Could anti-immigration law backfire on DeSantis and turn Florida blue again? - Opinion

[In It to Win It]

https://news.yahoo.com/could-anti-immigration-law-backfire-132341659.html

Given the strong Republican performance in Florida in recent years, it’s easy to think that this once-ultimate swing state is now solidly red. Here’s why the conventional wisdom may be wrong.

Thirty years ago, California was a reliably red state governed by Pete Wilson, one of the country’s most prominent conservatives of the time. Many saw Wilson as a future president, and as Wilson looked to burnish his conservative credentials for a national run, he threw his weight behind the now-infamous Proposition 187, one of the most egregiously anti-Latino and anti-immigration laws in U.S. history.

The policy aim of Proposition 187 barred undocumented immigrants from receiving government services, but its practical impact was that Latino Americans all across California became profiled, harassed and abused. Latinos felt less safe in their own communities and deeply disrespected by the Republican Party.

So they voted. The mobilization of Latino voters to the polls in the aftermath of Proposition 187 was largely responsible for turning California — the nation’s biggest electoral prize — from red to reliably blue.

With that history in mind, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ highly calculated decision to champion and sign the similarly anti-immigrant SB 1718 into law may be seen years from now as one of the great political blunders of our time.

Similar to Proposition 187, SB 1718 requires hospitals to collect data on citizenship, which could discourage immigrants from accessing vital community resources like hospital emergency rooms. It gives law enforcement (and, let’s face it, racist vigilantes) permission to harass anyone they deem to be an immigrant.