Following Ron DeSantis' strict penalties and restrictions on undocumented immigrants, Latino truckers are sending a message to the governor: don't bite the hand that feeds you.
Last week, Title 42 — a policy that allowed officials to turn away migrants at the border as a public health measure during the Covid-19 pandemic — came to an end. Republicans had long fought to keep the measures in place, but after the World Health Organization deemed Covid to no longer be a global health emergency, the Biden Administration was able to rescind the rules.
Despite border crossings dropping in the time since Title 42's discontinuation, according to President Joe Biden, Republicans continue to fearmonger about a surge of immigrants crossing entering the United States. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a bill considered to be the toughest in the country, which has been condemned for its cruelty against migrants.
Among other policies, the bill requires that employers verify citizenship of their workers and immediately fire any unauthorized to work. It also invalidates out-of-state licenses issued to "unauthorized immigrants," prohibits them from practicing law, and mandates that hospitals accepting Medicaid report how many "illegal" immigrants they treat to the state. It also threatens felony charges for those who "smuggle" immigrants into the country.
Across the United States, economies rely on the labor of undocumented immigrants. The Farmworkers Association of Florida estimates that 60 percent of the agriculture workers in the state live there illegally. Many have expressed anxiety about returning to work, and whether or not it will lead to deportation.
Independent journalist Arturo Dominguez compiled several TikTok videos from Latino truckers who are calling for truckdrivers to refuse to enter Florida in response to the policies.
"Spanish language social media has exploded with Latino truck drivers calling for a boycott and refusing to take shipments into Florida," he wrote in a Tweet. "Things are about to get interesting."
\u201cHere's one (in Spanish):\u201d— Arturo Dominguez \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2 (@Arturo Dominguez \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf2) 1683954930
Truckers have begun refusing to transport goods into the state, with one user called @elarracas91.1 saying in a video translated from Spanish: “Remember one thing. In Florida, more goes in than comes out. So if we don’t take anything to Florida, tell me — What are they going to have? Let’s see what the governor is going to do. Is his little truck going to take things to his lousy racist people he has there?”
Several others posted videos promising to boycott Florida. It is not yet clear if this has impacted the state's economy. One video showing emptied grocery store shelves claimed that it was because of the trucker protests, though it has not been verified by the store.
Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took note of the protests, expressing solidarity with the truckers on Twitter. While the DeSantis policies are particularly harsh, Ocasio-Cortez noted that immigrants are subject to harmful polices from both Democrats and Republicans alike.
"Anti-immigrant policies reap what they sow. DeSantis’ Florida is about to find that out," she wrote. "The US has such deep needs right now, particularly in labor. Yet policymakers (of ALL stripes) take our immigrant communities for granted. No más. Time to stop biting the hands that feed."
\u201cAnti-immigrant policies reap what they sow. DeSantis\u2019 Florida is about to find that out.\n\nThe US has such deep needs right now, particularly in labor. Yet policymakers (of ALL stripes) take our immigrant communities for granted.\n\nNo m\u00e1s. Time to stop biting the hands that feed.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1683995272
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