07-14-2010, 01:29 AM
Florida and Arizona could have something more in common than sunshine and retirees.
Two Florida legislators say they are drafting a bill, modeled after Arizona’s controversial law, to crack down on illegal immigration.
State Rep. William Snyder, R-Stuart, and state Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, say they plan to introduce the legislation in the 2011 session of the state Legislature that starts in March.
The federal government has filed a lawsuit to stop Arizona’s law, which has become a campaign issue in Florida’s race for governor.
Despite amendments meant to strengthen provisions against racial profiling, critics of the Arizona law say it still could lead to civil rights abuses.
The original law required immigrants to carry their immigration papers at all times and required police to question people they suspected of being in the United States illegally.
After an uproar, Arizona legislators later made changes that the two Florida bills would mirror, according to Snyder and a statement from Bennett’s office.
For example, Snyder’s bill would allow police to question people about their immigration status only during other police investigations.
“We’re trying to be sensitive to the fears of legal immigrants that they won’t be swept up and inadvertently targeted,” Snyder said.
Snyder said he adamantly opposes racial profiling and that he doesn’t want his bill to become a pretext for it.
“I think the higher standard goes a long way toward preventing racial profiling,” Snyder said.
Snyder’s bill also would prohibit police from inquiring further into someone’s citizenship if the person has a Florida driver license.
Unlike the Arizona law, the Florida bill would not address the issue of transporting illegal immigrants, Snyder said, because that is not applicable in a non-border state such as Florida.
Bennett could not be reached for comment on his bill. It would allow police “who make a lawful stop, detention or arrest or while enforcing another law to require information regarding citizenship if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an illegal alien,” according to a statement from Bennett’s office.
Arizona’s immigration bill has become fodder on the campaign trail as Republican candidates to be Florida’s next governor try to woo voters.
Naples businessman Rick Scott has been touting the Arizona law and running TV ads casting Attorney General Bill McCollum as being soft on the issue.
“I believe in the rule of law,” Scott told about 80 people at a Lee Republican Women Federated luncheon on Monday afternoon. “I don’t believe that you should be able to come to our country illegally and get amnesty. We cannot be doing that. I believe we have to have the Arizona immigration bill passed in this state.”
McCollum opposed the original Arizona law but says he supports the revised version.
Snyder said McCollum backs his bill and that McCollum’s aides are helping to write it.
McCollum’s office released a statement Monday outlining steps he’s taken to fight illegal immigration.
“We are currently in conversation with Rep. Snyder about a piece of potential legislation that would further strengthen Florida’s ability to crack down on illegal immigration,” the statement says.
One Southwest Florida leader says Arizona’s problem should actually be the federal government’s problem.
“The problem with the Arizona law is that it’s stepping into an area of law controlled by the federal government and under the doctrine of pre-emption they will not be successful,” said Sister Maureen Kelleher, who is an immigration attorney with Legal Aid Services of Collier County.
While the police manual for the police officers in Arizona is very vague, Kelleher said, it could also bring issues with racial profiling.
“It’s a huge waste of resources for police to lock them up on an immigration hold,” Kelleher said.
In addition, the visa process, Kelleher said, is a slow process and not all local police officers would know about it.
In Kelleher’s practice, a person waiting for a visa approval, could be waiting for eight months.
“I think all of us want to see effective border enforcement,” Kelleher said.
Lucas Benitez, a founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, said the new law is no solution to the current immigration crisis. On the contrary, it just creates a new problem.
“The problem of racial profiling, without which it will be impossible to implement the proposed law, as we are seeing already in Arizona,” Benitez wrote in an e-mail.
“The problem of undocumented immigration today was created by the total lack of any rational legalization program sufficient to meet the country’s demand for new immigrants ...
“Therefore, the solution lies in creating a program that could legalize immigrants who have been here working hard and contributing for so long without the opportunity for residency.”
Two Florida legislators say they are drafting a bill, modeled after Arizona’s controversial law, to crack down on illegal immigration.
State Rep. William Snyder, R-Stuart, and state Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, say they plan to introduce the legislation in the 2011 session of the state Legislature that starts in March.
The federal government has filed a lawsuit to stop Arizona’s law, which has become a campaign issue in Florida’s race for governor.
Despite amendments meant to strengthen provisions against racial profiling, critics of the Arizona law say it still could lead to civil rights abuses.
The original law required immigrants to carry their immigration papers at all times and required police to question people they suspected of being in the United States illegally.
After an uproar, Arizona legislators later made changes that the two Florida bills would mirror, according to Snyder and a statement from Bennett’s office.
For example, Snyder’s bill would allow police to question people about their immigration status only during other police investigations.
“We’re trying to be sensitive to the fears of legal immigrants that they won’t be swept up and inadvertently targeted,” Snyder said.
Snyder said he adamantly opposes racial profiling and that he doesn’t want his bill to become a pretext for it.
“I think the higher standard goes a long way toward preventing racial profiling,” Snyder said.
Snyder’s bill also would prohibit police from inquiring further into someone’s citizenship if the person has a Florida driver license.
Unlike the Arizona law, the Florida bill would not address the issue of transporting illegal immigrants, Snyder said, because that is not applicable in a non-border state such as Florida.
Bennett could not be reached for comment on his bill. It would allow police “who make a lawful stop, detention or arrest or while enforcing another law to require information regarding citizenship if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an illegal alien,” according to a statement from Bennett’s office.
Arizona’s immigration bill has become fodder on the campaign trail as Republican candidates to be Florida’s next governor try to woo voters.
Naples businessman Rick Scott has been touting the Arizona law and running TV ads casting Attorney General Bill McCollum as being soft on the issue.
“I believe in the rule of law,” Scott told about 80 people at a Lee Republican Women Federated luncheon on Monday afternoon. “I don’t believe that you should be able to come to our country illegally and get amnesty. We cannot be doing that. I believe we have to have the Arizona immigration bill passed in this state.”
McCollum opposed the original Arizona law but says he supports the revised version.
Snyder said McCollum backs his bill and that McCollum’s aides are helping to write it.
McCollum’s office released a statement Monday outlining steps he’s taken to fight illegal immigration.
“We are currently in conversation with Rep. Snyder about a piece of potential legislation that would further strengthen Florida’s ability to crack down on illegal immigration,” the statement says.
One Southwest Florida leader says Arizona’s problem should actually be the federal government’s problem.
“The problem with the Arizona law is that it’s stepping into an area of law controlled by the federal government and under the doctrine of pre-emption they will not be successful,” said Sister Maureen Kelleher, who is an immigration attorney with Legal Aid Services of Collier County.
While the police manual for the police officers in Arizona is very vague, Kelleher said, it could also bring issues with racial profiling.
“It’s a huge waste of resources for police to lock them up on an immigration hold,” Kelleher said.
In addition, the visa process, Kelleher said, is a slow process and not all local police officers would know about it.
In Kelleher’s practice, a person waiting for a visa approval, could be waiting for eight months.
“I think all of us want to see effective border enforcement,” Kelleher said.
Lucas Benitez, a founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, said the new law is no solution to the current immigration crisis. On the contrary, it just creates a new problem.
“The problem of racial profiling, without which it will be impossible to implement the proposed law, as we are seeing already in Arizona,” Benitez wrote in an e-mail.
“The problem of undocumented immigration today was created by the total lack of any rational legalization program sufficient to meet the country’s demand for new immigrants ...
“Therefore, the solution lies in creating a program that could legalize immigrants who have been here working hard and contributing for so long without the opportunity for residency.”