Thread: FL: State immigration debate is on

State immigration debate is on

Local senator files Arizona-style plan
By Jim Ash • The News-Press Capital Bureau • December 1, 2010

TALLAHASSEE - The first crack at an Arizona-style immigration overhaul has been filed in the Florida Senate, with a proposal that would let law enforcement officers ask suspected illegal immigrants to prove their immigration status as well as penalize some legal immigrants who aren't carrying proper documentation.

The bill, sponsored by Mike Bennett, a Republican whose district includes parts of Cape Coral and northern Lee County, is the first volley in a likely long and heated debate over the future of immigration policy in the state. Since the passage of the Arizona law last spring, many Florida Republicans - including Gov.-elect Rick Scott - have argued that Florida needs a similar law. Some campaigned on the issue throughout the summer and into the fall.

Bennett insists an Arizona-style bill will not promote racial profiling.

"My target is the criminal element, the gang element," Bennett said.

Bennett's measure would allow law enforcement officers during a lawful detention or arrest to ask for the detainee's immigration documents if the officer suspects he or she may be in the country illegally. The bill, however, prohibits law enforcement from using race as a reason for checking the person's documentation. The bill also penalizes legal immigrants who refuse to carry their documentation, with a possible fine of up to $100 and a 20-day jail sentence.

The Arizona law sparked nationwide protests and boycotts as well as a federal lawsuit from the Obama Administration. In July, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton struck down most of the law, including the part that calls for law enforcement officers to check a suspect's immigration status.
According to the Conference of State Legislatures, as of Nov. 10, six other states have filed immigration bills similar to Arizona's and six other states have filed resolutions either supporting or condemning Arizona's law.

Critics say Florida's Legislature is overstepping its bounds and that lawmakers are pandering to the ultra-conservative tea party movement.

"It's not the job of a state to enforce immigration laws," said Sally Schmidt, executive director of the Equal Justice Center in Fort Myers. The nonprofit group helps immigrants navigate the federal system.

Schmidt said the law would invite discrimination and lead to confusion. Many immigrants are in the country legally but are still waiting for proper documentation, she said. Detaining them for not having the right paperwork would violate their civil rights, she said.

"People are in such different states of immigration status," she said. "These are people who are paying taxes and performing valuable work."

Bennett sees no distinction between a police officer asking for a driver's license or a green card.

Scott, set to be sworn in Jan. 4, agrees.

Campaign issue

Scott, in particular, made the Arizona law a major piece of his race for governor, frequently mentioning it at campaign stops and urging Floridians to follow his lead and make a donation to Arizona's Border Security and Immigration Legal Defense Fund. Since his election in November, the incoming governor has been largely quiet on the subject and has not drawn up any specific proposals yet, but his spokesman said the governor maintains his position on the issue.

"I have no specifics right now on what an immigration bill would have to have, but his position is still if someone violates Florida laws, the police should ask if they are legal or not," said Scott spokesman Trey Stapleton. "If they are in the state illegally they should be deported."

Bennett said he also wants to clear state prisons of some 1,300 inmates who are serving time for drug or nonviolent and non-sex-related crimes who could otherwise be deported. He said the state is paying $20,000 a year to incarcerate each one when combined they should be the responsibility of the federal government.

"I can buy them a plane ticket for $750," Bennett said.

A spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections said it does not determine an inmate's immigration status. However, she said there are about 5,500 inmates who are flagged with a detainer because of their place of birth. The department contacts U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement before releasing them, said spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger.

The Rev. Mark Boykin, senior pastor of the Church of All Nations in Boca Raton, said lawmakers rushing to imitate the Arizona law are only trying to score points with conservative voters. The Assemblies of God church boasts a congregation of about 3,000, Boykin said.

Many of the church's members are immigrants who have feared a crackdown since the Nov. 2 election that gave conservative Republicans veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.

"I'm a Republican and I'm wondering what happened to compassionate conservatism," Boykin said. "They're feeding red meat to people who want to blame someone for the bad economy."

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Bennett sees no distinction between a police officer asking for a driver's license or a green card.

Amen!

This is way overdue. We have way too many illegals here and fellow people of the same ethnicity who aide and abet them. It is time to put an end to it. I could tell them what it is like living next to a city where they have a huge Haitian gang problem. What it is like hearing shooting and hoping it is the police doing it. How I avoid driving in certain areas at certain times because they shoot at each other on main roads at night from aound 11pm on. Their thugs are committing armed robberies at the 163rd St mall parking garage and behind the Wal Mart on a daily basis. They even fire warning shots to scare the victim. Now the hispanics are starting to commit the same crimes. Both have a large population of illegals.

Posted on Thu, Dec. 02, 2010
Bennett pitches his Arizona-style immigration bill

By BETH BURGER

MANATEE -- A state senator from Bradenton recently introduced a bill, based on a controversial Arizona law, that he says will crack down on illegal immigration in Florida.

Under Sen. Mike Bennett’s six-page bill, filed last week, authorities would be able to determine the immigration status for someone during a lawful stop if they have “reasonable suspiciousâ€