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Fla. legislator blasted for illegal immigrant joke
By Bill Cotterell
news-press.com Tallahassee Bureau
Originally posted on April 13, 2007


TALLAHASSEE -- A Panhandle lawmaker's tax-time joke about illegal immigration has drawn sharp protests from the Legislative Hispanic Caucus.

State Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, recently sent a message to fellow representatives and House staff, saying, "Don't forget to pay your taxes ... 12 million illegal aliens are depending on you!" He later apologized for sending it.

Rep. Luis Garcia Jr., D-Miami Beach, the interim chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, sent a message of his own -- to Speaker Marco Rubio, R-Miami, saying he had heard several complaints from Hispanic members and Haitian constituents.
"This e-mail has no place in the Florida House," Garcia said.

State Rep. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, said that "the comments in this e-mail reflect an ignorance as to the founding of both this state and our country. It deeply saddens me that this mentality still exists in what we consider to be a forward-looking government."


http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll ... 13016/1075