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(CNN) - Florida's ban on sanctuary cities has just come into effect.
What will that mean in a state that demographers estimate is home to almost 800,000 undocumented immigrants?
That depends on who is asked.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who raised the ban as a campaign promise, argues that it will make communities safer by requiring police to help the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE).
The city of South Miami and several immigrant rights groups, who filed a lawsuit challenging the ban, say it threatens public safety by fueling fear of authorities in immigrant communities.
LOOK : Is it legal for the Trump administration to send undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities?
The Florida measure prohibits law enforcement agencies and local governments from adopting so-called sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
But there is a key detail to keep in mind: no Florida municipality had designated itself as a sanctuary city before the passing of SB 168. So, the real effect of the ban, beyond political symbolism, is still due be seen
READ : Los Angeles is declared a “sanctuary city”: Council approved the resolution
The measure requires that local jurisdictions retain undocumented immigrants who have been jailed for up to two additional days to give ICE agents the opportunity to pick them up and says that local law enforcement agencies should do their “best effort to support the application of federal immigration law. " On Monday, a federal judge blocked part of the law that said local police officers could transport immigration detainees across state borders if requested by ICE, but allowed the rest of the law to take effect.
Many of the largest cities in the United States have sanctuary policies. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are more than 30 bills related to sanctuary policies, both for and against them.
MORE: What are sanctuary cities?
sanctuary cities
