As Florida prepares to implement a sweeping new immigration law this summer, Miami-Dade County police said yes. do not plan to stop drivers to demand from them or the passengers of the car to show documents confirming the immigration status of any person.
The new law, which will enter into force in July, defines as a serious offense «knowingly and deliberately» transporting an undocumented person in the state of Florida, even if it is a relative or someone you know.
“We don’t have to ask for identification that proves the immigration status of a person in the county because we are here to act on Florida statutes that are criminal, not civil,” Álvaro Zabaleta, Miami-Dade County Police Detective , told Telemundo 51, NBC’s local sister television station in Miami, in Spanish. «Immigration violations are considered civil, not criminal.»
Zabaleta added that police will not ask crime victims for information about their immigration status either.
“We are here to protect our community,” Zabaleta said. «We are not here to get involved in a political issue or a sensitive issue like immigration.»
Miami-Dade Police Chief Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III, who is run for sheriff in 2024«He doesn’t want to lose the trust of our community,» Zabaleta added.
Out of county with the highest percentage of Latinos in Floridastate law enforcement agencies are preparing to enforce the new law.
Some additional restrictions in the new law include the invalidation of out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to immigrants without legal status and the requirement that private employers with 25 or more employees use the Electronic verification system to check if new employees are eligible to work in the US.
He Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicleswhich also includes highway patrolmenis tasked with citing undocumented individuals driving with invalid out-of-state licenses and maintaining a list on its website of the types of out-of-state licenses that are invalid in Florida.
He Florida Department of Law Enforcement coordinate and direct additional compliance efforts, according to the law.
Florida highway patrol officers will soon receive training on how to enforce the law when stopping drivers for a violation, reported Telemundo 51.
Neither department has yet responded to requests for comment on the type of compliance Floridians can expect from the respective agencies.
Leaders of the Miami Freedom Project, a progressive nonprofit that advocates for immigrant rights, have said the new law will make life more difficult for more than 770,000 undocumented immigrants living in Florida.»as well as the many Floridians who employ, depend on, and help them.“
“This is not about detaining undocumented immigrants, this is about terrorizing the families that are already here,” Ana Sofía Peláez, founder of the Miami Freedom Project, said at a Spanish-language press conference last week.