GOP Sen. Garcia opposes House immigration-enforcement bill

Florida Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, who is also the chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, said today that he opposes a state House immigration-enforcement bill he says “presents a significant threat to individual freedom because of the potential of racial profiling.”

In a press release issued today, Garcia says “there are striking differences between the two immigration reform bills HB 7089 presented by Representative William Snyder and SB 2040 presented by Senator Anitere Flores that should be acknowledged. Fundamental freedoms and right to privacy weigh heavily with the senator in his decision to swing his support to one version of the bill over the other.”

Immigrant-rights advocates, religious organizations, and business groups have voiced strong opposition to both Republican-sponsored immigration-enforcement bills.

The Miami Herald reported yesterday:

Starting on Wednesday, three organizations — Democracia Inc., SEIU Florida and America’s Voice Education Fund — will begin airing Spanish-language radio advertisements calling out two Miami Republicans, Sen. Anitere Flores and Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera.

We Are Florida! issued a pledge last Friday to the Miami-Dade legislative delegation that states that either “Arizona light” S.B. 2040 or the “Arizona heavy” H.B. 7089 would hurt the social fabric of our community, harm the state’s economy, and create a huge financial burden for state and local governments by having local law enforcement take on the task of enforcing federal immigration law.