More than 1 million people in Florida are out of work. The oil spill is wreaking environmental and economic havoc. The state is one hurricane away from catastrophe.
But anyone listening to Republican gubernatorial candidates Rick Scott and Bill McCollum would think that one of the most pressing concerns in this non-border state is illegal immigrants scaling palm trees and jumping over hibiscus bushes.
The article gives the numbers and shows how illegal immigration has dropped by hundreds of thousands here in Florida. This is not as a result of any fence or strong immigration policy, but mostly because there is little point in sneaking over here since we have no jobs. This is a factor you might think would give McCollum and Scott more to talk about: Neither one has a plan for the economy, how will stop our 6 billion deficit, or ideas for job creation.
Arizona's law is misguided, but at the very least they can point to problems of Mexican cartels smuggling drugs into the US--which, by the way, is not a primary issue here in Florida since they tend to use the border states. Florida doesn't even have a large Mexican population. Primarily, Florida's hispanics are overwhelmingly Cuban, who become legal if they make it here, and Puerto Ricans-who happen to be US citizens. Even Haitians have an easy time applying for temporary legal status given the earthquake. In fact, the majority of immigrants here are South Americans who have overstayed their visas.
Can we can the "scary brown people" meme and focus on the real issues affecting Florida?
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