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Florida Attorney General McCollum has stated that Statue 448.09 is unenforceable. The courts have ruled that monetary fines in state immigration laws are preemptive of federal regulation and likely unconstitutional. This law has been on the books for a long time and has not been updated or enforced. Doesn't that tell us something about immigration non-enforcement? |
448.09 Unauthorized aliens; employment prohibited.--
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to employ, hire, recruit, or refer, either for herself or himself or on behalf of another, for private or public employment within the state, an alien who is not duly authorized to work by the immigration laws or the Attorney General of the United States.
(2) The first violation of subsection (1) shall be a noncriminal violation as defined in s. 775.08(3) and, upon conviction, shall be punishable as provided in s. 775.082(5) by a civil fine of not more than $500, regardless of the number of aliens with respect to whom the violation occurred.
(3) Any person who has been previously convicted for a violation of subsection (1) and who thereafter violates subsection (1), shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. Any such subsequent violation of this section shall constitute a separate offense with respect to each unauthorized alien.