Truckers threaten to boycott Florida over migrant crackdown

Social media exploded over the weekend with reports of truck drivers planning to boycott moving freight into or out of Florida in response to the state’s new law regarding migrants.

The state government recently passed a bill targeting undocumented immigrants by requiring employers to check that workers are authorized to work in the U.S. The Florida bill was signed into law on Wednesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis and takes effect July 1.

“My truck will not be going to Florida at all. I’m pretty sure we can all come together as a Latino community and boycott Florida as a whole because what they are doing to our brothers and sisters out there is not fair,” one trucker said in a TikTok video.

In another TikTok video, a truck driver said, “Truckers, don’t enter the state of Florida. Let’s be united as Latinos in defense of our Latin American brothers who are being assaulted by this very stupid law, which incites hatred and discrimination.”

Florida’s new immigration law expands requirements for businesses with more than 25 employees to use E-Verify, a federal system that determines if employees can legally work in the U.S. The new law also invalidates out-of-state driver’s licenses held by people living in the country illegally.

“The Biden Border Crisis has wreaked havoc across the United States and has put Americans in danger,” DeSantis said in a news release on the state’s new immigration law. “In Florida, we will not stand idly by while the federal government abandons its lawful duties to protect our country. The legislation I signed [Wednesday] gives Florida the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country, fighting back against reckless federal government policies and ensuring the Florida taxpayers are not footing the bill for illegal immigration.”

Florida’s new immigration law arrives at the end of Title 42, which was lifted Thursday. Title 42 was enacted by former President Donald Trump in March 2020 and allowed border authorities to immediately turn away migrants encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border.