Uncertain and afraid: Florida’s immigrants grapple with a disrupted reality under new law

For many in Florida’s vast immigrant community, daily life in recent months has become one governed entirely by fear. One of the strictest in the nation, the law criminalized transporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status into the state, invalidated any U.S. government identification they might have and blocked local governments from providing them with ID cards. Florida hospitals that receive Medicaid are now mandated to ask patients about immigration status and businesses employing 25 or more people must verify their workers’ legal status.