Construction workers say they are losing their jobs because employers fear Florida’s new immigration law.
“All the construction work stopped, at least where I worked in Miami,” said Pedro Marcos. For the last five years, he has worked in construction; however, he now works temporarily at nurseries in Homestead.
The Guatemalan native said, “Since I have a family, I have to work on whatever is necessary… landscaping, nurseries, painting.”
CBS News Miami’s Ivan Taylor asked Marcos when he worked last on construction. “It was about 15 days ago… I stopped working on construction after Governor (Ron) DeSantis signed the Immigration Bill. The people who would hire us got scared and – allegedly – told us not to come back.”
Marcos said two of his coworkers left for another state where they can work (on construction).
The new immigration law, signed by Governor DeSantis which goes into effect July 1st , requires private employers with 25 or more employees to confirm workers’ immigration status through a system known as E-verify.
Employers who fail to do that would be subject to audits and face fines of up to $1,000 (a day), if found to have violated the law.
Over the weekend, many like Marcos marched at Homestead City Hall. They said they want to be visible. Some brought their children, many of whom were born in the U.S.
CBS News Miami asked Marcos if he was planning on leaving the state.
“The truth, I’m not planning to leave, I’m going to stay, at least for now. I just want politicians to understand us, we do the work nobody else wants to do.”