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Among Florida Republicans, the song remains the same on immigration. Like his predecessor did for years, Gov. Ron DeSantis is once again calling for the Florida Legislature to require private businesses to use the E-Verify program to check the immigration status of new employees. Once again, Republican lawmakers are unlikely to do it because the states economy cannot function without the cheap labor of undocumented immigrants. The posturing reflects the Republicans hypocrisy on immigration, touting punitive approaches while quietly acknowledging the need for workers but refusing to embrace comprehensive reforms.

For a decade , former Gov. Rick Scott and now DeSantis campaigned on requiring the E-Verify system to identify undocumented immigrants and then pushed the Legislature to approve it. Scott, now a U.S. senator, signed an executive order shortly after taking office in 2011 requiring state agencies that report to the governor to use E-Verify to determine the immigration status of all new employees, a practice now used by about 20 other states. But the Republican-controlled Legislature consistently has ignored the governors calls to extend the practice to private employers, and for good reason.

First, the E-Verify system is cumbersome to use and imperfect. Critics point out that undocumented immigrants have figured out ways to avoid detection through the use of forged documents, stolen Social Security numbers and other techniques. More importantly, large segments of the states economy depend on cheap labor supplied by undocumented immigrants. These are often the workers picking crops in the fields, cleaning hotel rooms, building apartment buildings and working in restaurants for little pay and under conditions few American citizens with better options would accept. Who would fill those jobs?

The reality is the consequences of denying any employment to undocumented immigrants in Florida would be sweeping. There are an estimated 850,000 undocumented immigrants in the state. Thats roughly 20 percent of the immigrant population, and about 1 in 14 children in Florida is a U.S. citizen living with at least one undocumented family member. Imagine the ripple effect in public schools, social service programs and neighborhoods throughout Florida if suddenly thousands of families had no income and no way to find work.

Against that backdrop, Republican lawmakers apparently cut a deal this year. They passed legislation that DeSantis sought to ban sanctuary cities. Those dont actually exist in Florida but it was a nice public relations stunt that had the side benefit of serving as another attack on home rule. In exchange, legislation that would have required use of the E-Verify system quietly died.

But E-Verify never really goes away. DeSantis has again made it a priority, raising the typical unsubstantiated claims that it would help reduce crime by undocumented immigrants. Senate President Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, made clear this week that he opposes requiring E-Verify as an additional burden on private businesses. And dozens of Florida business leaders -- including executives from the cruise lines, the construction industry and health care companies -- have warned that "mandating a flawed and costly system will devastate our economy.'' Get ready to watch a familiar re-run of rhetoric when the Legislature convenes in January.

This is a snapshot of the hypocrisy of Republicans on immigration. They want to sound tough about cracking down on undocumented immigrants to respond to the fears of voters who worry about crime or losing their own jobs. But they dont want to lose the cheap labor and harm the Florida economy. The real solution is not requiring E-Verify. It is national immigration reform that fixes a broken system, recognizes the need for legal workers and provides a reasonable path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who are already here.

Editorials are the institutional voice of the Tampa Bay Times. The members of the Editorial Board are Times Chairman and CEO Paul Tash, Editor of Editorials Tim Nickens, and editorial writers Elizabeth Djinis, John Hill and Jim Verhulst. Follow @TBTimes_Opinion on Twitter for more opinion news

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The Republican hypocrisy on immigration | Editorial - Tampa Bay Times