Report: Undocumented immigrants make up small share of Florida's population
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Undocumented immigrants make up a small share of Florida's population, but that hasn't stopped the state's Republican leadership from passing laws and spending millions of dollars to make living here less hospitable to them.
Driving the news: The Pew Research Center released updated figures for undocumented immigrants who live in the U.S. late last year. It found that, as of 2021, they only accounted for 4.1% of Florida's population.
- That's compared to 3.6% in 2019, and 5.3% in 2005.
Zoom out: There were 10.5 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. as of 2021.
- California and Texas each had a larger undocumented population than Florida — both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of their population.
- The estimates are based on census, immigration and refugee admission data; see more details on the Pew's methodology here.
Yes, but: Pew's estimates "do not reflect changes that have occurred since apprehensions and expulsions of migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border started increasing in March 2021," the organization notes.
Between the lines: Florida, for years, has seen its Republican officials take a tough public stance against undocumented immigrants, while the state's economy is reliant on and benefits from the labor of this same group.
- Some industries in Florida, like construction and agriculture, employ a large percentage of noncitizens. KFF estimated over a third of the state's agricultural workers and nearly a quarter of its construction workers are not U.S. citizens, this includes both lawfully present and undocumented immigrants.
- Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, a Republican, expressed concern about the "unintended consequences" the state's latest immigration crackdown could have on these industries, noting the possibility of increased inflation.
- The law — championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a presidential candidate who's advocated for the use of lethal force at the border — requires more businesses to use the E-Verify system to check the immigration status of their employees.
The big picture: DeSantis spent $15 million in the first six months of 2023 to curb illegal immigration. Florida also passed legislation that year to provide a $12 million budget for relocating migrants.
- This came after he drew nationwide attention — and legal challenges — for flying newly arrived migrants and asylum seekers from Texas to Martha's Vineyard in 2022 and later sending dozens more to Sacramento.
What we're watching: Immigration is expected to be a crucial issue in the upcoming 2024 presidential election, thanks, in part, to an increase in migrants at the Southwest border.
- That's led to blowback against the Biden administration from both sides of the political spectrum and has fueled increasingly harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric.