State of Florida Archives: on Immigration

Adam Putnam: Opposed anti-immigrant laws that might affect workers

Adam Putnam: Muslim ban is offensive to American values

Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." [Trump later identified seven particular countries for the immigration ban, and the Supreme Court added additional rules for vetting instead of a ban.]

Adam Putnam: Don't let illegal aliens vote for anything

Alan Grayson: Allow administrative amnesty to some illegal aliens

Grayson voted against House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain illegal aliens residing in the United States. The vote largely followed party lines.

Alexander Snitker: Legal immigrants ok; no pathway for illegal immigrants

A: No.

Q: Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country?

A: No.

Q: Do you support establishing English as the official national language?

A: Yes.

Q: Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?

A: Yes.

Andrew Gillum: Protect Dreamers from end of DACA

Andrew Gillum: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens

A: Strongly Support--As Governor, Andrew will continue to fight mass deportation policies that threaten to split families and hurt Florida's economy.

Andrew Gillum: Protect borders without criminalizing undocumented people

DeSantis fully backs President Donald Trump's moves to enforce border security and deport illegal immigrants. As governor, DeSantis has promised to ban "sanctuary cities" even though virtually no city in Florida has such policies.

One of Gillum's campaign ads called for abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, but he would have no power to enact such a policy as governor.

Gillum slammed Trump's move to restrict federal grants to sanctuary cities in January 2017, saying it was "inconsistent with our highest values" and "we can protect our national security interests and have a secure border without criminalizing people who are here undocumented."

Andrew Gillum: DACA is unconstitutional; opposes any path to citizenship

Ron DeSantis (R): No. Considers DACA unconstitutional. Opposes any path to citizenship.

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. Can protect national security & "have a secure border without criminalizing" undocumented people. Let them get alternative ID drivers' licenses. Continue in-state tuition.

Andy Martin: Support official English; decrease immigration numbers

Martin indicates support of the following principles regarding immigration.
• Decrease the number of immigrants allowed into the country.
• Grant U.S. citizenship to children born in the US only if their parents immigrated legally.
• Establish English as the official national language.

Annette Taddeo: Documented & undocumented immigrants contribute

Augustus Invictus: Screen immigrants for status and ISIS connections

Bernard DeCastro: Increase family reunification visas

Answer: SUPPORT

Bernard DeCastro: Supports a strong immigration policy

Betty Castor: Expedite citizenship for legal immigrants on active duty

CASTOR: America is a nation of immigrants, and we should be open to those who come here legally to pursue their dreams. I would expedite citizenship for legal immigrants who are serving on active duty in the military. We need to make the system of asylum fair and equitable for unique groups like Haitians and Cubans, who are escaping repressive regimes. We must also ensure our borders are secure. Border security is no longer just an issue of immigration, it’s crucial to our fight against terror.

MARTINEZ: Our immigration policy should first and foremost ensure the security of our nation and those individuals posing a terrorist threat should be prevented from entering our country. I strongly oppose amnesty for illegal aliens.

Bill Nelson: Path to citizenship with fines & English proficiency

Brian Mast: We need a high wall with a wide gate

Next, since about 40% of the illegal immigrants in the US come here legally then remain once their visas expire, we need a much better system for tracking visa overstays. America also needs a much more effective and efficient employment verification system so that companies can have confidence the people they hire are legally entitled to work and that large corporations aren't abusing the system. Likewise, we must reform guest worker programs to make sure that American workers aren't being displaced in the process of companies meeting legitimate worker shortages.

Bottom line--it is very easy to come to America illegally, and very hard to come to America legally. That should be reversed. We need a high wall with a wide gate.

Brian Moore: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens

A: Strongly support.ÿ We are a nation of immigrants, and part of our wealth is tapping in to the skills and intelligence and ingenuity of the millions of immigrants who arrived on our shores several centuries ago.ÿ We should improve our vetting system when welcoming immigrants, but at the same time, open our borders and our doors to the millions of refugees and immigrants fleeing war-torn countries, or regions of poverty, famine and violence.ÿ The United States is a vast land, with significant open areas where new communities and impoverished communities can be redeveloped and refurbished to enhance the overall quality of life for every American citizen and foreign individuals living in our land.

Carlos Curbelo: US has duty to secure its borders; with guest worker program

We also have to reform our visa system. Nearly half of all the people living in our country illegally have overstayed their visas. It is unacceptable for a great nation like ours to be incapable of tracking visa holders.

Our immigration system also requires an expanded guest worker program to help fill the jobs Americans do not want (especially in agriculture), and an earned path to legalization for the undocumented who have abided by our laws and contributed to our economy.

A fair solution is also warranted for those who were brought to the country by their parents as minors. These children should not be judged by the actions of their parents.

Carlos Lopez-Cantera: FactCheck: Supports E-Verify, but not racial profiling

The 2010 Arizona law allows police to verify immigration status during other police stops. Lopez-Cantera said about the AZ bill in 2010, "I am concerned that this could jeopardize civil liberties."

In 2011, legislators introduced the Florida Immigration Enforcement Act--not identical to Arizona's law, but for immigrant advocates the legislation raised fears that it would increase racial profiling. Lopez-Cantera said, "This common sense legislation is designed to preserve employment opportunities through the use of the E-Verify system." Lopez-Cantera didn't vote on the bill.

He did voice support; he did call it common sense. But the Democrats cherry-picked one statement Lopez-Cantera made in favor of the bill while ignoring multiple statements he made opposing it. We rate the claim Mostly False.

Charlie Crist: Seal borders; enforce laws; send illegals to back of line

CRIST: I don't think so. We probably agree on this issue. The first thing we need to realize about immigration reform is to make sure that we seal the border. Everything else is an academic conversation unless and until we do that. Second, we need to make sure that we're enforcing the law. Laws on the books don't mean anything if they're not being enforced. And third, those who are already her shouldn't be advantaged by the fact that they got here illegally. They should go to the back of the line, go through the regular process, what the law requires, in order to attain their citizenship.

Q: The immigration reform plan of 2007--you still think those are pretty good ideas?

CRIST: I don't think they're bad ideas. I think that those three principles, though, need to be underscored--protecting the border; enforcing the law that's on the books; and no advantages.

Connie Mack IV: No amnesty for illegal immigrants

Darren Soto: DREAMers pay in-state tuition & have pathway to citizenship

In the Florida Legislature, I've worked across the aisle to get progressive priorities signed into law in a contentious political environment--including bills to allow DREAMers to pay in-state tuition at our public universities and to be admitted to the Florida Bar. Donald Trump wants to deport our DREAMers--I want them to contribute their talents and keep America great. In Congress, I'm going to fight for comprehensive immigration reform starting on Day One.

Edward Janowski: Pathway to citizenship for some, to work thru quagmire

A: A pathway should be made available for some illegal aliens, but definitely not all. Because past administrations and congresses failed to take any positive or proactive actions, this problem has become an emotional quagmire that no one really wants to work on to solve. The hard reality is that some of the solutions won't be pleasant for everyone and it is going to take time and effort to sort through the mess.

Francis Rooney: Controls our borders, immediately

Fred Thompson: Voted for law to abolish sanctuary cities

GIULIANI: New York City had a policy of allowing people who are illegal immigrants to report crime and to put their children in school. Otherwise, we reported every single illegal immigrant that committed a crime. The results were pretty darn good. I brought down crime by over 60%. I brought down homicide by 67%. I had the most legal city in the country. And I took the crime capital of America and I turned it into the safest large city in the country. The senator has never had executive responsibility. He's never had the weight of people's safety and security on his shoulders. I have. And I think I out-performed any expectations.

Fred Thompson: Pledges to veto any immigration bill that involves amnesty

A: Yes, I pledge that. A nation that cannot and will not defend its own borders will not forever remain a sovereign nation. And it's unfair.

John McCain: Illegal immigrants are God's children as well

A: Yes, of course, and we never proposed amnesty. But then you've still got two other aspects of this issue that have to be resolved as well. We need to sit down as Americans and recognize these are God's children as well. And they need some protection under the law; they need some of our love and compassion. I want to assure you that I'll enforce the borders first. We'll solve this immigration problem.

John Rutherford: First and foremost, strengthen wall along southern border

Marco Rubio: Don't count illegal immigrants in the 2010 census

Marco Rubio: AZ law may unreasonably single out some citizens

Marco Rubio: Allow children of illegals to pay in-state college tuition

RUBIO: The only place those bills ever got a hearing was on the floor of the House, and they didn't advance because the Senate didn't want to advance them. Gov. Crist didn't have an interest in them as well.

CRIST: I had an interest in them. How can you say what my interest was?

RUBIO: Well, I never saw you speak out.

Q: But you didn't bring several of these bills to the floor?

RUBIO: Well, they never go out of their committees.

Q: Some critics say you could have done more.

RUBIO: Well, we gave it a hearing. The support wasn't there among the membership at the time, & they were focused at that time on some very serious challenges in a 60-day session.

Marco Rubio: No amnesty in any form, not even back-of-the-line

Having a legal immigration system that works begins with border security. That's not enough; about 1/3 of the folks in this country illegally enter legally & they overstay visas. So we've got to deal with that issue as well.

We've got to deal with the employment aspect of it, because the vast majority of people who enter thi country illegally do so in search of jobs, and jobs are being provided to them. So we need some level of verification system so that employers are required to verify the employment status of their folks.

As far as amnesty, that's where the governor and I disagree. He would have voted for the McCain plan. I think that plan is wrong. If you grant amnesty, in any form, whether it's back of the line or so forth, you will destroy any chance we will ever have of having a legal immigration system that works.

Marco Rubio: GOP DREAM Act: visas for going to college or military

Carmona said, "I think it's a political calculation--that they recognized they cannot win their races and stay in office unless they embrace the Hispanic community."

The original DREAM Act would grant young people who were brought illegally to the US as children a path to citizenship provided that they attend college or serve in the military. Rubio's plan would provide not a path to citizenship but rather non-immigrant visas.

Rubio's spokesman said the proposal is a genuine effort to craft a bipartisan solution when it comes to the legal status of young undocumented immigrants. "Senator Rubio is working in good faith on legislation that can win bipartisan support and help undocumented kids who want to join the military or pursue higher education."

Matt Gaetz: Secure the border and enforce our laws

Matt knows that the first steps in immigration reform are securing the border and enforcing our laws. He supports building a wall and will work to crack down on sanctuary cities & the local officials that allow them to exist.

Mel Martinez: Strongly oppose amnesty for illegal aliens

CASTOR: America is a nation of immigrants, and we should be open to those who come here legally to pursue their dreams. I would expedite citizenship for legal immigrants who are serving on active duty in the military. We need to make the system of asylum fair and equitable for unique groups like Haitians and Cubans, who are escaping repressive regimes. We must also ensure our borders are secure. Border security is no longer just an issue of immigration, it's crucial to our fight against terror.

MARTINEZ: Our immigration policy should first and foremost ensure the security of our nation and those individuals posing a terrorist threat should be prevented from entering our country. I strongly oppose amnesty for illegal aliens.

Mitt Romney: Illegal immigrants shouldn't get tuition break in schools

A: Let me tell you what I did as governor. I said no to driver's licenses for illegals. I said, number two, we're going to make sure that those that come here don't get a tuition break in our schools, which I disagree with other folks on that one. Number three, I applied to have our state police enforce the immigration laws in May, seven months before I was out of office.

Mitt Romney: Enforce employment laws; illegal immigrants will self-deport

GINGRICH: I actually agree that self-deportation will occur if you're single. I would just suggest that grandmothers or grandfathers aren't likely to self-deport.

ROMNEY: Those who come into the country legally would be given an identification card, and if employers hire someone without a card, then those employers would be severely sanctioned. If you do that, people who have come here illegally won't be able to find work. And over time, those people would tend to leave the country, or self-deport. I don't think anyone is interested in going around and rounding up people around the country and deporting 11 million illegal immigrants into America. Let's focus our attention on how to make legal immigration work and stop illegal immigration.

Mitt Romney: English should be the official language of the US

ROMNEY: [to Gingrich]: Did you say that?

GINGRICH: No. What I said was, we want everybody to learn English. I didn't use the word "Spanish." We do not want anyone trapped in a situation where they cannot get a job, they cannot rise. And that's why I think English should be the official language of government, and that's why I think every young American should learn English.

ROMNEY: I think our position on English in our schools and in our nation is the same, which I believe English should be the official language of the United States. I also believe that in our schools, we should teach kids in English. I fought for a program to have English immersion in our schools so our kids could learn in English. I think we agree on this: Kids in this country should learn English so they can have all the jobs and all the opportunity of people who are here.

Neal Dunn: Stop debating; stop amnesty; stop illegal immigration

Newt Gingrich: Use American Express & Visa to verify immigration laws

Newt Gingrich: Romney's "self-deportation" is an Obama-level fantasy

GINGRICH: First of all, you should control the border, which I have pledged to do by January 1, 2014. You should also make deportation easier so when you deport people who shouldn't be here. I actually agree that self-deportation will occur if you're single. If you've only been here a short time. And there are millions of people who faced with that, would go back home, file for a guest worker program and might or might not come back. People who have been here a very long time who are married, who may well have children and grandchildren. And I would just suggest that grandmothers or grandfathers aren't likely to self-deport. I offered a proposal, a citizen panel to review whether or not somebody who had been here a very long time, who had family and who had an American family willing to sponsor them, should be allowed to get residency, but not citizenship.

Newt Gingrich: Not speaking English traps people into not getting jobs

ROMNEY: [to Gingrich]: Did you say that?

GINGRICH: No. What I said was, we want everybody to learn English. I didn't use the word "Spanish." We do not want anyone trapped in a situation where they cannot get a job, they cannot rise.

Q: Governor, that ad quoted you as saying that Speaker Gingrich called Spanish "the language of the ghetto"--we just double- checked.

ROMNEY: Let me ask the speaker a question. Did you say what the ad says or not?

GINGRICH: It's taken totally out of context.

ROMNEY: Oh, OK, he said it.

GINGRICH: No. I did not say it about Spanish. I said, in general, about all languages. We are better for children to learn English in general, period.

Nikki Fried: Fought against Florida ban on "sanctuary cities"

Philip Levine: Fully supports a pathway to citizenship for immigrants

Rick Santorum: We need immigration; but we need respect of the law

SANTORUM: I actually agree with Governor Romney. The bottom line is that we need to enforce the laws in this country. We are a country of laws. My grandfather came to this country because he wanted to come to a country that respected him. And a country that respects you is a country that lives by the laws that they have. And the first act when they come to this country, is to disobey a law, it's not a particularly welcome way to enter this country. We have to have a country that not only do you respect the law when you come here, but you respect the law when you stay here. And people who have come to this country illegally have broken the law repeatedly. If you're here, unless you're here on a trust fund, you've been working illegally.

Rick Scott: In-state tuition for illegals, as part of tuition cap deal

Scott's decision to back the legislation is a sharp turn from 2010, when as a candidate for governor he promised to pass tougher immigration laws. He made comments blaming immigrants for costing the state "countless billions" and taking jobs from U.S. residents. Just last year Scott vetoed a bill would have allowed some young immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally to apply for a temporary driver's license.

Scott for the last two years has opposed tuition hikes, saying they were putting the price of college out of reach for students.

Rocky De La Fuente: We have a rich history of embracing immigrants

Ron DeSantis: Supports E-Verify; opposes sanctuary cities

Alachua and Clay counties have been accused of being sanctuary areas for not complying with detention requests in some instances, but those claims are disputed as well.

DeSantis also wants to enact an E-Verify law requiring employers to check the immigration status of their workers. It's an idea Gov. Rick Scott pushed in his first year in office but quickly dropped when it failed to get through the Legislature.

Ron DeSantis: DACA is unconstitutional; opposes any path to citizenship

Ron DeSantis (R): No. Considers DACA unconstitutional. Opposes any path to citizenship. DACA "amnesty" would further incentivize illegal immigration & chain migration. Fire officials who abet sanctuary cities.

Andrew Gillum (D): Yes. Can protect national security "without criminalizing" undocumented people.

Ron DeSantis: No sanctuary cities in Florida

Ron DeSantis: End catch and release, finish the border wall

Ron DeSantis: Pull over drivers suspected of transporting immigrants

Rudy Giuliani: Sanctuary city policy helped make NYC most legal city in US

GIULIANI: New York City had a policy of allowing people who are illegal immigrants to report crime and to put their children in school. Otherwise, we reported every single illegal immigrant that committed a crime. The results were pretty darn good. I brought down crime by over 60%. I brought down homicide by 67%. I had the most legal city in the country. And I took the crime capital of America and I turned it into the safest large city in the country. The senator has never had executive responsibility. He's never had the weight of people's safety and security on his shoulders. I have. And I think I out-performed any expectations.

Rudy Giuliani: BorderStat & virtual fence: just stop people from coming in

A: The federal policies weren't working, stopping people coming into the United States. If I were president of the United States, I could do something about that by deploying a fence, by deploying a virtual fence, by having a BorderStat system like my COMSTAT system that brought down crime in New York, and just stopping people from coming in, and then having a tamper-proof ID card.

Rudy Giuliani: A special policy for Cuban immigrants fleeing Castro

A: Well, of course, this was developed in the 1960s, because the longest dictatorship, I believe, in the modern world, is the one of Fidel Castro. The presumption is that if you're fleeing Fidel Castro, given decades and decades of murder, oppression--including, most recently, the way he cracked down on Brothers to the Rescue, all of these things--there's a presumption in the immigration law that if you're fleeing Fidel Castro, you're fleeing political persecution. In every other situation, you have to prove it. If you can prove that you're fleeing political persecution, you'll be accepted. We've had this exception now for, what, for 40 years? And I think it's a fair one, given the history of Castro, which is a pretty unusual one. And he is the longest-standing dictator, certainly in this hemisphere, I believe in the world.

Rudy Giuliani: Support tamper-proof ID card and path to citizenship

Ted Yoho: First, secure the borders; then a path to citizenship

A: Yes.

Q: Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police?

A: Yes. Washington has failed to lead on this issue. The first thing we must do is secure the borders. The technology and infrastructure exists to do so. The second thing we must do is issue an ID card for all non-US citizens presently in the US. We need to create a workable guest worker program that will allow migrant workers to go back and forth from their home countries to the United States without hassle. They would pay taxes into the general fund but not receive any benefits. Finally, we need to streamline the path to citizenship.

Tom Tancredo: I'm not going to aid any more immigration

A: I'm not going to aid any more immigration into this country. I reject the idea, categorically, that there are jobs that, quote, "No American will take." But am I going to feel sorry if a business has to increase its wages in order for somebody in this country to make a good living? No, I don't feel sorry about that and I won't apologize for it for a moment. And there are plenty of Americans who will do those jobs.

Val Demings: Supports Kate's Law: harsher sentences on deported migrants

Demings, who is running for Florida's Senate seat against Republican incumbent Marco Rubio, touted her experience as a former police officer in the campaign ad before she separates herself from Democrats.

"I learned as a police officer you stand up for what's right, no matter what--that's how you put the bad guys away and keep Florida safe," she said. "In Congress, I did the same. I stood up to those in my party who wanted to defund the police. I was one of a few Democrats who voted to make sure violent criminals go to jail and stay there."

The ad also references Kate's Law, a bill introduced in the House in 2017 that seeks to impose harsher sentences on migrants who are deported and reenter the U.S. and migrants with convictions.