On May 10, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 1718 into law. This law impacts various issues affecting immigrants, including state and local government funding for community identifications, invalidation of certain out-of-state driver’s licenses and permits for undocumented immigrants, collection and reporting of immigration status by hospitals receiving Medicaid, expansion of E-Verify and other employment-related provisions, and criminal ramifications for those transporting certain migrants into the state of Florida.

The law went into effect on July 1, 2023. Below, you will find one-pagers on the largest sections covered by this law. The one-pagers are meant to provide an overview of these sections. They are not meant to be all-inclusive of every detail of this law. They are not legal advice. It is also important to note that some parts of the law are vague or do not define important terms that are used. This means that interpretations have come out and will continue coming out. It is important to know what the provisions actually state.

On July 17, 2023, a lawsuit was filed regarding the “smuggling” provision. Please note that lawsuits take time, so we do not expect an immediate result. Please do not assume implementation has changed unless you hear this from a reliable source. Because of existing lawsuits and those to come, implementation, interpretation, and enforcement of the law may keep evolving. Please be sure to check with trusted sources.

One-Pagers:

• Driver’s Licenses and Permits
• E-Verify and Employment-Related Provisions
• Hospitals Collecting Immigration Data
• Human Smuggling Provision
• Identification Cards
• Other Provisions
• Repeal of Licensing for Certain Lawyers

Non-Exhaustive List of Trusted Sources:

• The Attorneys for Plaintiffs in the July 17, 2023, lawsuit include: The Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, Americans for Immigrant Justice, and American Immigration Council.
• The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department (FLHSMV) was specifically tasked in the law to maintain an updated list of which state licenses are no longer accepted in Florida. In the two-and-a-half weeks since the original list has been published, there have already been two updates. Be sure to regularly check the site for new information.
• Organizations such as Legal Aid Service of Broward County that issue community identifications.