Editor’s Note
This article discusses a new Florida law that significantly increases criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes, including provisions for the death penalty in certain cases. The legislation reflects ongoing national debates about immigration enforcement and state authority.
A new law in Florida, known as SB-2, establishes harsher criminal penalties for individuals found to be in the United States without legal status and convicted of crimes within the state. The measures include increased penalties for misdemeanors and the mandatory imposition of the death penalty in cases of first-degree murder.
According to the Associated Press, the law, championed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, is part of a state effort to increase sanctions against irregular immigration.
According to NBC Miami, one of the main changes is the increase in the criminal category of certain offenses when the defendant lacks legal status in the U.S. While petty theft in Florida can be punished with up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for most residents, an undocumented immigrant will face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for the same crime.
The statute also mandates the application of the death penalty in cases of first-degree murder, removing judicial discretion in such sentences for defendants without regular immigration status. However, legal experts question the constitutionality of this measure. Kara Gross of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) told ABC News that there is “legal precedent establishing that mandatory death penalty laws are unconstitutional.”
The U.S. Supreme Court in 1976 ruled in a case against North Carolina that automatic death sentences violated the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Despite this, Republican state Senator Randy Fine, a co-author of the legislation, told NBC Miami that he hopes the Supreme Court will reconsider its stance after nearly five decades since that decision.
In 2024, DeSantis had already enacted a rule that increased penalties for those who committed state crimes after having been previously deported and convicted for illegal re-entry under federal law.
CBS News detailed that this law increases the severity of convictions by one level, elevating, for example, a third-degree felony—punishable by up to five years in prison—to a second-degree felony, with penalties of up to 15 years in jail and fines of $10,000.
The new legislative package expands that criterion and applies penalty increases to all defendants without regular immigration status, without the need for them to have been previously deported. In this regard, law professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández of Ohio State University told AP News that the law could face legal challenges under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In a 1982 ruling, the Supreme Court determined that Texas did not demonstrate a compelling state interest to exclude children without regular immigration status from school funding.
Florida’s 67 sheriffs have agreed to fully cooperate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to enforce state immigration laws, NBC6 reported. Besides Florida, other states are considering similar measures. According to AP News, legislatures in Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Texas have proposed increases in penalties for crimes committed by people in the country without legal status.
In Texas, state Senator Pete Flores introduced a bill that raises the criminal classification by one level for most crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, citing public safety reasons. Meanwhile, Utah has passed a more specific initiative in the Senate that imposes mandatory jail sentences for repeat offenders in theft and drug trafficking crimes, with no option for early release, ABC News reported.
Immigrant rights organizations have expressed their rejection of the new legislation in Florida. The ACLU of Florida argued that the law could violate the principle of equal protection under the law, enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Experts warn that the measure could be challenged in federal courts, which could lead to a lengthy legal process.
Furthermore, some business leaders have expressed concern about the impact of the legislation on sectors such as agriculture, construction, and hospitality, where a significant portion of the workforce comes from immigrant workers. According to CBS News, several employers have warned that the strict enforcement of these sanctions could affect the availability of employees in industries key to the state’s economy.