A.G. Gancarski
A bill filed for the 2017 Legislative Session by Sen. Travis Hutson and Rep. Dane Eagle seeks to enhance penalties for violent crimes from illegal immigrants.
“Reclassification of crimes” legislation would increase penalties for violent crimes committed by illegals by one degree from the baseline penalty.
A third-degree misdemeanor would become a second-degree misdemeanor, and so on, under this legislation, which sees escalations similar to current hate crimes legislation (a genre which will see expansion this session, via enhanced penalties for hate crimes against law enforcement.)
Hutson, who hails from St. Johns County, notes in a press release that he is “focused on going after violent illegal immigrants only” to “ensure that all people in Florida, whether they be residents or visitors, are protected from these violent actors.”
Eagle says the federal government has been “asleep at the wheel.”
While the state lacks the authority to deport these bad actors, Eagle adds that Florida can “prosecute them to the full extent of the law,” and make that law even “tougher.”
