Florida Legislator Wears Passport to Work to Protest Arizona-Style Immigration Measures

By Elizabeth Llorente

Published January 15, 2011
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Florida Rep. Luis Garcia Jr. doesn’t wear his feelings on his sleeve – he wears them on the front of his shirt.

To protest his fellow legislators’ proposed measures taking a hard line on illegal immigration, Garcia, a Miami Democrat, is wearing his U.S. passport on a lanyard around his neck.

The message of his sartorial symbol is that if Florida follows Arizona in cracking down on illegal immigration by allowing police and other government workers to demand proof of legal residency, even U.S. citizens like himself will have to carry around IDs such as a passport or birth certificate to prove they’re legitimately here.

“I’ve been in the United States 50 years,â€