LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Senate Bill 1718, signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis, takes effect on July 1, and on Wednesday, hundreds of people protested the law that does more than just crack down on undocumented workers in Florida.

The new law will make it much more difficult for many people who are unregulated immigrants to get any type of job. 

It also puts a burden on hospitals and makes it a crime for anyone who transports an undocumented immigrant into the State of Florida.

“It makes it a felony for illegal aliens to use a fake ID to gain employment,” said Governor Ron DeSantis upon signing the bill into law.

The law requires companies with 25 or more workers to use E-Verify to hire. That’s a government website that determines who is eligible to work in the U.S.

Fort Myers Immigration Attorney Indera DeMine called the law unnecessary because employers already use I-9 forms for all employees. An I-9 verifies if someone is legal to work for a U.S. company.

“A lot of employers are reaching out to us. This is affecting a lot of industries in SWFL construction and agriculture. A lot of employers who want to figure a way around E-Verify,” DeMine said.

Many of the protestors who marched from Downtown Fort Myers to Palm Beach Boulevard call the new law an attack on immigrant families.

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“I’m an immigrant as well and I understand there is a lot of pressure in the families of immigrants. Especially those who work in the fields here in Florida,” said Franklin Baquero, a Colombian immigrant.

The law also requires hospitals to ask patients their immigration status. Lee Health confirmed they will begin asking on July 1, but stated the hospital said it will not report the names of patients who identify as being not lawfully present in the U.S.”

In fact, the law prohibits the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration from requiring Lee Health to disclose this information.

Lee Health released the following explanation.

“Our reports to the state will contemplate three answers; (1) They are U.S. Citizens or lawfully in the U.S., (2) they are not lawfully in the U.S., or (3) they have declined to answer.

It is essential to note that this law specifically pertains to individuals seeking care at a hospital as an inpatient or emergency department patient. Patients who seek care at our physician practices or outpatient locations will not be affected in any way.”

“We appreciate the trust placed in Lee Health as a provider of healthcare services, and we remain committed to serving the needs of our community with empathy and respect.” Lee Health concluded.

“I feel like it’s being used politically just to make people feel unsafe in this land where they come for opportunities,” Baquero said.

Republican Mike Giallombardo who represents District 77 in Cape Coral, said that people need to relax.

“We have to get through this. It’s something we have to do to protect the citizens of Florida,” Giallombardo said.

He and all of the SWFL delegation supported the bill and called it necessary and he emphasized penalties won’t take place for at least a year.

“July 1 it comes into effect but the penalties, there is a task force and a rule-making process for the next year and then the actual penalties for knowingly hiring illegal aliens won’t be enforced until July 1st of 2024,” Giallombardo explained.

The new law also makes it a crime to transport undocumented immigrants into Florida.