Miami Immigration Lawyers Blog

During his campaign, Gov. Rick Scott pledged to bring an Arizona-type immigration law to Florida; however, that legislation is losing momentum as the bill's main sponsor, Senator Mike Bennett, is now concerned that the bill could spark controversy regarding racial and ethnic profiling. Interestingly, Bennett is the Senator who recently filed the proposed legislation to initiate conversations about pursuing the passage of an Arizona-type immigration law in Florida.

The provision Bennett expressed doubts over is the requirement that law enforcement officers could request proof of an individual's immigration status during routine traffic stops or arrests. Although the bill is said to prohibit law enforcement from using race as a reason for checking the individual's documentation, Bennett does not feel this will be sufficient in preventing racial or ethic profiling. The issue of discrimination is also a concern for the Legislature's 10-member Hispanic caucus, eight of which are Republican. Furthermore, Hispanics are Florida's fastest growing voting bloc and they account for 72 percent of Miami-Dade's Republican electorate.

Even though Bennett is now reconsidering his previous position on the matter, he and other lawmakers still contend that they do support a requirement for state and potentially private employers to check the immigration status of prospective employees through the federal government's E-Verify system. Gov. Scott has already signed an executive order that requires all agencies under his control to use E-Verify.

As for Scott's position on an immigration law in Florida, he has yet to make a decision.

A group of Legislatures are planning to unveil a plan today that could prevent children born on U.S. soil to illegal immigrant parents from becoming citizens at birth. Citizenship is automatically granted to those born in the United States pursuant to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

The lawmakers will not initiate the involved process of proposing a change to the Constitution. Instead, they are considering a move that will advocate a state-by-state approach which will encompass two types of birth certificates in their states: one for the children of citizens and another for the children of illegal immigrants. Further details regarding the legislation should be unveiled today.

By Miami Immigration Lawyer Antonio Revilla
There is a misconception that children born to illegal immigrant parents or 'anchor babies', as they are commonly known, can help their undocumented parents achieve legal status in this country. The term 'anchor baby' is in fact a fictional term because these children cannot help their parents with immigration status until the age of 21, but this only applies if the parents entered this country with legal status to begin with. Any child born to parents who came here illegally cannot help their parents pursue legal status based on current laws. Undocumented family members are being deported every day in this country, despite the fact that their spouse or children are U.S. citizens.

The proposed legislation is not only a violation of the 14th Amendment, it will essentially create unequal statuses of people who were all born on U.S. soil, consisting of those born to undocumented parents and those who are born to parents with citizenship or legal residence.

This legislation violates the fundamental nature of the United States and promotes an immoral effort to relegate children born to illegal immigrant parents to a second class status in this country, even though they were born on U.S. soil. It goes against the principles and fabric of this country, which stand for equality and justice. This unconstitutional legislation will unfairly and unjustly penalize individuals who were in fact born in this country through no fault of their own.