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Florida's illegal immigrants at stake
A U.S. Senate bill will weigh on the state's economy and politics.
Frank Davies
Washington Bureau

March 25, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Florida, where thousands of illegal immigrants help fuel a rapidly growing economy, has much at stake next week when the Senate debates major changes to a broken immigration system.

Mel Martinez, the only foreign-born member of the Senate, will play a major role in fashioning a bill that would allow some illegal immigrants to stay and legalize their status.

As a supporter of the Bush administration's guest-worker proposal and the only Hispanic Republican in the Senate, Martinez hopes to nudge some reluctant GOP colleagues to look beyond border security to deal with the nation's estimated 11 million illegal residents.

"Mel Martinez has been a key senator on this issue, and very energetic," said Douglas Rivlin, spokesman for the National Immigration Forum, a leading advocacy group. "He's negotiating with other Republicans and has to deal with strong disagreement from some members of his party."

There are important political elements to this debate, which has sparked protests throughout the country during the past week.

Led by President Bush, Republicans have made inroads in the Hispanic vote in recent elections. Bush seeks a guest-worker program that would allow some illegal workers to stay up to six years, and the subject is likely to come up when he meets Thursday with Mexican President Vicente Fox in Mexico.

But the issue has deeply divided the GOP, and the showdown in the Senate will test Bush's influence in Congress. The immigration bill passed by the U.S. House in December under GOP leadership is seen as draconian by many Hispanics.

House favors tight controls

The House bill toughens enforcement, calls for 700 miles of fences along the border with Mexico, sanctions employers who do not adequately check their workers' status and could lead to the prosecution of anyone, including church groups, who helps an illegal immigrant. It has no provision for temporary workers.

"That's not the Republican Party of President Bush, Jeb Bush and Mel Martinez," Martinez said of the House bill. "We have to have an understanding and respect for all Americans -- and those who want to become Americans."

Martinez and key Republicans such as Sen. John McCain of Arizona will push for a bill in the Senate closer to Bush's position to counter the House measure.

The Judiciary Committee, with a majority favoring some plan to legalize the status of illegal immigrants, meets Monday and may vote out a bill quickly, two staff members said.

Difficult issues remain: Would illegal immigrants have to return to their countries to apply to be legal, temporary workers? Could that be waived if employers vouch for their work? How long could they stay in the United States? What fine or fees would they pay? Would they be eligible for citizenship?

In an election year, some senators want to duck these issues. And some Republicans, especially in the House, say most voters want a crackdown on illegal immigration.

"There's broad public dissatisfaction with any plan that does not start with enforcement," said Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors tight controls on immigration.

"People don't want an increase in immigration, and legalizing someone who is illegal just sticks in their craw," Camarota said.

Work-force effect debated

But the reality of illegal immigrants, and their importance to the economy of Florida, is difficult to ignore. The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, based in Maitland, estimates that at least half the agricultural work force in the state is illegal, despite employers' efforts to check documents, spokesman Ray Gilmer said.

Camarota estimates there are at least 473,000 illegal workers in Florida, based on census and academic data.

Last year, immigration agents raided the construction site of the new federal building in Orlando and arrested 66 laborers for working illegally.

"Whether you like it or not, many jobs are filled by illegal workers," Martinez recently told the Forum Club in West Palm Beach.

His warning: "Without such a work force, crops will stay in the field, they won't come to market, food prices will go up, and Florida's economy will take a huge hit."

Camarota dismisses that talk as alarmist and said employers would attract more native-born workers to low-skill jobs if they offered better wages, benefits and working conditions.

But Martinez said he is making headway with "John Q. Public" in Florida when he explains how a guest-worker program would function. And he tells his own compelling story of how his family sent him from Cuba at 16 after Castro's revolution, and he lived with foster parents in Central Florida until his own parents could leave.

Martinez said he agrees with conservative columnist David Brooks of The New York Times that the GOP could easily lose Florida, with its diverse Hispanic population, and the Southwest if it is identified with a harsh "enforcement only" approach.

"This is a case where good politics follows good policy," Martinez said in an interview. "And it's smart politics for our party."

Frank Davies can be reached at 202-824-8222 or fdavies@tribune.com.