After a federal judge Wednesday blocked the most controversial parts of Arizona’s immigration enforcement law from going into effect, thousands of miles away, some Florida Republicans reacted with outrage.
Rick Scott, who owes a lot to Arizona's immigration proposed law, as it helped catapult him to the tops of all recent polls in the race for the GOP nomination for Governor, was predictably upset, saying:
“This type of ruling is a perfect example of why there is so much frustration with the political class in this country. It just doesn’t make sense for a judge to prohibit police from doing their job and asking people they arrest to show proof that they are here legally. The Arizona law is right and as I’ve said many times before, as Governor, I’ll bring the Arizona law to Florida.”
His opponent, Bill McCollum, expressed similar sentiments:
The Obama Administration continues its efforts to strip rights away from
our states, and we should all be very concerned about these repeated
intrusions.
"My office will continue to actively support Arizona in the legal fight
challenging this law. I will also continue working with Representative
Will Snyder, House Chairman of Criminal and Civil Justice Policy Council,
to draft legislation for Florida’s version of the Arizona immigration law
that will strengthen our immigration laws and give law enforcement
additional tools in combating illegal immigration."
The leading Democrat in the race, CFO Alex Sink, was ever so careful in her reaction today, chiming in with the Republicans traditional complaint that the federal government isn't doing enough:
“Regardless of the ruling on Arizona, the federal government needs to work with the states to crack down on illegal immigration. A comprehensive immigration policy is the responsibility of the federal government. Unfortunately, the federal government has failed to secure our borders and aggressively pursue a solution to illegal immigration.”
This article appears in Jul 29 – Aug 4, 2010.