Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted a “false media narrative” on unlawful immigration after a report confirmed that the state noticed financial development regardless of outcry {that a} state regulation making Florida much less welcoming to unlawful immigrants would do the alternative.
DeSantis responded on Tuesday to a report by the Washington Examiner about Florida’s optimistic financial outcomes. Florida noticed 3.2% development in its gross home product from Q1 2024 to Q2 2024, in line with the Bureau of Financial Evaluation, whereas information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics confirmed that about 133,000 jobs have been added from October 2023 to October 2024.
“FL’s best-in-the-nation legislation combatting illegal immigration generated the typical array of false media narratives,” DeSantis wrote on X. “That such narratives blew up shows that good policy pays dividends. The goal needs to be disfavoring illegal immigration rather than — as is common across the US — incentivizing more illegal immigration.”
The narratives that DeSantis referred to included dire predictions from Democrats and a few media that getting powerful on unlawful immigration would solely injury Florida’s economic system by stopping unlawful immigrants from doing obligatory jobs that People don’t need to do.
In Could 2023, DeSantis signed a regulation that included a provision that requires hospitals to gather and submit information on the prices of offering well being care to unlawful immigrants, which means they have to ask sufferers their immigration standing.
DeSantis instructed “Hannity” in June that the regulation was linked to a drop in Medicaid spending.
“We made sure when you have people show up at the hospital that we’re asking about immigration status, and that’s caused the Medicaid expenditures to plummet by 50%,” he stated.
MIKE LEE LOOKS TO HALT WELFARE FOR ILLEGALS GOING ON UNDER BIDEN WITH KEY BUDGET PROCESS
DeSantis on the time referred to information from Could that confirmed the quantity spent on Florida’s Emergency Medical Help program from FY 23 to FY 24 dropped to $67 million, a lower of over 50%.
Whereas sufferers aren’t pressured to reply, activists warned that it may have a chilling impact on immigrants searching for medical care. Unlawful immigrants are usually not eligible for Medicaid beneath federal regulation, however states are required to offer care in an emergency.
The invoice DeSantis signed included different provisions designed to make Florida much less welcoming for individuals who have entered illegally. They embrace obligatory E-Confirm, a ban on NGOs and native governments issuing IDs to unlawful immigrants, strikes to droop licenses of employers who make use of unlawful immigrants, and extra money for a transport program to maneuver unlawful immigrants to “sanctuary” jurisdictions.
Fox Information Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.