Florida Immigration Policies Upend Lives, USF Study Finds

(FLORIDA) A new set of studies from the University of South Florida says Florida’s new immigration policies are reshaping daily life for immigrants and many of their U.S.-citizen relatives, from job sites to clinics to church pews. Researchers at USF’s Im/migrant Well-Being Research Center said the combined effect of tougher state laws and expanded cooperation with federal immigration authorities has produced “economic stress, reduced healthcare access, family separation fears, and social isolation.”

The findings come as Governor Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders pitch Florida as a model for aggressive enforcement, while immigrant families describe choosing quieter routines and, in some cases, planning to leave the state. USF researchers said the data don’t argue for one party, but they show how rules land on households.

Surveys and early findings (SB 1718 — 2023)

USF’s Florida Immigration Policies Project surveyed immigrants after SB 1718 (2023), a sweeping law that tightened checks on work and raised the sense that state and local government would play a larger role in immigration policing.

Key survey results:
– Non-citizens reported sharp employment disruptions, especially in agriculture and hospitality.
– Many respondents said they had already moved or were preparing to move out of Florida, creating instability for employers who rely on seasonal labor.
– Some U.S. citizens reported worry about their own jobs and pay as workplaces changed hiring practices.
– Household budgets were affected quickly: people cut back on driving, shopping, and social visits to reduce contact with authorities and avoid stops on the road.

Health care, family separation, and spillover effects

Health care emerged as an early fault line in the USF survey.

• Non-citizens said they delayed medical visits or skipped care because they feared clinics might share information or that a trip into town could lead to a traffic stop and detention.
• Hesitation was not limited to people without status: some U.S. citizens in mixed-status families also avoided care because a partner or parent might be questioned on the way.
• Respondents described fear that detention or deportation could remove an earner or split parents from children, even when some relatives were citizens.

USF framed these reactions as health and stability issues, not only immigration issues.

Follow-up interviews (Florida Immigration Enforcement Experiences Project — 2025)

To measure changes as enforcement talk increased in 2025, the center launched the Florida Immigration Enforcement Experiences Project, funded by the Sociological Initiatives Foundation, USF Humanities Institute, and USF College of Arts & Sciences.

• The team conducted 53 semi-structured interviews from May through July 2025.
• Interviewees included immigrants and U.S.-born adult children (ages 18 to 65) with roots in Africa, the Caribbean, South and Central America, and North America.
• Participants spanned statuses: undocumented residents, TPS and DACA holders, lawful permanent residents, and U.S. citizens.

Professor Elizabeth Aranda, who oversaw the research, said enforcement had “seeped into virtually every area of social life,” shaping where people work, how they travel, and whom they trust. Several interviewees said they now plan errands around school pickup and daylight hours.

Behavioral shifts and economic impact

Interviewees described several coping strategies that have consequences for earnings, mobility, and community life:

• Shifting toward informal jobs close to home, even at the cost of lower pay, fewer hours, and no benefits.
• Avoiding long drives for seasonal farm work or hotel jobs because a traffic stop could trigger identity questions.
• Doubling up in housing or delaying moves to cheaper apartments for fear that new landlords might ask for papers or report them.
• Limiting activities to familiar neighborhoods and avoiding beaches, malls, and large events.

These changes contributed to social isolation:
– Skipping worship services.
– Pulling back from friends.
– Stopping volunteering at school.

The research omitted participant names but described households where citizen children felt lives shrinking.

New laws and expanded enforcement (SB 2-C — 2025 and 287(g) expansion)

Many fears intensified after the Legislature and DeSantis approved SB 2-C (2025), enacted in 2025 and effective July 1, 2025.

Notable provisions and impacts of SB 2-C:
– Ends in-state tuition for undocumented students at Florida public colleges and orders a reevaluation of eligibility—a change education advocates say can price students out overnight.
– Sets aside $298 million for immigration enforcement, which includes:
– 50 new officers
– $1,000 bonuses
– Training funds
– Includes a provision that undocumented immigrants convicted of capital felonies face the death penalty.

DeSantis signed the bill as part of a push to align state resources with federal deportation efforts, while critics warn it expands punishment without solving labor needs. For students, the timing collided with decisions about enrollment plans.

At the same time, Florida expanded participation in the federal 287(g) program, which lets local and state agencies perform certain functions normally handled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On Feb. 19, 2025, DeSantis directed the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Florida State Guard to train under ICE to carry out interrogations, arrests, detainers, and transport to detention facilities.

When announcing the move, he said, “Florida is setting the example… making our communities safer as illegal aliens are removed.” Researchers said such messaging, repeated in local news and social media, changed behavior even among people with lawful status because they weren’t sure what an officer might ask for during routine encounters on highways.

Scale, legal challenges, and detention concerns

• Florida now has the highest participation rate in 287(g) nationally, with over 76% of its agencies enrolled, according to reports cited in USF and WUSF coverage.
• That scale raised concerns about more detentions in already crowded facilities.

Human Rights Watch, in a July 2025 report, said it documented abuses at three Florida detention centers since January 2025 and linked rising detention numbers to a mix of state and federal steps, including expanded 287(g) work, the Laken Riley Act, and SB 4-C.

Florida suffered a legal setback when the U.S. Supreme Court denied the state’s request to enforce a February 2025 law that would have criminalized undocumented entry and re-entry. The court’s order did not erase the fear described in USF interviews.

Labor market effects and broader context

Other measures tightened pressure on the labor market:
– HB 1033 (2025) requires employers to use E-Verify and sets penalties for non-compliance.
– Supporters say this deters undocumented hiring.
– Business groups warn it can deepen staffing shortages.

Context and scale:
– Florida is home to 1.2 million undocumented residents, the third-highest total in the country.
– Even small shifts in enforcement can ripple through construction, caregiving, landscaping, and tourism.
– Across the United States, Republican-led states passed 34+ laws in 2025 to boost local-federal cooperation on immigration, adding to the sense that enforcement is becoming more local.

Industry response:
– Ogletree Deakins, an immigration law firm, said it is monitoring Florida’s changes closely.
– VisaVerge.com reports that the mix of state rules and federal partnerships can chill even lawful mobility.

Key takeaways and ongoing work

“When enforcement expands, people pull back from public life,” Professor Elizabeth Aranda said, and USF is sharing the results as data for policymakers rather than a set of recommendations.

WUSF reported in December 2025 that social isolation was worsening under President Trump’s second term, as families weighed whether a traffic stop or a hospital visit could trigger detention.

For those trying to understand formal cooperation with ICE, the agency explains the 287(g) program and the tasks deputized officers may do under written agreements on its official 287(g) page:
https://www.ice.gov/identify-and-arrest/287g

USF said it will keep tracking whether Florida’s new immigration policies, including SB 1718 (2023) and SB 2-C (2025), continue pushing residents out of state and driving them into deeper isolation.