$3.4 million dollars. That’s how much it cost to run Alligator Alcatraz in a single day, every single day. Total running cost? $1.2 billion dollars. While that happened, the cost of living here in Florida spiked above the national average, with out of control utility prices, rent prices almost twice as expensive as they were pre-pandemic, and grocery bills running higher than ever. Our immigrant neighbors are not making it harder for us to live, but the rich and powerful fear mongering over immigration literally are. It’s not just racist, it’s fiscally irresponsible, and it has to end.
I completely oppose the state and federal overreach into local law enforcement and school resources to push immigration enforcement. Our police officers should be in the field catching real criminals not racially profiling and terrorizing our migrant communities who contribute to society. I will push legislation to end the collaboration of local and state police agencies with federal immigration agencies to round up innocent families in inhumane detention camps.
We need to support due process protections for undocumented migrants and oppose state policy that punishes immigrant workers and their employers. Immigrants are an essential part of our economy; they work construction jobs, they’re our service workers, nurses, janitors. They provide culture, their time, their money, their love for our country. They keep our country alive and well, and it’s time we protect them, not demonize them.
Backs policy that allows immigrant residents to access driver licenses and basic public safety services regardless of status. Everyone deserves to feel safe and welcomed in our beautiful state.