Florida state Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Elkton, wants to enhance penalties for crimes committed by,“aliens unlawfully present in the United States.”
The bill died last year, but advocates are worried now that President-elect Donald Trump successfully waged an anti-immigration campaign. Florida Immigrant Coalition policy director Francesca Menes:
“Based on the recent election and who got elected, and a lot of the promises and commitments that he made, we expect that all of our communities, for the most part, are going to be under attack," she says.
A Senate committee chairman refused to hear Hutson’s bill last year. He has narrowed the bill’s scope, but Menez says it still would not withstand a constitutional challenge.
Rep. Dane Eagle, R-Cape Coral, is backing the bill in the Florida House of Representatives.
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