Background
Immigration in Florida is a relatively new phenomenon compared with the experiences of the country's northeastern states. Few immigrants came to Florida during the wave of immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Instead, the impact of immigration in this state is measured over the past 50 years. Between 1965 and 1970, as many as 345,000 Cubans climbed aboard "freedom flights" to flee Castro's regime for a new life in Florida. In 1980, "freedom flotillas" carried 125,000 Cuban exiles from their homeland to America, many of them settling in Florida. See Miami Herald database tracks those who came on Freedom Flights.That same year, an estimated 14,000 Haitians fled economic depression in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country in rickety boats bound for Florida. READ MORE
Benefits and Services
Generally speaking, unauthorized immigrants are prohibited from receiving the federally funded benefits provided through Social Security, Food Stamps, Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Unauthorized immigrants earning a paycheck pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, even though they will never collect benefits. READ MORE
Federal vs. State Law
The U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the right to set immigration policy. Under the 14th Amendment (passed in 1868) to the Constitution, a state cannot "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The amendment grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States, regardless of the legal status of their parents. Over the years, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that unauthorized immigrants have a right to due process under the law, and that their children have a right to attend public schools. Additionally, the high court has repeatedly struck down attempts by state and local governments to enforce policies that single out immigrant workers. READ MORE
Federal Programs
Somewhat overlooked in the debate is a federal program authorizing state and local law enforcement agencies to act as federal immigration agents. Like everything else associated with immigration, the program is mired in controversy. Called "287(g)" after its designation in federal law, it allows officers with state and local law enforcement agencies to act as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents provided they are trained by ICE. In effect, it gives local law enforcement some of the powers and authority state lawmakers across the country are attempting to obtain by passing their own laws. Participation in 287g, which was enacted in 1996, grew after the 9/11 attacks but remains spotty for a number of reasons. As of mid-2010, 71 agencies in 25 states were participating. In Florida, despite a jump in unauthorized immigration over the past decade, few agencies participate. ICE data show three Florida counties (Bay, Collier, and Duval) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement participated in 2010. READ MORE
Florida Proposals
State lawmakers are holding hearings about immigration reform as part of their annual spring session in Tallahassee. Sensing support from Florida voters, backers of get- tough immigration policies hope to persuade the public that meaningful policies can be enacted without violating the civil rights of U.S. citizens, provoking consumer boycotts, or profiling legal immigrants whose labor is critical to the state's agriculture and tourism industries. READ MORE
Impacts on Arizona
While critics of the new Arizona immigration law predict the state will suffer significant financial losses from its implementation, at this point it appears too early to tell what the long-term impact might actually be. One of the biggest fears among state leaders is the negative effect the measure could have on the state's highly important tourism and convention industries, which make up a major part of Arizona's economy. After Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill into law in April 2010, numerous U.S. cities (Boston, Columbus, Los Angeles and Seattle, among others) as well as several national ethnic and labor groups (including National Council of La Raza, Asian American Justice Center, Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union) called for economic and travel boycotts of the state. While wide-scale, organized boycotts have been limited, it does appear the state's meeting and convention business has taken a hit. Debbie Johnson, CEO of the Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association, told the Phoenix Business Journal in October that "40 meetings have been nixed since April and calls to Arizona hotels by meeting planners for future bookings are down 40 percent." And, according to a study commissioned by the progressive-leaning Center for American Progress, Arizona has lost $253 million of total economic output from conventions already canceled due to the legislation, and could face an additional $135 million in lost economic output from future convention booking declines. READ MORE
Immigration Effects
Study results vary on the economic and societal consequences of immigration, whether authorized or unauthorized.
"The tax revenues that unauthorized immigrants generate for state and local governments do not offset the total cost of services provided to those immigrants. Most of the estimates found that even though unauthorized immigrants pay taxes and other fees to state and local jurisdictions, the resulting revenues offset only a portion of the costs incurred by those jurisdictions for providing services related to education, health care, and law enforcement. Although it is difficult to obtain precise estimates of the net impact of the unauthorized population on state and local budgets, that impact is most likely modest." READ MORE