JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Imagine that your go-to restaurant, supermarket shop, or even the local farmer’s market had a severely limited selection of produce. That might become a fact in the near future.
Because of the state’s strict immigration policies, Latino truck drivers are urging their fellow truckers all around the country to avoid driving through Florida.
Tio Moralez, the proprietor of a restaurant in Jacksonville, told News4JAX that he purchases vegetables for his establishment and that the changes may have an effect on him.
Critics have suggested that the legislation that Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida passed to curb illegal immigration could lead to profiling by law enforcement.
The law requires employers with 25 or more employees to use an E-verify system, hospitals accepting Medicaid must ask patients if they are U.S. citizens and report it to the governor, and the law invalidates out-of-state driver’s licenses for “unauthorized immigrants.” The law also requires hospitals accepting Medicaid to question patients whether they are U.S. citizens and report it to the governor.
Moralez stated that a large number of his staff had fled the state, and he is unsure of what the implications are for his company.
“Do you know the reason why they left?” Moralez said. Because everyone is trembling with fear. I have a shipment coming all the way from Georgia to this location. Everything, including the meat, and more… If they don’t show up, there’s not much I can do about it.”
The Jacksonville Farmers Market receives each week the equivalent of thousands of pounds worth of fresh fruits and vegetables. The proprietors have stated that everything has been steady, but some have stated that this could change due to the resistance of truck drivers to the immigration rules of Florida.
Because of attacks on immigration, Latino truck drivers have taken to social media to threaten that they will stop delivering goods to the state of Florida.
The Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce and Resource Center is led by Nancy Quinones, who serves as the organization’s president. She works with people who are concerned about the future and have questions about it, such as truck drivers and those who were not born in the United States but are employed in agricultural fields and markets.
“How is that person going to drop the keys off at the schools?” Quinones said. “How is that person going to find a job?”
Unloader Jose remarked that although the task is strenuous, it is worthwhile to work.
“It’s likely that the prices are going to go up, and it’s going to make things difficult for everyone. In the event that the trucks do not arrive…,” Jose said.
They claim that the message that drivers are trying to convey is obvious.
