Sunshine State

Florida’s attorney general announced yesterday that they were introducing new legislation with regards to immigration. The proposed legislation for the most part mirrors the Arizona immigration law. It allows the police to inquire about the immigration status of individuals that are all ready detained if the police have reasonable suspicion. In other words if the police pull someone over for speeding after witnessing them cross the boarder and the suspect does not have a license or any form of identification and does not speak English, the police officer can then inquire about there immigration status.
The Florida law does differ in a few ways, it is actually even tougher on illegal aliens. For one this law makes it a misdemeanor for an alien (legal or not) to not have proper immigration documentation. This law also imposes tougher penalties for illegal-aliens if they commit certain crimes (like armed robbery & drug charges). Another difference is the Florida law would require businesses to verify the immigration status of new employees through a national database.
This law has not passed yet but kudos to Florida. If this passes it will help the Arizona’s and the nation’s situation significantly. For one this will help build momentum for more and more states to pass similar laws. Also the Arizona law is being fought in the 9th circuit court of appeals. The 9th circuit court of appeals is a very left wing court and is actually the most overturned court of appeals in the country. In all likelihood this court will attempt to drag the case out, since currently the Arizona law was been mostly overturned, and when they finally rule on it they will probably rule against Arizona causing it to go to the Supreme Court for a final ruling. If the Florida law passes and the Obama administration sues them it will likely end up in a more conservative court of appeals. If the court were to side with Florida it would put pressure on the 9th circus court to make a ruling. With multiple courts ruling differently it would push the Supreme Court to hear the case faster.
Ultimately, if all goes well this should force the federal government to enforce there own laws and finally do something about the boarders. If the Feds will not enforce there own laws then the states should have the right to protect themselves.
My Jiu-Jitsu school in Maryland flies us all over the county and the world to compete in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournaments. In the past year I have been to Florida twice (Miami & Tamp Bay). Over all Florida seemed like a decent place and was nice place to visit. I also like a lot of the laws in Florida and only wish my state would adopt some of them (Like the gun laws). There is absolutely no way for me to know what the illegal population is from visiting. However according to the Department of Homeland Security in 2009 Florida had an estimated 720,000 illegal aliens, which is the 3rd highest in the country (Only Texas and California is Higher).
I am planning on doing some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu trips coming up soon. One of the ones I was already planning on was going back to Florida in October for the Miami Open. I am also planning on going to Arizona but I not sure yet when that is going to be. It would be great if I could go and support all of the states that are helping to secure our boarders.