FL Feuding Over Arizona Style Immigration Law
(Posted April 29, 2011 03:05 am)
TALLAHASSEE,
FL - A tea party activist from Northwest Florida has
filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland
Security, contending that Florida state lawmakers should
have reported undocumented immigrants they met with to
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This week, protesters have swarmed the State Capitol,
holding vigils to oppose bills that would create broader
police powers similar to those now tied up in the courts
in Arizona. Florida Immigration Coalition spokesperson
Matalia Jaramillo says passing an Arizona copycat law
would wreck Florida's economy.
"There is already a marginal tourism boycott called on
Florida, even before the bills have passed; signing a
pledge that 'I won't visit Florida if these bills
passed.'"
Geoff Ross, a retired Navy veteran who migrated from
Great Britain, filed the complaint. He claims the
presence of what he terms "illegal aliens" at the
Florida Capitol is a threat to national security. Ross
says he filed the complaint against two state senators
after they met with human rights advocates seeking to
bar the Arizona immigration copycat legislation (HB 2089
and SB 2040) from passing in Florida.
"The states control the federal government, not the
federal government controls the states. And if the
federal government is unwilling or unable, or incapable
of enforcing U.S. immigration laws, then it falls upon
the states to do that, just like the did in Arizona."
Homeland Security officials in Washington, D.C., have
said only that they are looking into the matter.
The Florida Immigrant Coalition estimates that Florida
stands to lose up to $45 billion through enforcement,
litigation, and the general impact on tourism and
industry.