Leading the country in Florida immigration enforcement under Ron DeSantis’ self-righteousness is like a cause.
According to Florida lawmakers, the answer was state schoolchildren, and young people, as young as 14, could work quickly and without a break from their one night shift, even on school nights.
The bill, which went on this week through the Republican-controlled state Senate, eliminates the existing protections of a large number of teenage workers and seeks to allow them in the words of the governor of Florida.
“What’s the problem with our youth expect to work part-time now? That’s when I was growing up,” DeSantis told the immigration forum last week with Donald Trump’s “border emperor,” Tom Homan.
“Why do we say we need to import foreigners? When teenagers work at these resorts, college students need to do all this.”
Naturally, the proposal warns immigrant advocates and watchdog groups who are concerned about child labour abuse and exploitation.
They now point out that there is nothing “part-time” in the language of the Senator and House bill before lawmakers. Instead, you can allow unlimited working hours for 14 and 15-year-olds attending school at home or online, and require your employer to arrive at work for ages 16, 17 and 17 and over.
“It deals with teens who are basically developing their bodies and minds like adults, which allows employers to schedule unlimited hours, overnight, and no breaks.
“It’s important to remind people that teens can work. If they need it, they can get that experience and extra money. But protection is needed for our most vulnerable protection.
Meanwhile, Sarasota Republican Jay Collins, an attempt by the state senator who sponsored the bill, tried to portray it as a matter of parental rights, rather than a way to cover Florida’s deportation-driven labor shortage.
“We’re not talking about the jungle of Upton Sinclair,” he told Chamber on Wednesday, referring to a 1906 novel that described the horrific and dangerous situations that endured cheap migrant workers, including children, in Chicago’s meat packing industry.
DeSantis claims that he is “talking to growing children about the benefits of these soft skills,” and that his bill is intended for teenagers working in places like grocery stores.
Tsukaras rejected Collins’ claim. “There’s a different argument that people put them on the floor to do what they think is necessary to pass the bill. Given some of the justifications made by state leaders recently, it’s clear that they’re linking immigration issues with child labour,” she said.
“When the massive immigration bill of 2023 was passed, we warned that it would have an impact on the workforce and the economy given how dependent we are on migrant workers. Of course, not all of those people are undocumented, but these days, all types of people, even permanent residents, have been threatened by expulsion.
“It’s absolutely a concern when combined with what’s going on at the state level. It’s no surprise that last year and again this year, we’re talking about the need to bridge the gap with other forms of labor.”
According to the US Census Bureau, more than 27% of Florida’s workforce is foreign-born.
The Florida Farmers Association, which represents tens of thousands of low-income migrant workers, says that around 60% of their membership is undocumented and is the most vulnerable to detention and deportation. Others are half a million Haitians across the country who ordered Trump to leave the United States by August after revoking his temporary protected status.
Pushbacks from FPI and other groups convinced Florida legislators to drop some of the strict provisions in the Child Labor Act, passed last year, and the enemy was disappointed to find them while considering them.
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The state was selected in its 2024 report by governing the Institute of Economic Policy, which recorded a surge in workplace injuries and workplace injuries and violations involving minors. Some are part of the agricultural industry where danger involves exposure to toxic chemicals and dangerous machinery.
The report warned that the corresponding push in at least 30 Republican-controlled states would weaken protections for children’s workplaces, and that the Second Trump administration is seeking an escalation of rollbacks.
“We have been in 2023, this is how we exploit minors, when they passed this massive anti-immigrant omnibus, the same year that they tried to block child labour protections.”
“The only short-term answer to the labor shortage is always net migration, and because of their politics they never go to it. So their only answer is to broaden the parameters of who can work.
Kennedy and Tsukara hope that Republicans who say that some of the bill are offensive will ultimately decide to oppose it. Republican state Sens. Nick Dicegree and Tom Wright helped remove it from the Commerce and Tourism Commission by 5-4 votes, but said they “need work.”
Republican Joe Gluters voted against the three Democrats, saying “we need to have children become children.”
But Kennedy pointed to another Republican bill that went on this week that allowed employers to pay interns and apprentices less than the minimum wage.
“In summary, they made the nation hostile to immigrants. They didn’t deport many people, scare people, or leave the state.
“That’s insane, isn’t it?”
