immigration detention centers. She said lawyers are facing the challenge of scheduling visits with clients, getting in contact with clients on the phone and even tracking clients as they are moved to different facilities.
Godshall is currently focused on changing the policy on how phone calls are handled at the Baker County Detention Center, one of five immigration detention centers in the state. The ACLU has received over 100 complaints of neglect and abuse at the facility since 2017 and is petitioning to shut it down.
“People in ICE detention centers are having a harder time to find and retain counsel,” Godshell said. “It’s harder to communicate with a lawyer if you are one of the lucky few that are able to find and pay for a lawyer. Phone calls are difficult to coordinate as clients are being transferred several times a week. Since January, it’s been harder to keep track of clients using the ICE tracker. The system has become delayed or just erroneous with wrong information. There’s a million issues with accessing attorneys for immigrants.”
“A lot of these issues impact my work as well. I need to talk to people to learn what conditions they are in,” she said. “People are dealing with medical neglect. They are not getting food or water. They don’t have beds to sleep in because of overcrowding, so they take turns sleeping on the concrete floor overnight. Krome Detention Center (Miami-Dade County) has been keeping people in holding cells and are processing people slower because of overcrowding. It’s absolutely horrific. For us to be able to bring a lawsuit forward, we have to talk to people. It’s overwhelming to see the increasing number of issues all while more and more people are getting swept up.”
Godshall said problems with the immigration system increased as new state and federal policies took effect, and she expects the problems to get worse.
“If you don’t look white, if you don’t speak English with a certain dialect, then you are at a higher risk of being racially profiled,” she said. “All these anti-immigration policies are going to be devastating for the economy. Everyone is concerned. Parents are keeping their kids home from school, people are staying home from church. People are justifiably scared here in Florida. I imagine people will start to leave to feel safe somewhere else.”
Grady Judd, Polk County Sheriff and member of the State Immigration Enforcement Council, said recently passed state legislation gives law enforcement agencies “significant resources” to aid in “arresting, detaining, and beginning the deportation process for criminal illegal aliens” and there is no need to be worried of officers going into protected areas.
“Quit scaring everybody who is here legally and illegally that aren’t committing crimes that we are going to run through their school, hospitals or through their neighborhoods, that’s not it,” Judd said. “We’ve got a plate full of illegal immigrants committing crime and warrants to deport those that have flaunted the system and all this crazy talk scares people that don’t need to be scared.”
Flavorless Florida: What Does Florida Look Like Without immigrants?
Nearly 5 million immigrants live in Florida, according to the Florida Immigrant Coalition. Making up the heart of the state’s construction and agriculture industries, immigrants represent over one-third Florida’s agriculture industry and nearly one-fourth work in the state’s construction industry. Almost half of Florida’s health aides are immigrants, according to the American Immigration Council. Immigrants also paid $49.8 billion in state and federal taxes in 2023.
Petit, Godshall and others believe the recent anti-immigration measures will have a negative effect on Florida’s economy.
“What attracts people to Florida is the diversity,” Petit said. “We brought the flavors and diversity to the state. I don’t believe the state can survive — like actually survive — without immigrants.”
As experts watch bills currently going through the state legislative session and wait for the courts to issue rulings on lawsuits challenging new state immigration laws, they said others have the right and an obligation to use their privilege to protect immigrants during these uncertain time.
“Immigration families need a lot of help. The amount of what can be done is unlimited,” Petit said. “Help deliver food, drop off ‘Know Your Rights documents,’ take a training, because if you witness abuse you could prevent (an unlawful deportation). Call your legislators. Talk to your commissioners and tell them you don’t want your city to become an unsafe space.”
“The unfortunate reality for most immigrants in the state is that they are people of color. We need white people to use their privilege. I’m a naturalized citizen, I have privileges an undocumented person wouldn’t have. We can’t be scared of the privilege we have.”
