Last Thursday, in Tallahassee, the Florida House Judiciary Committee approved an immigration bill. The new Florida immigration reform plan would require police to check the immigration status of a person who is under arrest or is the subject of a criminal investigation. That language stops short of Arizona’s controversial law, which requires police to determine a person’s immigration status whenever the officer makes “any lawful contact” with the individual.
The bill will also require Florida businesses to use the federal government’s electronic verification program to check whether new employees are eligible to work in the U.S. All businesses will be required to use E-verify by 2013. Those that do not and employ illegal immigrants could see their Florida licenses revoked.
The Florida House Judiciary Committee voted to approve the bill, originally tailored after Arizona’s immigration law, in an attempt to crack down on illegal immigration in Florida.
The bill passed by a vote of 12 -6, along party lines.