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Posted on Sat, Jul. 22, 2006


ELECTION 2006 | GOVERNOR
Gallagher urges tough immigration policy
GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Gallagher distanced himself from the U.S. Senate's immigration plan, saying his ideas would make Florida safer.
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS
meklas@MiamiHerald.com

PENSACOLA - Acknowledging that illegal immigration is a litmus-test issue for many voters, Republican governor candidate Tom Gallagher pledged Friday to beef up state enforcement of immigration laws and prohibit government contractors from hiring illegal workers.

Then he blasted a proposed immigration bill negotiated by a fellow Florida Republican, U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez.

Martinez, who has endorsed Gallagher's opponent, state Attorney General Charlie Crist, in the GOP primary, was a pivotal negotiator in the bill passed last month by the U.S. Senate.

Gallagher said the Senate bill would ''reward lawbreakers by putting them on the fast track toward work visas'' and rob Florida businesses awaiting visas for their high-skilled workers from other countries by giving work permits to low-skilled workers who arrive illegally.

''Illegal immigration threatens public safety and undermines respect for the rule of law,'' Gallagher said, standing near the docks of the Port of Pensacola. ``While we must approach the issue of illegal immigration with compassion, Florida government must do its part to secure our borders and protect the public.''

Gov. Jeb Bush and President Bush both endorsed the Senate bill. The U.S. House earlier had passed a much tougher bill.

Crist, who said last month that he supports the Senate bill, said this week he is ''somewhere in between'' the House and Senate proposals. He did not comment on Gallagher's proposal.

''It's important that we understand that illegal immigration has got to be stopped in this country to keep alive the promise of legal immigration,'' Crist said when asked about the issue Wednesday. ``I'm a grandson of an immigrant myself.''

Gallagher said he would work to expand the federal program that allows state law enforcement officials to arrest immigration violators if they are suspected of engaging in domestic terrorism.

He wants the program to allow state and local police to arrest illegal immigrants suspected of using fraudulent documents to obtain drivers' licenses.

Current Florida law requires state and local officers to have a warrant before arresting someone for violating immigration laws.

Gallagher, the state's chief financial officer, said that if elected he would seek to create a state law requiring any company that contracts with the state to participate in the federal Electronic Work Authorization program. The program helps employers verify the immigration status of all job applicants.

Gallagher noted that while the enforcement of immigration laws is ``primarily a federal responsibility, it has implications for every state.''

''There's only so much a governor can do, but people still want to know where you stand if you're running for governor,'' he said. `` I don't go to a forum or a place where [immigration] isn't an issue and I tell them the exact same thing.''

There have been only two bills that have come before the state Legislature in recent years seeking to give some rights to illegal immigrants and Gallagher took a hard-line view against both.

He said he does not support efforts to allow illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses, as Republican lawmakers proposed two years ago. He also called for a federal law prohibiting all states from issuing the licenses to illegal workers, so they can't move from state to state.

Gallagher said he would also create an Office of Security and Preparedness to coordinate state and national response to security threats. He said it would be modeled after Gov. Bush's Office of Drug Control. ''We must be compassionate in dealing with this issue,'' Gallagher said. ``We are a nation of immigrants, but our compassion must never cloud our commitment to protecting the public and enforcing the law.''

Miami Herald staff writer Gary Fineout contributed to this report.






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