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Ricardo skerrett |
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Attorney Ricardo Skerrett has been an immigration practitioner in the Southwest Florida area since 2001. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association Read more... |
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ATTORNEY-AT-LAW IMMIGRATION PRACTITIONER
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Copyright 2009 |
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1:10 A.M. — Ricardo Skerrett was scheduled to travel to Arizona this fall.
The Fort Myers immigration attorney planned to attend a summit there, along with other members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Now, the group is boycotting Arizona after last week’s passage of a law cracking down on illegal immigration.
Skerrett and others in Southwest Florida say the law is absurd, and no matter how well-intentioned, it will lead to racial profiling. They hope Florida doesn’t join other states considering similar measures.
But supporters say it was the only option for a state drained by illegal immigrants.
Both sides agree it’s a response to the federal government’s inaction.
“I do understand that states are taking matters into their own hands,” Skerrett said. “There’s a possibility it could happen here, and that’s why the federal government needs to step up.”
But President Barack Obama noted that lawmakers may lack the “appetite” to take on immigration reform while many of them are up for re-election and while another big legislative issue — climate change — is already on their plate.
“I don’t want us to do something just for the sake of politics that doesn’t solve the problem,” Obama told reporters late Wednesday aboard Air Force One.
That didn’t stop opponents of the law from filing a federal lawsuit Thursday to block its enforcement. The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders argued the measure violates due process rights by allowing suspected illegal immigrants to be detained before conviction. Immigrants in Fla.
Similar to Arizona, Southwest Florida has been a magnet for illegal immigrants looking for jobs. Subsequently, the area has been at the center of human trafficking and slavery cases in which illegal immigrants have been victims.
The Pew Hispanic Center estimated in 2006 that 850,000 to 900,000 illegal immigrants lived in Florida, and 12 million lived nationwide — about 4 percent of the country’s population and 5.4 percent of its workforce
According to a Florida legislative report, $19.6 million was spent statewide on health care for illegal immigrants in 2009. That same year, the Lee County Jail reported almost $250,000 in federal reimbursement for housing illegal immigrants who committed crimes.
Arizona's law
The Arizona law requires police to detain people they suspect are in the country illegally and to verify their status with federal officials, unless it hinders an investigation or emergency medical care. The law also makes it a misdemeanor not to carry immigration papers and allows people to sue government agencies if they believe it isn’t being enforced.
Local politicians on both sides of the aisle, many of whom are courting Hispanic voters in upcoming elections, have criticized the law.
According to 2008 Census figures, 17.5 percent of Lee’s population is Hispanic, as is 21 percent of the state’s population.
Marco Rubio, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate and the son of Cuban immigrants, issued a statement Wednesday saying he had concerns.
“While I don’t believe Arizona’s policy was based on anything other than trying to get a handle on our broken borders, I think aspects of the law, especially that dealing with ‘reasonable suspicion,’ are going to put our law enforcement officers in an incredibly difficult position,” Rubio wrote.
Similarly, Congressman Connie Mack IV, R-Fort Myers, called the law “a blow against freedom.”
“This law of ‘frontier justice’ — where law enforcement officials are required to stop anyone based on ‘reasonable suspicion’ that they may be in the country illegally — is reminiscent of a time during World War II when the Gestapo in Germany stopped people on the street and asked for their papers without probable cause,” Mack wrote in a statement Thursday.
Still, Rep. Paige Kreegel, R-Punta Gorda, said it’s possible such a bill could gain momentum in Florida, though not immediately.
“In general, I believe what we’re seeing is that the federal government has failed miserably in their obligation on the immigration laws, to the incredible detriment of the people in the border states, who have to support these illegal immigrants, financially and otherwise,” he said. Impossible task
Fort Myers Police Chief Doug Baker said his officers would never have the resources to enforce such a law. The training would be voluminous, he said, and illegal immigrants would be more fearful to report crimes.
Marta Matias, 40, is a Fort Myers resident and U.S. citizen who immigrated from Guatemala 20 years ago. She fears a measure such as Arizona’s. “This is an issue of human freedoms, and it’s not right.”
Still, Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform in Washington, D.C., said the law makes sense and it’s erroneous to believe it will lead to racial profiling.
“That’s a tactic by people who don’t want to see the laws enforced,” Mehlman said. “All it does is require that a police officer who reasonably suspects someone to be illegal to ask. Not that you randomly stop |
