Jeanfromfillmore
07-12-2010, 10:53 AM
Florida legislators want to adopt Arizona illegal immigration bill in 2011
Two Florida legislators say they are drafting a bill modeled after Arizona's controversial immigration law.
State Rep. William Snyder, R-Stuart, and State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, plan on sponsoring the legislation for the 2011 session of the state Legislature next March.
The law 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.
Naples businessman Rick Scott has been touting the Arizona immigration as part of his campaign platform.
"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"
The federal government has filed a lawsuit to stop Arizona's law, which has become a campaign issue in Florida's race for governor.
One local 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 apprehension 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.
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."
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.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jul/12/florida-legislators-want-adopt-arizona-illegal-imm/
Two Florida legislators say they are drafting a bill modeled after Arizona's controversial immigration law.
State Rep. William Snyder, R-Stuart, and State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, plan on sponsoring the legislation for the 2011 session of the state Legislature next March.
The law 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.
Naples businessman Rick Scott has been touting the Arizona immigration as part of his campaign platform.
"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"
The federal government has filed a lawsuit to stop Arizona's law, which has become a campaign issue in Florida's race for governor.
One local 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 apprehension 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.
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."
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.
http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2010/jul/12/florida-legislators-want-adopt-arizona-illegal-imm/