Undocumented Immigrants

A USF survey of Hillsborough County's immigrant community reveals the ripple effects of the 2023 law. Immigration advocates say they've had to clear up misconceptions.

Brothers Leo and Diego talk about the fraught ways their immigration status marked their childhood, and how they carved a path forward.

A slate of laws enacted this year continue the state's crackdown on illegal immigration. Advocates say the changes come as Florida's immigrant community is still reeling from last year's policies.

A recent report shows that undocumented immigrants paid $1.8 billion in state and local taxes in Florida. That makes the state fourth in the nation when it comes to tax dollars collected from them.

A whistleblower's lawsuit says the DeSantis administration retaliated against him after he raised concerns that relocating immigrants from Texas to another state could be illegal.

Advocates have been pushing the federal government for years on the work permit issue, but the administration is negotiating with Senate Republicans a compromise that would enforce stricter immigration policies to secure more money for Ukraine and Israel.

Maria Gabriela Pacheco is the new CEO and president of the prominent organization TheDream.US. She began advocating on the issue two decades ago while attending Miami Dade College as an undocumented student. Her family moved to Florida from Ecuador looking for a safer life.

One of the strictest in the nation, the law criminalized transporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status into the state, invalidated any U.S. government identification they might have and blocked local governments from providing them with ID cards.

Immigration advocates gathered at Hope Community Center in Apopka Thursday to decry a new state law that would limit the rights of undocumented people here.

Health professionals say a proposal to collect data on undocumented patients could lead many to avoid care.

The Homeland Security Task Force - Southeast said they have stopped or removed more than 1,300 refugees at sea or from Dry Tortugas National Park and other areas of the Florida Keys since Dec. 30 and urged family members of Cubans and Haitians thinking of making their way to the U.S. to dissuade such efforts.

Federal officials became overwhelmed as nearly 500 Cuban migrants landed in or near the Keys between Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, before 100 Haitians in a sailboat arrived in Key Largo on Tuesday. Arrivals forced Dry Tortugas National Park to close.