A.G. Gancarski
On Monday, the Florida House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee approved the House version of a bill intended to crack down on so-called “sanctuary cities” in the Sunshine State, over the objections of Democrats and committee members on myriad grounds.
It is the first of three committee stops for HB 697, sponsored by Republican Rep. Larry Metz. The Senate version, carried by Aaron Bean, has yet to be heard in committee.
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The so-called “Rule of Law Adherence Act” requires wayward local authorities to comply with federal immigration law, giving the State Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General the “right to nudge” noncompliant jurisdictions toward enforcement.
The bill creates a “duty to report” immigration violations for local authorities, while allowing for local ordinances compelling reimbursement of costs incurred on the local level in immigration enforcement.
Duty to report would extend to anyone in government who knew immigration law was being violated, Metz said, though there is an exemption related to educational records — and therefore school staff, as Metz pointed out.
“It’s not really intended that school districts would have a sanctuary policy beyond that federal law allows,” Metz said.
Metz noted that the bill requires the repeal of existing sanctuary policies among cities that have them within 90 days of enactment. The bill provides a civil cause of action for those assaulted or killed by illegals also, against a jurisdiction that permitted that alien to be here.
In discussing the damage potentially caused due to lack of enforcement, Metz explained the Kate Steinle example in San Francisco, noting that cause of action had to be proved about the sanctuary policy of a given jurisdiction.
Metz noted that sanctuary policies, across the country, inhibit the flow of information from local to federal authorities about people in the country illegally.
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Regarding potential wrongful detention of naturalized citizens under this bill, and potential claims bills in the future, as a result, Metz noted that “those are rare occurrences” and that there would be “due diligence” on the federal level, mitigating the chance of error.
“To me, I’m going to get locked up. Even if I have my paperwork, I’ll be locked up,” said Rep. John Cortes, a Kissimmee Democrat concerned with the potential of wrongful imprisonment.
Metz stated his belief in the “good faith” of enforcement personnel, expressing hope that “reasonableness” would continue.
Cortes was unmollified, looking for safeguards in the legislation to protect people with similar names as illegal aliens. who might be scooped up by law enforcement.
Answering a question about a detainer request, Metz noted that the outer limit of such a detainer is 48 hours, except on weekends and holidays.
Rep. Jared Diamond questioned the phrase “facial sufficiency” as grounds for detainment, which Metz defined as “reason to believe … that person is here illegally and ought to be detained.”
A prior felony conviction, over three misdemeanors, or evidence that the person should not be in the United States all exemplify facial sufficiency, in Metz’s conception.
After Metz answered a series of questions on the bill, waves of opposition abounded, presaging speakers expressing concerns about the bill leading to racial profiling and other consequences.
Ingrid Delgado, representing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted that “unlawful presence, in and of itself, is not a crime” and that local law enforcement of immigration violations compromise both ability of local police forces to fight crime and their ability to get information from those communities.
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Democrats continued to press their case in debating the bill, even as the committee numbers were against them.
Rep. Cortes continued expressing his concerns, including raising the specter of municipal bankruptcies based on lawsuits over wrongful detention.
Rep. Sean Shaw, another Democrat, was concerned over “our federal government’s recent attitude toward immigration,” giving ICE detainers the “force of law.”
Rep. Ben Diamond withheld support for the bill also, saying that reasons for detainment didn’t reach the threshold of probable cause.
Despite these objections, Metz held fast — and the committee backed the bill.
“If you’re going to have a system of legal immigration,” Metz said, it’s essential to reinforce “rule of law” relative to illegal immigration.
It will move on to the Local, Federal and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee and the Judiciary Committee before getting considered by the full Florida House.
