New Florida Bill Would Prohibit Illegal Immigrants From Filing Lawsuits

Authored by T.J.Muscaro via The Epoch Times,

A new bill introduced to Florida’s state legislature intends to prohibit illegal immigrants from being able to utilize the civil court system to file lawsuits and other legal actions.

Titled HB 71: Civil Actions Brought by Unauthorized Aliens, the single-page bill stated, “an unauthorized alien may not commence a civil action,” using the definition of “unauthorized aliens” as stated in the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.

It was filed in Florida’s State House of Representatives by Rep. Joel Rudman on Dec. 27, arguing that someone who enters the country illegally has no legal standing to file lawsuits, be it for a slip and fall or malpractice.

“If you are in Florida illegally, then you should not have access to our courts,” he said on X.

”You have no legal standing to sue anyone here, since you were not even supposed to be here. American citizens and legal immigrants have had enough.”

The Republican argued in a press release that the justice system was  already “drowning under a sea of frivolous lawsuits,” and Americans could not afford illegal immigrants the chance to “use our courts as their free lottery ticket.”

This bill is only limited to civil court, meaning they would retain their rights if a crime were committed against them.

There is no companion bill in the state Senate at the time of this article’s publication.

Rudman stepped down from his seat in Tallahassee on Jan. 1 to take his shot at running in Florida’s First Congressional District’s special election to replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz in Washington, D.C. He will be going up against several candidates, including Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis, who has already secured President-elect Donald Trump’s endorsement.

However, Republicans hold a supermajority in both the Florida legislature, which suggests the bill like this will easily reach Gov. Ron DeSantis’s desk, considering the GOP’s stance on illegal immigration.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Florida’s Democratic Party for comment on this bill.

Rudman also mentioned in his press release that he was the husband of a legal immigrant and said his state welcomes immigrants who come legally through proper channels.

If passed, the bill will go into effect July 1.

The Florida House of Representatives has yet to release its schedule for January as of this article’s publication.

According to the Florida Senate’s website, all requests for general bill drafts, as well as companion bills, must be submitted by 5 p.m. ET on Jan. 25.