Florida Legislators Cite Concerns Over ‘Sanctuary Cities’ in Latest Immigration Move

The American immigration system has been in the spotlight for weeks now, as President Trump continues to battle Congress regarding border security.

Donald Trump campaigned heavily on the idea that he would build a “big, beautiful” wall on the southern border, separating the United States from Mexico.  The hope was to curb the illegal crossings of those who would bring drugs, violence, or worse into our country, thus redirecting the asylum seekers and future citizens to the lawful ports of entry.

The democrats, in their blind “resistance” to all things Trump, have chosen instead to grind the immigration debate to halt by repeatedly rebuking and infuriating the President.  Trump has responded in kind by threatening to close the southern border, and by declaring a national emergency in order to free up funds for his wall.

This latter plan will be held up in the courts for some time.

In response to Trump’s plan, a great many liberal locales have begun designating themselves as “sanctuary cities” in protest.  In these areas, undocumented immigrants will not be subject to prosecution merely for their citizenship status.

Florida lawmakers are now growing concerned about what kind of message these “sanctuary cities” are sending, and are making some tough decisions.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for a ban on sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Several bills making their way through the state legislature would effectively make it against the law for police departments to refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials. If a law enforcement official refuses, they could be fined or fired.

“This problem that we have right now, is a problem that has been festering in the United States because it has not been solved by the federal government for the past 40 years,” said Florida Republican Rep. Blaise Ingoglia. “Quite frankly, you know since the last mass amnesty, if you will, in 1986 under Ronald Reagan, we were always promised that we would have some sort of… legal immigration reform and it never came.”

If passed, Florida would become the 10th state in the US to force local authorities to comply with federal immigration laws.

Opponents of the bill see it as an overreach of the federal government into communities that are perfectly regulated via the local authorities.