By DAVID ROYSE –THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA
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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, April 27, 2011…..The Legislature’s effort to step up enforcement of federal immigration laws remained in limbo Wednesday as advocates for immigrants came to the Capitol and the Senate president shifted responsibility for trying to work the issue out.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos said he has asked Sen. JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales, to take over the Senate’s leadership on the unresolved issue as lawmakers work toward a scheduled May 6 end of the session. The bill had been sponsored in the Senate by Miami Republican Sen. Anitere Flores.
Alexander is a rancher and citrus farmer, who is sensitive to the agriculture industry’s concerns about broad efforts that could make it harder to hire immigrants. But he said as recently as last week that the issue isn’t high on his radar screen.
Haridopolos acknowledged that the Senate is yet to work out all the details of the proposal. Members of the Senate are interested, he said, in requiring the use of the federal E-verify system to check the immigration status of people applying for jobs through the state’s workforce programs, and for people who are seeking government benefits, but not necessarily for all private employers.
A thorny issue for the Senate remains how to treat the issue of state and local law enforcement officials asking about people’s immigration status.
“That’s one of the areas we’re still working on,” said Haridopolos, a Merritt Island Republican who is running for the U.S. Senate.
The immigration issue is a difficult one for some Republicans, who are pulled in opposite directions on the question. The populist wing of the party, including the tea party, has pushed hard for stronger state crack downs on illegal immigration, saying the federal government has failed to keep immigrants out. But the business wing of the party has taken a more cautious approach, and several major business lobbies have urged lawmakers not to try to usurp the federal role in immigration enforcement.
“We’re still trying to find compromise on it,” said Haridopolos, acknowledging the paradox of having the agriculture industry pressuring Republicans not to push hard on the issue and many other people demanding that something be done.
“We’re trying to thread that needle,” Haridopolos said. “We’re just trying to find the right thing to do, and not cause more problems.”
The House is ready to pass a more stringent immigration bill that seeks to give law enforcement the ability to ask about immigration status when they make arrests, and requires employers to screen newly hired workers for immigration status. That bill (HB 7089) is ready for a floor vote, but its sponsor, Rep. Will Snyder, R-Stuart, said Wednesday that the House is waiting to see what the Senate will do, having little interest in having a long drawn-out debate if the Senate isn’t going to pass a bill.
“We have so much going on,” Snyder said.
“It will come to the (House) floor when they (the Senate) are in a position to accept it,” Snyder added. “We’ve shown all along we were able to craft a policy that makes sense.”
Gov. Rick Scott is also involved in the discussions over the bill, though it’s not clear how much. Last year, Scott campaigned heavily on passing an “Arizona-style” immigration law.
“We do believe that if you’re violating a law in our state you ought to be asked if you are legal or not,” Scott said Wednesday. “But we have to make sure that there is no racial profiling and it’s got to be fair.”
Meanwhile, Florida college students on Wednesday joined other immigrants, who have been at the Capitol all this week lobbying against the bill. The students went to Haridopolos’ office to try to get him to talk to them about the bill.
“He never came,” said Felipe Matos, an undocumented student who came to Florida when he was 14 years old. “That symbolizes that he’s against us, he’s against the Latino community.”
Last summer, the measure appeared almost certain to pass, with a national push in conservative states for Arizona-like immigration bills and Scott pushing the issue during his campaign.
“I think the fervor from the people of Florida hasn’t diminished,” Snyder said.
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04/27/2011
News Service of Florida reporters Mike Peltier and Brandon Larrabee contributed to this story
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