Scott Powers
A coalition of mostly progressive community and justice reform groups vowed Monday to battle for criminal justice reform, to aid immigrants of all status, and to oppose measures they contend strip freedoms under the guise of fear.
Representatives of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, Jobs with Justice, the New Florida Majority, Organize Florida, Dream Defenders, and other groups told journalists Thursday that the 2019 Legislative Session was, in the words of Jonathan Alingu, co-director of Central Florida Jobs With Justice, “one of the worst for Floridian people in general.”
“Coming into this year, we’re making sure that doesn’t happen again. And we’re pushing back,” Alingu said.
Specifically, the coalition laid out his priorities for criminal justice reform that prevents prison sentences for many non-violent offenders, or gets those already imprisoned released; to address climate change, restoration of voting rights to felons; expansion of access to health care; to address homelessness, to increase access to affordable housing; and to provide assistance to immigrants, particularly by allowing undocumented immigrants obtain drivers’ licenses.
While many of those issues have bipartisan support, much of what occurred in 2019 for such areas of health care access and affordable housing fell short well of the coalition’s goals, and other measures, such as Senate Bill 168, which banned sanctuary cities in Florida, were described as major setbacks and measures that sewed fear.
Criminal justice reform may be one area in which the coalition’s goals may come close to aligning with Republican leadership.
“There are a lot bills on criminal justice, a log of good bipartisan support. We really have to make sure we push, particularly House leadership on these issues,” said Ida Eskamani, a community lobbyist for New Florida Majority, Organize Florida and the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
There are others, she suggested.
“As we know with this Legislature, it’s not an issue of resources. It’s an issue of priorities,” Eskamani said. “So we’ll absolutely front-and-center demanding affordable housing, demanding funding our public education, and demanding we fund the broken prison system.”
