Latest / Apple News Today / Florida’s new immigration law is creating fear and frustration

Transcript

Florida’s new immigration law is creating fear and frustration · Apple News Today

• 0:00
  [MUSIC FADES IN]
• 0:01
  Shumita Basu, Narrating: Good morning! It's Thursday, June 1st. I'm Shumita Basu. This is "Apple News Today." On today's show, how a new law in Florida will impact undocumented people and businesses, a preview of tonight's NBA Finals, and what draws repeat competitors back to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
• 0:02
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 0:03
  But first, let's catch up on a few big headlines in U.S. politics. Last night, the House of Representatives passed a debt ceiling deal, narrowly avoiding a potential default on the nation's bills.
• 0:04
  [START ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 0:05
  Representative: Yeas are 314. The nays are 117. The bill has passed.
• 0:06
  [GAVEL BANGS]
• 0:07
  [END ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 0:08
  The deal, as we've mentioned before, would raise the country's borrowing limit until January of 2025. A majority of Republicans in the House backed the bill, but with 71 Republican members voting no, it meant that it was Democrats who had to overwhelmingly ensure its passage.
• 0:09
  Now the proposal has to clear its next hurdle in the Senate, where both Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have said they want to pass it quickly, as soon as today.
• 0:10
  Outside the Capitol, there's new reporting about former President Trump and classified documents. "CNN" reported that federal prosecutors investigating Trump have an audio recording in which he acknowledges that he held onto a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran. The 2021 recording reportedly indicates that Trump may have understood that he held onto classified documents after leaving the White House.
• 0:11
  Special Counsel Jack Smith has reportedly focused on the recording as part of the Justice Department's criminal investigation into Trump's handling of classified material. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and his campaign responded to the latest "CNN" reporting by calling the investigation "meritless."
• 0:12
  This is yet another development that could impact Trump's 2024 presidential bid, where the field is beginning to get more crowded. Two more Republican candidates are reportedly getting ready to announce their own bids next week: former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence.
• 0:13
  [SOLEMN MUSIC]
• 0:14
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 0:15
  Let's turn now to our series we're calling "State of the State" where we take a closer look at a particular state or local issue and examine how it's being debated and discussed among people who live there.
• 0:16
  Today, we're going to Florida, where labor organizers have been urging migrant workers to go on strike for the day, to send a message about how crucial they are to Florida's economy. It's meant to protest a new law, signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, that requires businesses to verify the citizenship status of workers through an online portal, or else face penalties. It also limits social services for immigrants who don't have permanent legal status and earmarks money to continue relocating migrants to other parts of the country.
• 0:17
  DeSantis says the law will make sure Florida taxpayers are not footing the bill for illegal immigration. But "NPR's" Vanessa Romo told us, some research groups estimate that without undocumented workers, the state's most labor-intensive industries would lose about 10% of their workforce.
• 0:18
  Vanessa Romo: The Florida Policy Institute says that this could actually lead to a drop of about $12.6 billion in Florida's GDP in a single year. And so then, that in turn cuts workers' spending power and reduces state and local tax revenue. So, they're saying the fallout of this could be really huge.
• 0:19
  Basu, Narrating: The law officially goes into effect on July 1st. But it's already having a cooling effect. Reports of empty fields and construction sites are signs that people are getting nervous. Romo says the policy is creating a lot of fear and frustration among businesses and workers.
• 0:20
  Romo: They're saying, you know, this country is built on the back of immigrant labor, and Florida in particular because of the agricultural industry, because of the construction industry, and even the hospitality industries, which are really fundamental to the economy of Florida. All three of those.
• 0:21
  Basu, Narrating: Florida isn't the first state to impose a worker verification rule. Romo told us, lawmakers have tried similar moves in Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia and South Carolina. Some places have seen undocumented workers leave the state. Others have run into enforcement issues.
• 0:22
  Romo: And so, I think if you're looking to the past to tell us whether or not this is good governance, I think there are a lot of instances that suggest that this actually is not very helpful to businesses or to people.
• 0:23
  Basu, Narrating: In the meantime, immigrant rights advocates told Romo they've been fielding lots of questions from people who are confused by the new legislation and don't know if they should continue to show up for work.
• 0:24
  Romo: People are already trying to figure out if they need to move out of the state of Florida because it's becoming so inhospitable to them.
• 0:25
  [MELLOW MUSIC]
• 0:26
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 0:27
  Basu, Narrating: The NBA Finals tip off tonight. Even a few weeks ago, most fans would've been surprised that the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat would be the last two teams standing. But our resident oracle, Apple News sports editor, Shaker Samman, totally called it the last time that we talked about the playoffs. And he's back to answer some big questions heading into the Finals.
• 0:28
  Basu: Hey, Shaker.
• 0:29
  Shaker Samman: Hey! How's it going?
• 0:30
  Basu: Good. Good. So, let's start with just a quick recap of how we even got here. There were some really intense nail biters during this playoff season. How did the Nuggets and the Heat battle their way to the end?
• 0:31
  Samman: They really took the most opposite paths imaginable. Denver entered the postseason as the number one seed in the west. They had the two-time defending MVP, who was the MVP runner up again this year, Nikola Jokić. They beat the snot outta the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. They made Kevin Durant and Devin Booker and the Suns look like children in the second round. And then they swept the Lakers in the conference finals. They haven't played since May 22nd. They've been off for two weeks. They get a vacation, they get to rest.
• 0:32
  Samman: And on the other side, you have the cardiac kids, the Miami Heat, who, after coming off two straight stellar seasons with Jimmy Butler, started this year really in a funk. They couldn't put it together. They limp into the playoffs as the seventh seed in the east. They lose their first play-in game against the Atlanta Hawks, a ramshackle team, and then something clicks. They beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, the number one seed in the first round. Don't just beat them, annihilate them, right?
• 0:33
  Samman: You get into the second round. The Knicks, everyone loves the Knicks. "New York is back!" New York is not back. The Heat went through. And then, the Celtics, the number-two seed. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown. High-flying, young. They'd recently been to a Finals, right? This is their time. Apparently not 'cause Jimmy Butler and the Heat go up 3-0. They have a little bit of an issue. They get to a game seven, and then game seven in Boston, run the Celtics off the floor. Just the most electric team.
• 0:34
  Basu: So, what are some of the X factors for each of these teams that might decide which way the Finals go?
• 0:35
  Samman: There's really gonna be, I think, two key matchups that determine how this Finals goes. On Denver's side, their best player is Nikola Jokić, a seven-foot-one Serbian behemoth who has this uncanny ability to be just a superstar defensively, but also score and pass in a way that guys that big can't. He's averaging a triple double in the playoffs. And the real question for Miami is, can they do anything to stop him? Miami has Bam Adebayo, a big-man center who has been a pretty good defensive player over his career, but slowing down Nikola Jokić is something entirely different. There's not really a formula. You can't do the same sort of things against him that you can against other centers.
• 0:36
  Samman: On the other side, Miami's best player, Jimmy Butler, typically the last few years has sort of sleepwalked through the season. You know, he gets his numbers, they win a few games. And then the calendar flips to the playoffs, and he's prime Michael Jordan. He's out here scoring 30 points a night. He's putting the team on his back. He's just swaggering through the world, dripping with charisma and machismo. And the Heat go as he goes. If Jimmy can carry them in each of these games, you know, they have a chance. They're the underdogs once again, but that hasn't stopped them in any of their previous series.
• 0:37
  Basu: All right, Shaker. You called it once before. No pressure, but which way are you gonna call it for the Finals? Who's gonna take home the title?
• 0:38
  Samman: As much fun as I've had watching Miami just shock the Eastern Conference and the NBA as a whole, I think this is gonna be Nikola Jokić's first NBA title. I'm taking Denver in a six-game series.
• 0:39
  Basu: Shaker Samman, thank you so much.
• 0:40
  Samman: Thanks for having me.
• 0:41
  Basu, Narrating: And don't forget, as these Final games play out, you can check out My Sports in the Apple News app to find the latest scores, analysis and more.
• 0:42
  [UPBEAT MUSIC]
• 0:43
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]
• 0:44
  The NBA Finals aren't the only primetime competition worth catching tonight on TV. It's Bee Week, baby! And if you don't know what I'm talking about it, maybe this will help it click.
• 0:45
  [START SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 0:46
  Moderator: Chorepiscopus.
• 0:47
  Harini Logan: C-H-O-R-E-P-I-S-C-O-P-U-S.
• 0:48
  [BUTTON DINGS]
• 0:49
  Moderator: Kniphofia. Kniphofia.
• 0:50
  Logan: K-N-I-P-H-O-F-I-A.
• 0:51
  [BUTTON DINGS]
• 0:52
  [END SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE ARCHIVAL CLIP]
• 0:53
  That's right, tonight is the finals for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, a time when the country's brightest young spellers come together to share their love of language and very-difficult-to-spell words. The winner takes home a $50,000 cash prize.
• 0:54
  And as of yesterday's rounds, a competitor that lots of people have been rooting for, for many years, is officially out of the competition. Akash Vukoti is 14 years old. He's been to the Bee more times than any other competitor, a record six times. He first qualified when he was six years old. And by next year, he'll be too old to compete.
• 0:55
  "The Washington Post" had a nice profile celebrating him. He told "The Post" he's made a lot of friends through the Bee, friends that he feels like he's going to hold onto for a long time. Like most spellers, Vukoti has a favorite language and country of origin. He prefers German words because, he says, they often follow a certain set of rules that make them easier to spell. And, of course, he does have a favorite word. I would say it if I could, and I'd spell it if I had the time, but it's 45 letters long!
• 0:56
  [MUSIC FADES IN]
• 0:57
  You can read it for yourself in the Apple News app, along with all the other stories we talked about today.
• 0:58
  And if you're already listening in the News app right now, don't go anywhere. We've got a narrated article coming up next. As Pride Month begins, "New York" magazine has a profile of Machaela Cavanaugh, the Nebraska state senator who filibustered anti-trans legislation in her state for months. So, sit back, listen to that, and I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
• 0:59
  [MUSIC FADES OUT]