TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — The state Legislature started last year by holding not one, but three special sessions on illegal immigration. A key discussion at the time was E-Verify, which is now back in the state legislature.
E-Verify was a hot topic last Congress, with three lawmakers introducing similar bills to strengthen the system and add harsher penalties.
“One of the things that fuels illegal immigration is employment opportunities, so if we can shut that down and eliminate all exemptions, fewer people will come to work illegally,” said state Rep. Bernie Jack (R-Seminole).
Currently, Florida law requires businesses with 25 or more employees to verify the citizenship status of their employees. This year’s bill takes this a step further, requiring everyone to comply, regardless of how many employees they have.
“If you remember, we not only passed the bill from the House floor, we passed it in a bipartisan manner.
I asked a few Democrats to vote for this because they thought it was common sense. That’s already against the law. This is simply enforcing federal law,” Jack said.
But concerns for immigrant families and the impact on small businesses were concerns for some members at the last meeting.
“Members of Congress, we need to understand how many people this bill will hurt. It will hurt so many families, and it breaks my heart to know that some immigrants will not be able to sleep at night. To me, this is not a joke. This is a serious problem,” state Rep. Marie Paul Woodson (D-Hollywood) said during the last debate.
And not only did Democrats not advance the bill, the Senate also killed off his chances for governor.
But for Jack, the battle isn’t over yet.
“We can’t rest on our laurels. We can’t say we accomplished the mission and then go on our own way. The moment we do that, the problem comes back. So we need to continue to lead the way on this issue,” said Congressman Jack.
A backlash is expected if the bill is resubmitted.
And it’s clear that immigration reform was not only a major priority last session, but will be a key topic of discussion for next year.
