Some out-of-state driver’s licenses no longer recognized
Certain classes of driver licenses from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Vermont are no longer valid in Florida.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has published a list of out-of-state license classes that are invalid as of July 1 in accordance with Senate Bill 1718, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed earlier this year.
Each of the five states has classes of licenses that are invalid, including “limited purpose driver’s license,” “limited purpose instruction permit,” “limited purpose provisional driver’s license” and “not valid for use for official federal purposes” for Hawaii.
The bill specifically prohibits the issuance of a driver’s license to anyone who does not provide proof of lawful presence in the United States.
“Someone who is in our country illegally and has violated our laws should not possess a government-issued ID which allows them access to state-funded services and other privileges afforded to lawful residents,” DeSantis said in a prepared statement. “The Biden administration may continue to abdicate its responsibilities to secure our border, but Florida will stand for the rule of law. Even if the federal government refuses, Florida will act decisively to protect our citizens, our state, and our country.”
In addition to prohibiting the issuance of a driver’s license to anyone who does not provide proof of lawful presence in the United States, it “specifies that out-of-state driver licenses issued exclusively to illegal aliens are invalid in Florida.”
“FLHSMV and its division of the Florida Highway Patrol are prepared to strictly enforce Senate Bill 1718,” Executive Director Dave Kerner said in a prepared statement. “This legislation supports two of our primary goals: to enhance homeland security and to interdict criminal activity. It communicates our state policy that Florida will not provide incentives to undocumented immigrants, while reminding criminal cartels and those who are planning to unlawfully cross our national border that Florida should not be their destination of choice. Florida will not accept driver licenses from those who cannot provide proof of lawful presence in the United States. By doing this, we commit to a safer Florida.”
Lee County GOP Chairman Michael Thompson said this means that Florida residents are going to be even more protected. He said there is nothing wrong with protecting the residents of your state.
“It is unfortunate that he had to take these measures. It’s unfortunate that he had to have an immigration bill as well,” Thompson said.
He said the root cause is that there is no border from the southern border, which is allowing DeSantis to come in and take control over the security of Florida residents. He said there were none of these bills two to three years ago.
“They are there for a specific reason. We don’t need to look too far from the southern border,” Thompson said.
He does not believe it will stop tourism or put Florida’s economy into question.
“This is the state of freedom. The people that want to be here have to follow the law,” Thompson said.
The Lee County Democratic Party had a different outlook on the bill.
Chair Kari Lerner said the state has the right to whatever requirements it wants on driver’s licenses, which she said is discriminatory and hateful.
Lerner said the driver’s license is a very small portion of the bill. As a former legislator, she read through the entire bill and is surprised there are not other sections being talked about, such as a requirement of hospital’s collecting immigration status of patients.
“They are required to report quarterly to the state, the immigration status of each and every patient that comes to the hospital,” she said. “The part that says anyone that transports an undocumented individual can be charged with human trafficking. Those are pretty terrifying aspects of this bill.”
Lerner said every single person that goes to the hospital is going to be reported to the state.
“You are also, as an individual American citizen, going to be reported to the state every time I go to the hospital. That is incredibly invasive and intrusive to each and every person in the state of Florida,” she said.
Lerner said the bill does not only impact immigrants.
“Think about what this requirement is. It should chill each and every person in this state. The invasiveness and intrusiveness of this legislation,” she said.
The license list is available at flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/visiting-florida-faqs/.
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