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It’s hard to get the Miami-Dade County Commission to agree on anything, but every single member voted today for a resolution that asks the state legislature to cool it on all those crazy conservative immigration bills they’ve been trying to pass. The Florida Legislature will, more than likely, totally ignore the resolution, but its uncontested passage sends a message that the biggest county in the state is not politically friendly to its plans.
The resolution was sponsored by Audrey M. Edmonson, the commission’s Vice Chairwoman, who herself is a Liberty City native.
It noted that “65 percent of the residents of Miami-Dade County are Hispanic or Latino; and
… of the non-Hispanic population, 17 percent are White and 17 percent are African American or Black with a significant part being of Caribbean descent, and … approximately one-half of the people living in Miami-Dade County were born in another country.”
The resolution then goes on to critic not only the controversial immigration law passed in Arizona, but failed attempts drafted in the Florida legislature last session to pass a similar law here:
WHEREAS, passage of an immigration bill in Florida could lead to racial profiling and could adversely impact Florida’s economy; and
WHEREAS, a Florida immigration law may deter international tourists from traveling to Florida, hurting a key sector of the Florida economy, and Miami-Dade County’s economy in particular; and
WHEREAS, the e-verify aspects of the immigration bills considered during the 2011 session would place additional burdens on Florida businesses to determine immigration status; and
WHEREAS, immigration is a federal responsibility that should be left in the hands of the federal government to address,
The resolution urges the state legislature not to pass any immigration bills, and leave the issue up to the federal Government. However, Republican Senate President Mike Haridopolis has already signaled that he is likely to bring another Arizona-style immigration bill up to vote next year.
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