What Is Florida to Do About the Border Crisis?

I am puzzled by your editorial criticizing Florida lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis for the state’s effort to prohibit illegal aliens from working in the state (“A Florida Misfire on Immigration,” July 7). In the absence of action by the federal government and other states, it is highly possible that the law will simply drive illegal workers to neighboring states, where the law isn’t enforced. But should immigration law continue to be ignored simply because to enforce it might slow the local economy?

Preston R. Simpson

Plano, Texas

You write that there are an estimated 772,000 undocumented immigrants in Florida, many of whom have been there for years and contribute to the economy. Yet they are stuck with no path forward and risk deportation. For the misfire, look not to Florida but to the 535 members of Congress who have failed to modernize our immigration system. This isn’t rocket science. There needs to be a clear, comprehensive path for foreign workers to enter the U.S. legally, gain employment and follow a path to citizenship if they desire it, with no exceptions for those who enter illegally.

Bessie Montesano

Myrtle Beach, S.C.

In my home city of Houston, I can’t imagine how one would get a roof repaired, enjoy a meal in a restaurant or contract for landscaping without illegal immigrants. This is to say nothing of the role they play in the agricultural sector, getting food to our tables. Since the failure of the efforts at immigration reform during the George W. Bush administration, the issue has become far more politically charged. Politicians apparently see more value in keeping it as an open problem than in seeking resolution.

Stephen Naeve

Houston

While Florida’s laws don’t address the root cause of the illegal-immigration crisis—the Biden administration’s sabotage of immigration enforcement—states have an obligation to protect the interests of their citizens. That’s what Florida has done.

Florida’s robust economy and rational tax system will attract legal workers to fill whatever jobs are needed. Note the caravan of U-Hauls heading down I-95 from New York. Florida understands that low-wage illegal workers aren’t cheap labor; they’re subsidized workers. Factor in the cost of educating kids and providing public healthcare and myriad other services and the national tab now runs about $168 billion a year.

Florida’s law has been in effect for a few weeks. How about giving the free market a chance to adjust before declaring the law a failure?

President, Federation for American Immigration Reform

Washington