With either Bill McCollum or Rick Scott soon to be the GOP nominee for governor, no doubt illegal immigration-bashing will remain a focal point of either candidate in their race against Democrat Alex Sink, regardless of its true relevance to the various ailments that afflict Florida at this moment in its history.
However, a few Florida lawmakers said today they are prepared to fight back against the legislation that McCollum and Stuart House Republican William Snyder introduced two weeks ago and intend to bring to the floor of the House in Tallahassee next spring.
On a conference call today coordinated by the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Hialeah Republican House member Esteban Bovo, the chair of the Hispanic Republican Caucus, said that he looks forward to the debate that will inevitably ensue, but cautioned that he will only engage in it himself if the tone and content are based on security concerns. "But if this debate's a vile cover for bigotry and for political purposes, I must be honest in that I'd be greatly disappointed, " he said, adding that you can bet the Hispanic Caucus will be a "very aggressive participant."
Also on the call were Democrats Gary Siplin, the Orlando-area Democrat and chair of the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators, and Tony Hill from Jacksonville, who said if such legislation was going to be discussed, then it absolutely must address what he called the "unscrupulous employers and contractors" known to exploit workers who come to Florida for work.
GOP State Representative Juan Zapata from the Miami suburb of Kendall is the legislature's first Colombian-American elected to office. He said that he understood that the motivation for Arizona's controversial measure was border security. But he said that the problems that a border state like Arizona faces are far different than what Florida endures. "It's unfortunate that people have tried to take advantage of the emotional side of the issue to try to promote themselves by promoting this legislation in Florida," he said.
Zapata also expressed concerns about how the tough talk could threaten one of of Florida's most important industries, tourism. "What kind of message do we send to them?" he asked, speaking of both Latinos and others who would be turned off by such a law.
Also on the call was Mike Pheneger from the Florida ACLU, who threatened legal action if the proposed law as announced 12 days ago were to become law next year. Pheneger called it "unconstitutional and unnecessary and unfortunate."
Although McCollum and Representative Synder insist that their bill won't offer the opportunity for racial profiling, Pheneger said today that it will, saying that pretext stops will end up ultimately giving a free pass to law enforcement in Florida.
This article appears in Aug 19-25, 2010.