Blaise Ingoglia offers new proposals to stem access to privileges for undocumented migrants

Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia is proposing legislation to deal with undocumented migrants who are in the state illegally and prevent them from receiving driver’s licenses, workers’ compensation coverage and other privileges

Ingoglia held a news conference in St. Augustine where he detailed the proposed measures.

“It’s about time we put our foot down and continue to put our foot down,” Ingoglia said during the news conference Wednesday. “A lot of times we’re oblivious and we were ignorant as to the havoc illegal immigrants were causing in our communities.”

Ingoglia said he’ll propose legislation to lawmakers that would close “loopholes” for migrants in the state who have no legal documentation. That could include blocking the ability to open accounts with banks, eliminating any availability of car insurance, and restricting workers’ compensation for migrants without documentation among other proposals.

The auto insurance proposal would likely prevent undocumented migrants from getting driver’s licenses in Florida, Ingoglia added.

Ingoglia’s advocacy comes on the heels of a wreck on Aug. 12 on a portion of the Turnpike near Fort Pierce. Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officials say the driver of the truck was attempting to make a U-turn in an unauthorized area of the turnpike. When the semi entered the U-turn, it collided with a minivan carrying several passengers. Three people inside the van were killed in the accident.

The driver of the truck, Harjinder Singh, survived and was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide. FHP and Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles officials said Singh entered the U.S. illegally in 2018 through Mexico.

Rep. Kiyan Michael, a Jacksonville Republican, said she’s fully supporting Ingoglia’s proposal and she said she’s speaking from experience. Her son Brandon was struck and killed in 2007 by a driver who was an undocumented immigrant.

“This is not a border issue. This is an every-town issue,” Michael said during the news conference Wednesday. “It’s a nightmare. … What makes this so horrific is this was 100% preventable. It has to stop.”

According to First Coast News, Brandon’s killer had been twice deported before and was driving without a license or vehicle registration. The driver eventually was sentenced to two years in prison, ordered to pay restitution, and later deported again.

Sen. Jonathan Martin, a Fort Myers Republican and Chair of the Florida Senate Criminal Justice Committee, was also on hand at the news conference and promised his support for Ingoglia’s proposed measures.

Martin spotlighted the provisions dealing with workers’ compensation coverage.

“If the employer is on the hook, this is something else for them to think about,” said Martin, a former prosecutor in Southwest Florida.