Disregarding the fact that Florida's proposed immigration reform measures would be weaker by far than Arizona's, Democratic legislators were determined to make a statement Monday: They vowed to kill any legislation that smacks of the controversial recent Arizona law.

“Arizona has a black eye in the world. We don’t need that black eye,” said Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa.

The Arizona law has come under harsh criticism and is the subject of a lawsuit brought by the Obama administration because of fears that it enables racial profiling by law enforcement officers. Opponents of proposed measures aimed at curtailing illegal immigration in Florida say they aren’t that different from the Arizona law, and legislators should wait until the courts uphold or strike down the law.

“The state of Florida has done a disservice to its citizens and its residents by pursuing Arizona-type legislation,” said Rep. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami.

But Florida’s proposed measures don't carry the same weight as the Arizona law. The Arizona version allows law enforcement officers to verify the legal status of someone during a traffic stop and allows residents to sue local law enforcement agencies for not properly enforcing the law.

A bill that passed through the House Judiciary Committee last week does include provisions that allow police officers to determine the legal status of a subject of a criminal investigation, but it stops short of the Arizona law.

Opponents of immigration reform nevertheless say that when police officers try to enforce the law, they will use racial profiling to determine “probable cause” or “reasonable suspicion” of a suspect.

“These bills will increase already distressing levels of racial profiling by federal, state and local law enforcement,” said Ron Bilbao, legislative assistant for the American Civil Liberties Union.

A Senate bill that was already weaker than the House version was changed Monday to allow for employers to verify the immigration status of potential workers through traditional identification -- valid driver’s licenses, birth certificates, passports, etc. -- instead of solely through the federal E-Verify system, as the bill originally intended.

The Senate version also calls on corrections and law enforcement officials to transfer illegal aliens arrested for nonviolent crimes into federal custody for deportation, but does not include the House provision calling for proactive investigations of legal status during criminal inquiries.

Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the federal implementation of the E-Verify program is too lenient, preventing businesses from using the system until an actual offer of employment is made. The change would require all Florida businesses to use E-Verify at the risk of losing their license, but would allow employers to accept traditional identification as verification of employment eligibility.

“I don’t know if anyone’s gone to get their driver’s license lately, but it’s very, very stringent,” Flores said.

Advocates of stricter enforcement of immigration laws were leery of the change, and wanted to make sure there were sufficient protections against the hiring of illegal immigrants and penalties for employers that ignore the law. Employers are too easily dodging identification verification requirements now, they said.

“E-Verify works for a simple reason, because the I-9 (tax form) didn’t,” said Geoge Fuller, a Sarasota-based tea party advocate.



Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.