Florida:Passage of immigration law unlikely this year

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Passage of immigration law unlikely this year
TALLAHASSEE — Rejecting a measure that would have fined Florida businesses using undocumented workers, the Florida Senate on Tuesday signaled it was unwilling to go as far as the House toward a crackdown on illegal immigration, making passage of a bill this year unlikely. A key House leader said it was improbable that the House would take up the Senate bill — even if the Senate passes it today.
Rep. William Snyder, R-Stuart, sponsor of the House immigration bill, said the House needs a two-thirds vote to take up the Senate bill — a vote that could be blocked if Democrats and Hispanic Republicans oppose the move.
“It becomes extremely difficult for us in such a short window to take up anything they pass,” Snyder said, adding that the Senate has waited too long to bring the legislation to the floor.
In a sometimes emotional debate, the Senate voted 23-16 against an amendment that would have forced most Florida businesses to use the federal E-Verify system to check new employees' immigration status. Although using the verification system would be optional, the businesses would face a civil fine up to $1,500 per employee if they repeatedly used undocumented workers.
Senate Rules Chairman John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, who sponsored the amendment, invoked Osama bin Laden as one of the reasons why Florida needs to strengthen its immigration laws.
Thrasher said that 10 of the 9/11 terrorists associated with bin Laden had lived in Florida at some point.
“I wish we would have had an E-Verify because some of them were working here,” Thrasher said. “We might have saved the lives of 3,000 Americans.”
But other senators questioned the E-Verify system's cost and accuracy and the impact on businesses that would have to meet the regulation. And they questioned the impact on the thousands of undocumented immigrants who are living and working in Florida.
Senate Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, said it was “stone cold wrong” for illegal immigrants to be in the country, but he said it was the federal government's failure to regulate its borders that has left state officials trying to deal with the issue.
“We're talking about people who with a wink and nod from the federal government, for decades in some cases, have been here working and building a family and sending their kids to school,” Alexander said.
Alexander, who uses the E-Verify system in his own farming business but said it was “far from perfect,” contended it was not “the right thing to do” to crack down on that immigrant population, whom he described as “hard-working people.”
He also said a shift in the state's immigration policy would have a huge impact on the agricultural industry.
“I truly don't think you would pick the crops in the fields,” said Alexander, who said he had trouble this season finding enough workers for his blueberry crop.
Other senators said the state had a legal obligation to enforce the immigration laws even if the federal government was lagging behind.
“It's time that we stand up and take a stand so we can do our job to help protect our citizens,” said Sen. Thad Altman, R-Rockledge.
The defeat of Thrasher's amendment left the Senate with an immigration bill (SB 2040), which may be up for a final vote as early as today, that would only require E-Verify to be used for Floridians who were claiming public benefits from state or local agencies and for workers who were being placed in jobs by the state Agency for Workforce Innovation.
Additionally, it would require law enforcement agencies to make a “reasonable effort” at immigration status checks, based on fingerprints, if someone is arrested and jailed.
It would allow undocumented workers sentenced to jail or prison for non-violent crimes to be deported.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, who supported Thrasher's amendment and used his authority as the Senate leader to move the bill to the floor, acknowledged that the immigration bill has been a tough issue for the Senate.
“We're trying to thread a very difficult needle,” Haridopolos said.
The Senate bill is now a less extensive measure than a House bill (HB 7089) that would allow police to check the immigration status of a person who is the subject of a criminal investigation and there is a “reasonable suspicion” that the person might be undocumented.
The House also would require all Florida businesses to use the E-Verify system to check the status of their workers.
Both bills are not nearly as tough as the Arizona law, which allows authorities to check a person's immigration status during routine traffic stops but is now being challenged in federal court.
The 15-member Hispanic Legislative Caucus announced Tuesday that its members would oppose both bills.
http://www.ocala.com/article/2011050...nt02?p=3&tc=pg