Anti-Immigrant Bills Pile Up at Florida Capitol
Posted Nov. 30, 2015 08:45 am | Public News Service
TALLAHASSEE, FL -
The national wave of anti-immigrant sentiment seems to
have swept over the Florida Capitol, with a number of
measures filed in recent weeks that could potentially
threaten immigrant families in the state.
The bills would toughen deportation proceedings, increase penalties for undocumented immigrants and cut temporary cash assistance programs.
Francesca Menes, policy director for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, says she feels state lawmakers are capitalizing on the current national climate, fueled by openly anti-immigrant presidential candidate Donald Trump and embraced by many Republican lawmakers nationwide.
"Do you not understand that this country was built on
the back of immigrants, and that we contribute to our
economies at our federal, state and local levels?" she
points out.
While immigrants' advocates criticize the bills as being
divisive and potentially fueling racism and hate,
Republican state lawmakers say the federal government
isn't doing enough to halt illegal immigration.
Menes says she had high hopes the tide had turned on
this issue, and that comprehensive immigration reform
would become a reality under President Barack Obama. She
says much of that hope has eroded in the current
climate.
"That's been held up in the courts, it's probably going
to be held up in the courts for another year," she
laments. "So, by the time this president leaves office,
there will have been nothing that has moved around
immigration reform but a bunch of the negative."
Last week, Rep. Larry Metz, a Republican in Lake County,
introduced
House Bill (HB) 675 in the Florida House to
punish so-called sanctuary cities that don't cooperate
when federal officials attempt to deport illegal
immigrants, with fines of up to $5,000 per day.
Photos/graphics and links added by the Observer
This piece was reprinted by the Columbia County Observer with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.