FL H1435

Establishes the Office for New Americans within the Department of Commerce to promote immigrant and refugee inclusion, connect employers with immigrant job seekers, coordinate immigration policy across state agencies, and reduce employment barriers for immigrants and refugees

Expands acceptable proof-of-identity documents for Florida driver licenses to include foreign passports, foreign birth certificates, consular IDs, foreign national ID cards, foreign driver licenses, school documents, court documents, tax returns, and marriage/divorce records, with licenses based on these documents valid for up to 8 years (increased from 1 year); prohibits the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles from sharing driver license photos and personal information with federal immigration enforcement agencies absent a judicial warrant

Adds "immigration status" as a protected class under the Florida Civil Rights Act, prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, lending, and club membership; creates new protections against discrimination based on holding a non-REAL ID-compliant driver license; and prohibits immigration enforcement activities within 500 feet of schools, child care facilities, and religious institutions

Repeals several existing immigration enforcement provisions, including the state human smuggling statute (s. 787.07), the prohibition on sanctuary policies, mandatory cooperation with federal immigration authorities, the death penalty for capital offenses committed by unauthorized aliens (s. 921.1426), and the hospital patient immigration status data collection requirement; prohibits new or renewed 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements beginning January 1, 2026

Removes the E-Verify mandate for private employers with 25+ employees (retaining it only for public agencies), removes immigration-status restrictions on admission to the Florida Bar, requires out-of-state tuition fee waivers for students who attended 2 consecutive years of Florida secondary school regardless of immigration status, and makes students receiving such waivers eligible for state financial aid