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Truckers threaten to boycott Florida over migrant crackdown

State law targeting undocumented immigrants prompts backlash from Latin American truck drivers

Across social media, truckers are calling for a boycott of the state of Florida in response to a new law targeting undocumented immigrants. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

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.

Watch: Several other states join the AB5 fight.


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21 Comments

  1. Richard Beckam

    We are all living here together. We are all subject to laws and rules. We are all free to leave, if we do not wish to follow the laws and rules. There are so many people counting on supplies being delivered, they do not care if it is delivered by tractor trailer, bus, train or plane. This is to protect all law abiding citizens.

  2. Stuart

    Look how hard is it to figure out,illegal means illegal,doesn’t matter if it’s on the north,south,east,or western border,if a person is not a us citizen,or don’t have a visa to be in this country,then he shouldn’t be allowed here period,it should be a federal and state law and if caught be fined 2 million dollars,put in jail and deported asap.

  3. GEORGE

    For all the Nellies around!.
    Mexican trucks shouldn’t be allowed to cross any border state because of the drug cartels,(US does not have even half off the border crossing fleet to ensure all US border crossings)
    human trafficking and drugs. Stop the abuse.(Stop the drug usage in the US then) Why don’t we grow more produce in the USA. (Who will grow it? US citizens?) If we stop the caravan invasion we wouldn’t be wall to wall housing.(Caravans are being halted by Mexico. More vehicle, smog, disease, and crime.(US demands on new vehicles, disease (US does not have a vaccination program as it should)Crime.. All white towns are more dangerous than mixed cities…
    I am not against immigration but I am against this invasion and no one vetted or quarantined. We are only supporting drug dealers.(Yes keeping US drug demands larger and larger)…

  4. Nellie

    Mexican trucks shouldn’t be allowed to cross any border state because of the drug cartels, human trafficking and drugs. Stop the abuse. Why don’t we grow more produce in the USA. If we stop the caravan invasion we wouldn’t be wall to wall housing. More vehicle, smog, disease, and crime.
    I am not against immigration but I am against this invasion and no one vetted or quarantined. We are only supporting drug dealers.

Comments are closed.

Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact nmahoney@freightwaves.com