But Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, argued that while undocumented immigrants’ presence in the country may be illegal, it is a civil offense that does not warrant proactive criminal prosecution.
“Contrary to popular belief, even undocumented residents of the state and this country have constitutional rights,” Smith said.
Smith introduced six amendments that would have scaled back the bill, but the proposals were defeated in a succession of voice votes.
Baez offered emotional testimony against the bill, citing her immigration from the Dominican Republic in 1972 and a long journey from struggling to support her young family to success as a health-care executive in South Florida.
Baez said the move to consider the bill reflected a troubling trend of anti-immigration rhetoric at the federal level.
“I have never felt as unwanted and as unvilified as I do now,” said Baez. “We are not criminals.”
The American Civil Liberties Union took issue with a proposed requirement that law-enforcement officers detain possible illegal immigrants for 48-hour periods after arrests on separate charges to determine their immigration status.
