Attn: Florida Legislature: Immigrants Have Rights
As Tallahassee gears up for the 2016 legislative session, which starts on January 11, anti-immigrant bills have already started rearing their ugly heads.
Towards the end of the summer, Representative Carlos Trujillo (R-District 105) filed a bill (HB 9) that would criminalize immigrants by making it a first degree felony for a person to be knowingly present in the state of Florida after receiving a final deportation order. If this bill were to become law, violations are punishable by up to 30 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. Senator Travis Hutson (R-District 6) filed the companion bill (SB 118) in the senate.
Under the U.S. Constitution, the federal government has jurisdiction over immigration policy. The act of being present in the U.S. in violation of immigration laws, even after an order of deportation, is not an actual crime, despite the “criminal alien” rhetoric.