In the wake of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signing an anti-illegal immigration bill, activists from coast to coast are hosting “A Day Without Immigrants” marches, gatherings, and worker strikes on Thursday.
What we have here is a tremendous opportunity to conduct some deportations — if only we had a president willing to do so.
The Florida law, which goes into effect July 1, ensures that employers who take advantage of cheap labor by hiring illegal aliens instead of Americans are punished. It will require E-verify for certain companies, making it harder for illegal aliens to gain employment. Already, the law has caused some individuals to “self-deport” from the Sunshine State.
Now, businesses in various cities are shutting down for the day, and employees are refusing to show up for work. Many of these workers are illegal immigrants. The goal, activists say, is to draw attention to DeSantis’ law and how it could impact the economy.
"A Day Without Immigrants" protests are taking place across the US pic.twitter.com/S6134LZfq7
— CNN (@CNN) June 1, 2023
The Florida law does not have any impact on legal immigrants. It targets illegal immigrants and those who employ them.
Nonetheless, folks such as TikToker Samuel Ruiz have taken to social media to encourage the protest.
“Just shut down for a day, let them know that your taco stand is not going to be open, your yard isn’t going to get mowed, your roof is not going to get built,” Ruiz said in one video. “Sooner or later if we do not speak up or we allow this kind of targeting in a certain community it could spread through the whole country.”
Have you ever noticed that leftists only value illegal aliens because they provide cheap labor? It’s a bit degrading.
As for Ruiz’s worries that the Florida law could become national, that depends if Republicans decide to pursue policies that work at the national level. Many in the GOP establishment support amnesty and letting illicit workers stay.
For others, a national E-verify system sounds like a dream. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) has argued that “E Verify may be the single most important immigration issue.”
E Verify maybe the single most important immigration issue. Also tells you who’s willing to buck the chamber of commerce to serve our citizens. https://t.co/Od8tbZ7VSh
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 10, 2022
Thousands of individuals voluntarily fleeing the country after unlawfully crossing the border also sounds great. Then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney advocated having harsh national laws that would cause such “self-deportation.”
“The answer is self-deportation, which is people decide they can do better by going home because they can’t find work here because they don’t have legal documentation to allow them to work here,” Romney said in 2011. “And so we’re not going to round people up.”
Eleven years later, it looks like Romney’s plan is happening in Florida. On a national level, voluntary removal would certainly make the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s job a lot easier.
It should be noted that this isn’t the first “A Day Without Immigrants.” The event also occurred in 2017, the first year of the Trump administration.
The result was the same: Hundreds of individuals participated, many openly admitting that they broke the law to get into the country, and yet for some reason the federal government has no interest in removing them or going after these individuals — even though we know where they work and live.
Obviously, the Biden administration has no interest in closing the border, deterring illegal immigration, or mass deporting individuals. The Biden administration would rather wait for illegal aliens to commit a violent crime before deportation is considered.
So, there won’t be any deportations or a national crackdown on illegal immigration at this year’s “A Day Without Immigrants.” But if a Republican presidential candidate wins in 2024, then maybe he or she can beef up ICE enforcement or listen to Romney’s answer for how to properly remove illegal immigrants. We can all dream.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.