Central Florida small businesses that rely on immigrant labor would be impacted if four related bills that propose to expand the E-Verify program in Florida become law.
All four bills – HB 955 and HB 1033 in the Florida House and SB 782 and SB 1498 in the Florida Senate – would require all private businesses in Florida to document a new employee’s status to work legally in the United States through the federal E-Verify program. SB 782 and HB 1033 include stiff enforcement penalties – fines of $10,000 to $500,000 and suspension of a business license – for violations.
These bills would expand the state’s 2023 E-Verify law to close a loophole and end exemptions for businesses with fewer than 25 employees. All businesses, regardless of the number of workers, would be included. All four bills have been introduced and referred to committees for debate.
The Republican sponsor of HB 955, Rep. Berny Jacques of Seminole, said he filed his bill “to ensure that Florida jobs go to American workers and not to those who violate our immigration and labor laws.’’ He added that it was important to close the loophole in the existing law that has “allowed businesses to exploit illegal labor at the expense of law-abiding Floridians.’’
South Florida Democratic Sen. Jason Pizzo, sponsor of SB 782, the version of the bill with the toughest enforcement penalties, said, “While many have talked tough on combating illegal immigration, here we are in 2025 and I, the Democratic minority leader, was the first to file a bill requiring E-Verify for all employers. Because you’re not serious about curbing illegal immigration if you continue to cower to donors and not listen to our citizens.’’ Pizzo’s bill is co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota.
However, lobbyists for small businesses appear ready to fight the legislation. There are 3.3 small businesses in Florida, and almost 500,000 of those employ fewer than 19 workers, according to the federal Small Business Administration’s 2024 Small Business Profile.
“We are on record in supporting exemptions to small businesses,’’ said Bill Herrle, Florida executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business.
The businesses in Central Florida that rely most heavily on undocumented workers are in the tourism, construction and agricultural sectors, according to economist Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Forecasting.
Undocumented workers make up about one-third of Florida’s construction workers and almost half of its farm workers, according to 2023 Census data analyzed by the KFF health policy advocacy organization.
“Even if it becomes law, I think there would be a lot of resistance in terms of enforcement just because of how important some of these sectors are to different parts of the state of Florida,’’ Snaith said. “Just eliminating all at once any undocumented labor is potentially very disruptive.’’
Requests for interviews or comments about the proposed legislation from a dozen Central Florida roofing and agriculture businesses were declined.
The Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association, which represents the state’s horticulture industry, released a statement in response to an interview request: “FNGLA is committed to legal, fair and lawful employment practices. We support policies that provide workers with legal and safe opportunities while ensuring the long-term sustainability and success of Florida’s nursery and landscape industry.’’
Advocates for undocumented workers said the proposed bills were impractical and predicted they would run headlong into the realities of the Florida economy and labor market.
Hector Diaz, managing partner at the Miami-based Your Immigration Attorney law firm, said enforcing an expanded E-Verify program would quickly be problematic and suggested the proposed legislation was a politically expedient move by legislators and the governor to curry favor with the Trump administration.
“It’s going to be hard to enforce E-Verify unless you have enough federal or state agents to do the enforcement,’’ Diaz said. “And I don’t think it’s practical because how are you going to select which groups of employers to target?’’
Diaz said farmers, who employ a lot of immigrant workers, could be targeted and would likely be the most negatively impacted by the bills if they become law.
Jeannie Economos, who advocates for about 20,000 farm workers in Central Florida at the Farmworker Association of Florida, said the legislation would make labor shortages in the state’s agriculture industry worse. She said many undocumented farm workers left Florida after the 2023 E-Verify law was passed and even a burgeoning federal guest worker program was not enough to backfill the lost labor.
“It’s just astounding to me that our state Legislature is going in this direction,’’ Economos said. “I don’t know what they’re thinking. But if they support small business and if they want a good economy and if they want business to thrive in this state, then this is the wrong way to go. So many businesses in this state rely on undocumented labor. It’s one thing to be for protecting security and protecting citizens in this country. It’s totally another thing to go after people who are doing the hard work that nobody else is doing, and implementing this E-Verify program is just the wrong way to go.’’
