ORLANDO, Fla. — The message Monday from Casa de Venezuela and some local state lawmakers was that Senate bill 168 would have severe consequences for Central Florida.

"We will see more deportations in Florida as a result of this bill," state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith said.

Smith went on to say that many of those deportations could be Venezuelans who would have to go back to a dangerous situation.

Ahtziry Barrera, a DACA recipient and local college student, says she feels like this sends the wrong message to undocumented immigrants.

"You see a lot of new development and a lot of that work is put in by the immigrant community, so it's very disheartening to see these laws come into effect," she said, who came into the U.S. at 4 years old.

Barrera says as a DACA student, she thinks laws like these make her future in this country uncertain. 

However, supporter of the bill state Sen. David Simmons says this bill will only target undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.

"This bill relates to cooperating with the federal government after an individual has been arrested or convicted of a crime," Simmons said.

Democratic state representatives such as Amy Mercado say undocumented immigrants will not want to report crimes or testify in court because of fear of being reported to federal immigration officials.

"The idea is I may be deported because I'm undocumented and I called the police — that's very chilling, that gives you a silencing effect. Folks will not respond well to any law enforcement, especially local law enforcement, who are being deputized as ICE agents," Mercado said.

Simmons says that is incorrect.

"That is simply not true. There is a provision in Senate bill 168 that says that law enforcement is not required to turn this information over to any federal agency," he said response to Mercado's claims. 

Simmons points to language in the bill that says law enforcement does not have to report immigration status when someone is a victim of a crime or a witness in an investigation.

The bill is awaiting a signature from Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

Mercado and Smith also added that the bill could have big economic impacts on migrant workers and the taxes they pay.