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Florida’s chief financial officer announced a slate of legislative priorities to discourage illegal immigrants from settling in the state – a strategy that rarely makes headlines as most states focus on criminal justice laws versus financial policies.
Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia, who previously represented Hernando and Citrus counties in the state Senate, said Florida has already taken sweeping actions to blunt illegal immigrants from utilizing programs in Florida but that there are still many openings in law that would allow them to benefit if the state ever trends to the left again.
"Illegal immigration has scourged our communities. Too many lives have been lost, and too many people have been hurt as a result of illegal immigration," Ingoglia said late Wednesday. He specifically cited the case of an Indian illegal immigrant with a California commercial driver's license (CDL) who allegedly killed a carload of people on Florida’s Turnpike earlier this year.
Ingoglia said the state’s actions thus far to blunt illegal immigrant truckers and those who are illiterate in English is a good start, but there is much more to be done.
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"Florida has led the nation in fighting back against the mess that the Biden administration created, but we must keep our foot on the gas and continue to disincentivize illegal aliens from coming to our state," he said. "I am proud to announce my anti-illegal immigration legislative priorities, and I look forward to working with the legislature and the Governor to get these proposals passed."
Ingoglia said 26 illegal immigrants were arrested on charges that fall under the financial services banner that his agency oversees, including four people nabbed on insurance fraud offenses, collectively totaling $800,000.
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Ingoglia’s package included proposals to bar free down-payment assistance for illegal immigrants, arguing that similar programs in New York and California have burdened taxpayers and incentivized unlawful immigration.
He said the practice is not allowed in Florida as a policy of the current DeSantis government, but that "you never know what the future of the state of Florida is going to look like."
Ingoglia also launched an effort to prohibit illegal immigrants from receiving any licenses sanctioned by his office, formally the Florida Department of Financial Services, and suggested that revocation of any current licenses found could be on the table.
Referencing the fatal St. Lucie County truck crash, Ingoglia said he will also push to require CDL final exams to be administered only in English and to remove illegal immigrants as "covered employees" under workers’ compensation statutes.
For insurance companies who have illegal immigrants among their policyholders in Florida, Ingoglia’s plan would also require the insurers to accept fault if such a person is involved in an auto accident.
Ingoglia was joined in his efforts by several lawmakers who are backing his plan, naming state Rep. Kiyan Michael, R-Duval, and Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers.
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"I know firsthand the tragedies that have resulted from rampant illegal immigration," Michael said in a statement.
"In Florida, we have leaders who are not afraid to take a stand and do what is right to protect the law-abiding citizens of Florida."
St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick also voiced support, saying the effects of the illegal immigration crisis are "far-reaching" and that Tallahassee must continue to "take steps to protect the citizens of our state."
Martin added that every Florida town has felt repercussions of illegal immigration and that Ingoglia’s plan would rightly protect law-abiding businesses.
Ingoglia succeeded now-Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., in the row office – as the latter was elected to fill the seat of the departed Matt Gaetz in the panhandle's deep-red district.
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