Karla Correa, Immokalee resident: “Our state relies on immigrants, our community is made up of immigrants… There is unity here in Florida…”
Nearly 7,000 residents of Southwest Florida flood the streets of Immokalee in protest of SB 1718, Florida’s virulent anti-immigrant legislation
This year, the Florida legislature passed an avalanche of unprecedented legislation, transforming the state’s laws governing classrooms, gun safety (or lack thereof), elections, healthcare, and – last but certainly not least – immigration in a law known as SB 1718.
As the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, we stand firmly against SB 1718, and against the fear, division, and economic hardship it will bring to Florida. The malicious provision requiring public hospitals to ask for immigration status will cruelly discourage people in need of medical attention, including young children, from seeking the care they need. The transportation provision will criminalize everyday Floridians – including travel team coaches and commercial bus drivers, parent chaperones on field trips, and small businesses keeping the state’s fragile economy running – for innocently traveling in and out of our state. The law is inhumane, impossible to fairly enforce, and leaves our communities less safe and more divided than ever.
When it comes to the law’s inevitable economic impact, lawmakers in Tallahassee have missed critical lessons from recent history. One need only look to the agricultural fields in Georgia, Alabama, and Arizona in 2010 and 2011, full of rotting peaches, peppers, and watermelons, to see the disastrous impact of anti-immigrant legislation on labor supply and tourism. In addition to the contribution immigrants make to our state’s economy every single day, which is easily measurable in ever-rising labor productivity and millions of tax dollars, the authors of this bill also entirely neglect the immeasurable gifts of immigrant families in our schools, our sanctuaries of faith, and our communities everywhere across our state.
But last Thursday, on June 1, communities across the Florida – and the country – fought back. In Immokalee alone, nearly 7,000 farmworkers, construction workers, landscapers, restaurant and shop owners, their family members, and supporters from across Southwest Florida joined organizers with Unidos Immokalee and the Florida Immigrant Coalition in taking to the streets of Immokalee in a one-day work stoppage and major march in order to protest Florida’s new anti-immigration law.
With nearly 20 local businesses shuttered for the day and 7,000 community members gathered together, braving both the scorching summer sun and multiple summer downpours, the resounding message in Immokalee was one of strength, resilience, and solidarity. And Southwest Florida was not alone. Communities of working immigrants all over Florida and the US joined together in rallies against the law from Tampa to Homestead that included business closures and refusals to go to work, amounting to a statewide general strike.
The march in Immokalee – easily among the largest in the town’s history – garnered national attention, with images of the joyful and determined residents of our region splashed across the Associated Press, Washington Post, Reuters, NBC, and many, many others. Today, we want to lift up the incredible work of Unidos Immokalee and the Florida Immigrant Coalition and share excerpts from some of the top stories (see below) as well as a gallery of photos from the massive Immokalee rally.
Opponents hold ‘day without immigrants’ in Florida to protest new restrictions
By Daniel Kozin, June 2, 2023
IMMOKALEE, Fla. (AP) — Across Florida on Thursday, workers didn’t show up at construction sites and tomato fields and scores of restaurants, shops and other small businesses never opened their doors to protest a new state law that imposes restrictions on undocumented immigrants.
Organizers dubbed the protest “a day without immigrants.”
In the Orlando area, dozens of protesters, including some driving trucks with small construction cranes, demonstrated at a busy intersection outside the office of a state lawmaker who had championed the law.
In Immokalee, an area in southwest Florida known for its tomato fields, hundreds of protesters, many with families, marched two miles around the town, chanting and carrying signs.
In Fort Lauderdale, opponents of the law chanted and waved flags outside Isis Cordova’s Latin cuisine restaurant, which was closed in protest.
“I managed to get legal status in this country, and I said one day when I have documents I’m going to raise my voice. I’m also going to speak up for those people who don’t have a voice,” Cordova said. “Because I know what it’s like to be in these shoes on the other side, with that fear and living in the shadows.”…
Isaac Dubon, who owns a construction business in South Florida, said immigrants are important to Florida because they do jobs that others won’t.
“We work a lot in this country, 15 or 16 straight hours nonstop,” Dubon said. “We go through a lot. We pay taxes too, like everyone else, and we sustain the country’s economy.”
Floridians protest DeSantis’ immigration bill
Posted June 2, 2023
Florida protests against immigration law cause businesses to close
Published: June 1, 2023
A number of businesses around the state are shut down so workers can hold protests against Florida’s new anti-immigration law.
Hundreds of people are peacefully protesting in Fort Myers Thursday. They want to emphasize the importance of immigrants to Florida’s economy.
WINK News walked two miles with protestors down Immokalee’s main roads to speak with people like Jajayra Torres, a DACA recipient.
“I’m a DACA recipient. And I’m illegal. And I’m just representing the Spanish people,” Torres said.
WINK News also spoke with Karla Correa, who came all the way from St. Petersburg to stand up for what she believes.
“Our state relies on immigrants, our community is made up of immigrants,” Correa said. “There is unity here in Florida. People do support the immigrant community here.”
Immokalee, el pueblo rural de Florida que se levantó contra la dura ley migratoria de DeSantis: “No es nuestro gobernador, sino el de quienes no nos quieren”
Published June 1, 2023
Más de 6,000 manifestantes, muchos de ellos inmigrantes indocumentados, protagonizaron “Un día sin inmigrantes” en una localidad al noroeste de Miami conocida por ser una de las mayores productoras de tomates de EE.UU.
Cerca de 3.000 personas se movilizaron en Florida por el “Día sin inmigrantes”
Published June 1, 2023
Trabajadores en todo Florida se ausentaron de las obras de construcción y de los campos, mientras que una gran cantidad de restaurantes, tiendas y otros pequeños establecimientos estuvieron cerrados en protesta por la nueva ley estatal que impone restricciones para los inmigrantes.
More coverage:
Immokalee:
Democracy Now: Top U.S. & World Headlines — June 2, 2023
Associated Press: Opponents hold ‘day without immigrants’ in Florida to …AP Newshttps://apnews.com › article
Washington Post: Opponents hold ‘day without immigrants’ in Florida to …Washington Posthttps://www.washingtonpost.com › 2023/06/01 › desa…
Reuters: Floridians protest DeSantis’ immigration billReutershttps://www.reuters.com › video › watch
Alaska Commons (from Telemundo) https://www.alaskacommons.com/it-is-not-our-governor-but-that-of-those-who-do-not-like-us/
Beyond Immokalee: