Thread: FL: Ariz. immigration bill stirs debate at home

Ariz. immigration bill stirs debate at home

Thyrie Bland
April 23, 2010


Santa Rosa County Sheriff Wendell Hall doesn't have the authority to put people in jail for being in the country illegally.

He would like to have that power, but some of his law enforcement counterparts say it's a bad idea.

Hall favors Arizona's tough illegal immigration bill requiring law enforcement officers to arrest anyone without documents allowing them to be in the United States legally.

"If that's what it takes to curtail it and start making a difference, I support it 100 percent," Hall said. "And I'd like to see it in the state of Florida."

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has until Saturday to sign the controversial bill, veto it or do nothing and allow it to become law.

Opponents of the bill have held a candlelight vigil outside the governor's home, demonstrated outside her office and protested outside the old Capitol building in Phoenix.

Critics say it is discriminatory and legalizes racial profiling targeting the Latino community.

Others say it will drain already stressed law enforcement budgets and open communities up to lawsuits. A provision of the bill allows residents to sue local governments if they believe the law is not being enforced.

Supporters echo the sentiments of U.S. Sen. John McCain who endorsed the measure on Monday.

"I think the people of Arizona understandably are frustrated and angry," the Arizona Republican said. "It's also a commentary on the frustration that our state Legislature has that the federal government has not fulfilled its constitutional responsibilities to secure our borders."

Arizona has 460,000 illegal immigrants and Florida has 720,000, according to the most recent Department of Homeland Security statistics.

Officers divided

Feelings are mixed among law enforcement agencies in Arizona, with one police group supporting the bill and another group opposing it.

Enforcing immigration laws is a function of federal law enforcement agencies.

Pensacola Police Chief John Mathis said he would not be in favor of his officers being required to enforce immigration laws.

Mathis said such a law would bring too many issues, including training his department couldn't afford because of budget cuts.

It also might cause jail overcrowding and trigger racial profiling allegations, he said.

"We are pretty busy," Mathis said. "If a law was passed requiring that, I don't know, generally, how effective it would be."

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan declined to comment.

University of West Florida criminal justice professor Richard Hough said he doubts the Arizona bill will be widely enforced by law enforcement in the state, if it does become law. He also said he doesn't think other states will want to pass a similar law.

Law enforcement in general does not want to be burdened with immigration issues, he said.

"I don't think we are going to see it sweeping the nation like wildfire," Hough said.
Arresting immigrants

If anyone knows how much controversy immigration issues can bring, it is Hall.

The sheriff was praised and criticized in 2008 after his deputies began arresting illegal immigrants who were working in Santa Rosa County with phony identification documents.

Many of the people arrested provided their employers with other people's Social Security numbers.

The Sheriff's Office asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to have those arrested deported.

"I don't have a problem with people coming in this country working, coming in this country to try to better themselves, but there has to be accountability for these individuals," Hall said.

Hall acknowledged there are some problems requiring local enforcement agencies to enforce immigration laws.

"I think by far the benefits would outweigh the cost," he said.
Racial profiling charged

Grace Resendez McCaffery, 39, president and publisher of Pensacola's Spanish-language newspaper La Costa Latina, was among those who criticized Hall for the 2008 arrests.

She is also highly critical of the Arizona bill that mandates police officers to check anyone's immigration status if they have "reasonable suspicion" the person is in the country illegally.

"Reasonable suspicion? she asked. "Does that mean existing while brown? That's a concern. Reasonable suspicion is just being Hispanic or having a strong accent or maybe not even speaking English."

McCaffery said she thinks the bill will lead to racial profiling.

"While I understand the purpose, it will make it difficult for people who are Hispanic to live peacefully and not have to look over their shoulders," she said.

McCaffery grew up in El Paso, Texas, and moved to Pensacola in 1993.

She said she has never had a law enforcement officer question whether she lives in the country legally. She said some of her family members have been flagged by immigration officials at an airport.

"You understand they are doing their job, but at the same time it's frustrating," McCaffery said.

If the Arizona bill is signed by the governor, McCaffery said she wonders how people will prove they are American citizens.

"Will they began to question the authenticity of our driver's licenses?" she asked. "That kind of thing will eventually happen. Do we have to walk around with our birth certificates? Will they question the authenticity of those? Where will it end?"

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"Will they began to question the authenticity of our driver's licenses?" she asked. "That kind of thing will eventually happen. Do we have to walk around with our birth certificates? Will they question the authenticity of those? Where will it end?"

If you'd read the bill, you would know the answers to your questions. Since I have, I will answer them for you:

1. No they will not question the authenticity of your driver's licenses unless there is some reasonable suspicion if not probable cause to believe it's a fake or a fraud. Is yours?

2. No you don't have to walk around with birth certificates because under the AZ law, you aren't required to walk around with. If you're an immigrant, you are required to have 1 of several standard identifications on you which is part of federal law. If you are a US citizen, then you don't. If you represent that you are a US citizen and you aren't, then you have violated US immigration law.

3. No they will not question the authenticity of your birth certificate unless there is a reasonable suspicion if not probable cause to believe it's a fake or a fraud.

4. Where will it end? It ends here in the United States.

I am sick of these "organizers" that do nothing else but this for a living. 50 came from LA in a bus?

If this bill passes, they might have to find a real job instead of living off of government grants and working against the laws of this country.

"Will they began to question the authenticity of our driver's licenses?" she asked. "That kind of thing will eventually happen. Do we have to walk around with our birth certificates? Will they question the authenticity of those? Where will it end?"

I'd ask her what is lawful in FL. if I am stopped for a ticketable offense?
Can I say I have no ID? Can I expect to simply be believed by the officer when I give him a name and address? Or would I be detained?