Arizona’s immigration law divisive nationally, locally

MANATEE — A federal judge’s ruling this week blocking most of a controversial Arizona immigration law won’t deter a Bradenton lawmaker from pursuing an even tougher bill in Florida.

Nor has it deterred several other Florida lawmakers proposing similar action, with public sentiment ranging from cries of racism to adamant support of tough local immigration laws.

Under the Arizona law, local and state law enforcement officers would be required to determine the immigration status for any lawful contact they make if they have “reasonable suspicion” that the person is unlawfully in the United States. Anyone deemed to be an illegal immigrant could be transported by Arizona officials to federal custody, regardless of whether any other laws were broken.

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, would take that a significant step further by giving Florida local government the right to deport illegal immigrants who commit crimes.

“If I pass my law, we will have the right to put them on a plane,” Bennett said. “I don’t want to wait for the feds because they don’t do anything.”

Bennett’s bill is one of several being modeled after the Arizona law proposed by Florida lawmakers, including Rep. Greg Evers, R-Baker; Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland; and Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa.

While tough new immigration laws might enjoy support from the American public — a June poll by the non-partisan Quinnipiac University Poll showed voters favoring Arizona style laws by a 48-35 percent margin — the question remains: Are they constitutional?

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton doesn’t think so, as evidenced in her ruling against the Arizona law. And several federal officials who spoke to the Herald on condition of anonymity said that any bill proposing to allow states to directly deport illegal immigrants would not be allowed to fly.

Juan Rodriguez, a community organizer for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, is appalled that Arizona-style immigration laws have now been proposed in at least a dozen other states.

“It’s a huge concern to us the way it is being used as a model throughout the country,” Rodriguez said.

The Coalition this week delivered a letter to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, expressing disappointment at his support of Arizona’s immigration law.

Martine Apodaca of the National Immigration Forum in Washington, D.C., also says the Arizona law is unconstitutional.

Calling Bolton’s ruling a temporary victory for the civil rights of every American, Apodaca questioned why Florida U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and George LeMieux have not stepped up to seek a federal solution for America’s broken immigration system, rather than allowing state lawmakers to propose a patchwork of legislation.

“I look a lot like the people who would be stopped,” Apodaca said. “I would hate to think I would end up in jail one day because I forgot my driver license.”