Earlier this week, the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FIC) held a press conference at the Farmworkers Association of Florida Headquarters in Apopka to express its opposition to the bill. Many other organizations joined them to denounce the "Unauthorized Alien Transport Program".
"Florida's elected officials, supposed to be the voice of the people, who should be focusing on using much-needed funds to support housing and health access for Floridians, are instead transporting migrants across the country," said Tessa Petit, Executive Director of the FIC. "It is time for Florida representatives to do their work for the people. It is time for Floridians to stand against the unfairness and constant harassment of immigrants in this state. This bill is encouraging more funds to transport immigrants from anywhere, including those outside of Florida. It is also encouraging more funds to displace immigrants who have been inspected, which means that they have been legally allowed to enter the United States."
Former Florida House Representative Carlos Guillermo-Smith also opposed the bill; calling it human trafficking.
"What we see in this bill is to locate an additional $10 million dollars of taxpayer funds for the human trafficking of immigrants and migrants outside of the state of Florida," Smith said. "I repeat... he wants to expand his illegal act... his illegal human trafficking of migrants, so that he will be able to do this, not just from Texas, to Massachusetts, but he wants to be able to use our taxpayer money, not to help Floridians, but to pay for political stunts so that he can now go from Arizona, and transport migrants from that state to New York or California, while using our money, an extra $10 million. There are no specifics on how this program will work. There's no accountability, and there is no transparency about how these dollars are being spent. We all know that only the federal government can enforce immigration policy."
Samuel Vilchez-Santiago made the case that immigrants fuel the Florida economy.
"I think about the thousands of children and families that just like my own family, and myself, come here, escaping brutal murderers, socialist dictatorships from Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua," said Santiago, the state director for the American Business Immigration Coalition. "And today, the governor and the Republican led legislature are turning their back on them, and utilizing their trauma and the traumas of our community to continue expanding upon Ron DeSantis... his presidential dreams. That's wrong. But most importantly, the reality is that this program does not benefit our communities. One in five Floridians are immigrants, and we make the state stronger. We make our businesses stronger, and we make our community stronger."
According to Santiago, immigrants are the ley to solving many economic issues in the state and in the US.
"Let's think about our economy for a second, because we hear all this talk about inflation. But the number one cause of inflation is actually the fact that we have critical labor shortages in key industries such as healthcare, hospitality, agriculture, education, etc. And these migrants that are coming here legally come here to work. Just in the hospitality industry here in Florida, there's 1.6 million job openings that could be filled by these migrants that are coming. And secondly, migrants benefit our economy because of our spending power. Just in the state of Florida, immigrants have over $100 billion in spending power. We pay taxes. We're entrepreneurs. Here in Orlando 36% of entrepreneurs and job creators are immigrants. Where will the state and community be if not for the hard work of our immigrant workers and our immigrant communities?
Sister Ann Kendrick of the Hope CommUnity Center closed the press conference with harsh words for Florida politicians.
"I am sick and tired of showing up here," Kendrick said. "Although I will never quit showing up here. Because stupid people, these state politicians, are playing with the lives of people that I love. I came to Florida 50 years ago, the same year Mickey Mouse came to town. I wasn't very much in love with Florida. I didn't really want to stay here. But 50 years later, I'm still here. Why? I fell in love. I fell in love with the immigrant, farm working, hard working population of people who are noble, generous, family oriented, honest, noble, humble people. I am sick of showing up here because of ridiculous behavior by politicians who are playing with the lives of people... with the lives of families of the lives of people who are represented here, and who are all over the state of Florida who are suffering who have come here. Many of them with permission, because they're filing for asylum. It is a legal process. And there are those who can't qualify for that but are desperate or dying or being targeted or being shot. People don't leave home unless home is the mouth of a shark. We're not going away. Because this is wrong, it is inhumane. It is against the will of God."
After the senate passed its version, the focus now shifts to the Florida House, where that chamber’s version of the legislation, (HB-5B) passed its last committee meeting Wednesday on its way to a floor vote. That's where Rep. Doug Bankson comes in.
Bankson the Florida House District 45 representative, which includes all of Apopka, supports the bill.
"My first read of HB 5B (companion to SB 6B) is in favor," said Bankson. "We are a nation of immigrants, but we must have a legal and orderly fashion that allows us to “protect the gates”. With the incredible rise in fentanyl deaths, human trafficking, and gang-related intrusion we must be vigilant to know who is coming in, and not bypass those who are entering in a legal manner. Compassion does not lessen the responsibility of vigilance. I look forward to hearing the debate and deciding on that which I believe best reflects the responsibility to protect Floridians first, and accomplish what is being neglected at higher levels of government."
