Bill banning non-English licensing tests, penalizing employers of undocumented migrants, advances by Liv Caputo, Florida Phoenix
February 10, 2026
A wide-ranging immigration bill criminalizing employers who hire dozens of undocumented immigrants and mandating that all licensing tests be in English cleared its first House committee Tuesday.
HB 1307, jointly sponsored by Republican Reps. Berny Jacques and Kiyan Michael, also would ban non-citizens from sending money overseas and presumes non-citizens from other states are at fault in car accidents. Most Democrats voted “no” on the legislation — despite not debating on the bill — but it still overwhelmingly passed the House Commerce Committee.
“Florida has created the blueprint for other states to follow,” said Jacques, a Jacksonville Republican. “HB 1307 continues Florida’s tradition of leadership by ensuring that state licenses, benefits, and financial protections are reserved only for individuals lawfully present in our country.”
The 39-page measure addresses a host of hot-button issues, working to continue forcing Florida to the front as the state with the strongest anti-undocumented immigration legislation in the nation. It builds off a 2025 crackdown that removed in-state tuition for undocumented students, imposed state-level penalties for illegally entering Florida, and required all counties to partner with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
What does the bill do?HB 1307 would expand a new Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles rule — enacted on Feb. 6 — that requires driver’s license tests to be given exclusively in English. The bill codifies this while banning translators or interpreters.
“All licensing procedures, prelicensing instruction, and licensing testing under this chapter must be conducted in English. The use of interpreters, translators, translations, or alternate language accommodations are prohibited,” it reads.
Activist groups raised repeated objections to this section of the bill, calling it an “insult” to the nation’s foundation.
“It’s just really oppressive,” said Harrison Lundy, public policy director of the non-profit Voices for Florida.
Democratic Rep. Christine Hunchofsky, representing the Parkland area, questioned whether immigrants who’ve had their Temporary Protected Status revoked would be at risk of losing their benefits. Jacques said they would.
“Sometimes some people are here and they’re authorized at the time they receive the benefits, but once they no longer are authorized then all bets are off,” he said.
This comes amid a push from the Trump administration to revoke TPS from citizens of dozens of countries they contend no longer need it. Traditionally renewed every 18 months, TPS is a designation reserved for immigrants from particularly dangerous countries seeking to live and work in the United States.
Most recently, a federal judge blocked the administration from revoking TPS for Haitians.
The bill would create civil penalties for employers who fail to properly use the federal E-Verify database, create a third-degree felony for employers who intentionally hire more than 50 undocumented workers, and assume an undocumented out-of-state driver involved in a car accident is responsible — as long as the other motorist wasn’t driving recklessly, under the influence, or clearly at fault.
Insurers could not settle claims with an unauthorized out-of-state driver, and law enforcement officers investigating car accidents must verify whether the parties are legally in the country.
Unauthorized immigrants would be barred from sending money to other countries and state banks could not accept IDs traditionally used by undocumented immigrants or those illegally in the state with down payments or loans, the Phoenix previously reported.
HB 1307’s Senate companion hasn’t been heard in committee yet. HB 1307 will go to the State Affairs committee next.
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