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STUART (
April 9, 2008
By Michael Peltier
TALLAHASSEE
— A handful of immigration measures bottled up in a House committee
finally got a hearing Tuesday, but their collective fates remain
uncertain as backers try to convince their colleagues to bring the
issues up for a vote.
Meeting before the House Committee on State Affairs, sponsors of six
immigration bills urged members to pass meaningful immigration measures
despite opposition from business and agricultural groups that rely on
undocumented workers.
Then during a two-hour public hearing, panelists heard a litany of
complaints from groups advocating tighter immigration rules and
standards.
"The fact is the federal government is not doing what it needs to do,"
said state Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart. "We have a responsibility to
the people of the state of Florida to do what we can to protect them."
They also heard from farm worker advocates who countered that the
estimated 900,000 illegal immigrants provide a vital service and need to
be treated with respect.
"These people are trying to provide for their families," said Margarita
Romo, a farm worker advocate from Dade City. "These people aren't
terrorists."
Panelists took no vote Tuesday and are expected to roll many of the
bills together into one proposal. But even that is not a given. The
immigration bills have powerful opponents in the business and
agricultural communities.
"There are people in this state who exploit the current situation and
they make money off of it," said Rep. Don Brown, R-Defuniak Springs.
"They want to continue to make money off of illegal immigration."
Backers of the measures say they are frustrated over federal inaction on
the immigration front. Without a national immigration policy, they say
states have to step up.
"We want comprehensive immigration reform that is meaningful, that makes
illegal aliens go home and wait in line," said William Landes, president
of the Minuteman of Florida.
In Martin County, illegal immigrants are costing Martin Memorial Health
Systems millions of dollars every year in uncompensated care, said Carol
Plato Nicosia, Martin Memorial director of corporate business services.
At least six patients are under going dialysis twice a week and another
illegal immigrant has been a patient for more than two years at a cost
exceeding $1.5 million, he said.
"The biggest problem is in our emergency room," Nicosia said. "We won't
turn them away, we cannot turn them away."
State Rep. Trudi Williams, R-Fort Myers, has a measure that would allow
law enforcement officials to provide nonviolent inmates a plane ticket
home after they complete half their sentence. With an estimated 5,000
illegal inmates now sitting in Florida prisons, the measure could save
the state $100 million a year.
Among the proposals being offered:
• House Bill 73, which requires public employees to verify immigration
status of people involved in law enforcement action. Requires
citizenship information when applying for a drivers license or
state-issued ID card.
• HB107 and SB 424: makes it a third-degree felony to transport illegal
immigrants into the state. If the victim is a minor, the penalty jumps
to a second-degree felony.
• HB 159: Prohibits state agencies from contracting with employers who
do not qualify with federal worker authorization rules.
• HB 571, HB 821 and SB 540, which require law enforcement officials to
report illegal immigrants to federal officials.
• HB 577 and SB1086 allow nonviolent offenders to get a plane ticket to
their native country and bolsters penalties for deported offenders who
return.
Speaking to members at the end of the meeting, Rep. David Rivera,
R-Miami, said the focus should not be on the illegal aliens but on the
businesses that hire them. Rivera said illegal aliens pay sales taxes,
property taxes, corporate
income taxes and gasoline taxes that in turn build schools, roads and
bridges.
"We love to have our cheap labor," Rivera said. "Until we cut the demand
for that cheap labor we will have an abundant supply. Just as some are
addicted to drugs, some are addicted to cheap labor and illegal aliens.
"If we want to get serious, let's go after the agriculture sector,"
Rivera continued. "Let's go after the construction sector, the
hospitality sector, the restaurants and hotels and shut them down."
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