News

How DeSantis' immigration laws may be backfiring : Consider This from NPR

Published

2 years ago

April 25, 2024

How DeSantis' immigration laws may be backfiring : Consider This from NPR

You’re reading the Consider This newsletter, which unpacks one major news story each day. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to more from the Consider This podcast.

HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA: A ‘Freedom For All’ rally on July 01, 2023 to protest Senate Bill 1718. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida legislators passed the law to discourage undocumented workers from coming to the state. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

hide caption

toggle caption

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

1. A plan to ‘eliminate incentives’

There is a rich history of immigration in Florida, but the cause for this current moment starts with Senate Bill 1718, which was signed into law last May.

Championed by the current Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, the far-reaching legislation aims to crack down on undocumented labor.

It requires hospitals to include questions about immigration status, and makes it a felony to knowingly transport someone with undocumented status into the state.

DeSantis has boasted about how it has been “the strongest legislation against illegal immigration anywhere in the country.”

Biden is campaigning in Florida a week before a new abortion ban takes effect

Part of his philosophy has focused on eliminating “carrots” that encourage people to come to the U.S. without documentation saying,

“People are going to come, if they get benefits. And so what you want to do is say there’s not benefits for coming illegally. You’re either here as a native or you come legally,”

2. A far reaching impact

One of the major things about this plan is that it doesn’t just impact people from coming to Florida.

It has already had a demonstrable impact on the nearly one million undocumented immigrants already living in Florida.

Some residents have already taken notice, like Manuel Vasquez, the owner of an ice cream parlor in Fort Myers Florida, who says he has seen a noticeable drop in his clientele. He says about 30% of his customers have left, and the ones who stayed are afraid.

Vasquez says that some of them have described how they have no choice but to drive to get to work.

“And what if I don’t make it back home? What happens to my family? My children?” Vasquez recalls being told.

Mostly, he says people went north, to the Carolinas or Georgia.

So while the human impact is already palpable in these communities, what about the economic impact?

3. A view from the strawberry fields

One of the key elements in Florida’s strict immigration law is a provision that makes it much harder to hire undocumented workers. And like much of the country, the state is already dealing with a tight labor market.

Farmer Fidel Sanchez instructs his workers to get rid of the fruit that fell and rotted on the ground – which there is a lot of. He worries about how long he will be able to keep going.

The Federal government estimates that nationwide, over 40% of farmworkers are undocumented.

Anguish and fear in Florida amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment

Sanchez says, the effect of the law was immediate. Families he’d worked with for 20 or 30 years, headed north from one day to the next.

The government doesn’t care, he says. Maybe they think the crops are gonna pick themselves.

The Florida Policy Institute, estimates that this immigration law could cost the state economy $12.6 billion in its first year.

This episode was produced by Connor Donovan, Noah Caldwell and Christine Arrasmith with audio engineering by Tiffany Vera Castro.

It was edited by Jeanette Woods and Alfredo Carbajal.

Advertisement

Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

News

US says Kuwait accidentally shot down 3 American jets

Published

3 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

US says Kuwait accidentally shot down 3 American jets

The U.S. and Israel have been conducting strikes against targets in Iran since Saturday morning, with the aim of toppling Tehran’s clerical regime. Iran has fired back, with retaliatory assaults featuring missiles and drones targeting several Gulf countries and American bases in the Middle East.

“All six aircrew ejected safely, have been safely recovered, and are in stable condition. Kuwait has acknowledged this incident, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Kuwaiti defense forces and their support in this ongoing operation,” Central Command said.

“The cause of the incident is under investigation. Additional information will be released as it becomes available,” it added.

In a separate statement later Monday, Central Command said that American forces had been killed during combat since the strikes began.

“As of 7:30 am ET, March 2, four U.S. service members have been killed in action. The fourth service member, who was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks, eventually succumbed to their injuries,” it said.

Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification,” Central Command added.

This story has been updated.

News

Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Published

15 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Satellite images provide view inside Iran at war

Smoke rises over Konarak naval base in southern Iran on Sunday. The base was one of hundreds of targets of U.S. and Israeli forces throughout the country.

Planet Labs PBC

hide caption

toggle caption

Planet Labs PBC

Commercial satellite images are providing a unique look at the extent of damage being done to Iran’s military facilities across the country.

The U.S. and Israeli military campaign opened with a daytime attack that struck Iranian leadership in central Tehran. Smoke was still visible rising from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound following the attack that killed the supreme leader.

An image by the company Airbus taken on Saturday shows the aftermath of an Israeli strike on Iran’s Leadership House in central Tehran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the opening wave of attacks.

Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

Advertisement

hide caption

toggle caption

Pléiades Neo (c) Airbus DS 2026

Israel and the U.S. have gone on to strike targets across the country. Reports on social media indicate that there have been numerous military bases and compounds attacked all over Iran, and Iran has responded with attacks throughout the Middle East.

U.S. forces have also been striking at Iran’s navy. In a post on his social media platform, President Trump said that he had been briefed that U.S. forces had sunk nine Iranian naval vessels. U.S. Central Command did not immediately confirm that number but it did say it had struck an Iranian warship in port.

An image captured on February 28 shows a ship burning at Iran's naval base at Konarak.

An image captured on Saturday shows a ship burning at Iran’s naval base at Konarak.

hide caption

toggle caption

Numerous satellite images show burning vessels at Konarak naval base in southern Iran. Images also show damage to a nearby airbase where hardened hangers were struck by precision munitions.

Hardened aircraft shelters at Konarak airbase were struck with precision munitions.

hide caption

toggle caption

And there was extensive damage at a drone base in the same area. Iran has launched numerous drones and missiles toward Israel and U.S. military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Many drones have been intercepted but videos on social media show that some have evaded air defenses and caused damage in nearby Gulf countries. In Dubai, debris from an Iranian drone damaged the iconic Burj Al Arab, according to a statement from Dubai’s government.

Buildings at an Iranian drone base at Konarak were destroyed in the strikes.

hide caption

toggle caption

Iran’s most powerful weapons are its long-range missiles. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards have hidden the missiles deep inside mountain tunnels. Images taken Sunday in the mountains of northern Iran indicate that some of those tunnels were hit in a wave of strikes.

Following Khamenei’s death, Iran declared 40 days of mourning. Satellite images showed mourners gathering in Tehran’s Enghelab square on Sunday.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told NPR on Sunday that Iran will continue to fight “foreign aggression, foreign domination.”

A White House official told NPR that Trump plans to talk to Iran’s interim leadership “eventually,” but that for now, U.S. operations continue in the region “unabated.”

A large crowd of mourners fill Enghelab Square in Tehran on Sunday, following the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

hide caption

toggle caption

News

Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Video: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

new video loaded: What the Texas Primary Battle Means for the Midterms

The first battle of the midterm elections will be the U.S. Senate primary in Texas. Our Texas bureau chief, David Goodman, explains why Democrats and Republicans across the U.S. are watching closely to see what happens in the state.

By J. David Goodman, Alexandra Ostasiewicz, June Kim and Luke Piotrowski

March 1, 2026