News & Public Affairs

Two state lawmakers call for AZ-style immigration law listen

07/14/10 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: immigration, immigration reform, immigration laws, Paula Dockery, Kevin Ambler, Jim Norman, Charlie Crist, special session, Arizona, SB 1070, racial profiling

An Arizona-style immigration law is one step closer to getting onto the books in Florida. Today two state legislators called on their colleagues to take up three bills related to undocumented immigrants. State Rep. Kevin Ambler, a Tampa Republican who is sponsoring the House bills, said there is overwhelming support for a crackdown on so-called illegal immigration.

"A special session is a very appropriate venue for us to bring an issue forward that is at the forefront of voter's minds. An...

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Refugees become citizens at World Refugee Day listen

06/21/10 Joshua Lee Holton
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Tags: World Refugee Day, refugees, immigration

Many local refugees can now call America their true home this week. On Saturday the Tampa Bay Refugee Task Force celebrated World Refugee Day with naturalization ceremonies, awards, films, and resettlement services from local refugee organizations in Tampa and Largo.

Waving small American flags, newly naturalized US refugees were declared citizens, some after waiting almost a decade. The Tampa Bay Refugee Task Force is a coalition of the dozens of l...

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Demonstrators urge Sen. LeMieux to support the DREAM Act listen

06/09/10 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Dream Act, immigration reform, immigration, George LeMieux

Today demonstrators in three Florida cities urged US Senator George LeMieux to cosponsor the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM Act. Tampa was one of these. The act would give conditional residency to some undocumented students who were brought to the US as minors if they go to college or join the military. Currently, many are subject to deportation. Jessica Sanchez with Students Working for Equal Rights organized the Tampa event.

The bill was first proposed in 20...

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AG McCollum says he supports AZ immigration law listen

05/14/10 Kate Bradshaw
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Tags: Bill McCollum, AZ Immigration law, immigration, immigration reform

Yesterday Attorney General Bill McCollum said he now supports the controversial immigration reform the Arizona legislature passed last month. While he had originally called the law “far out,” he says that key changes make it more palatable.

McCollum now supports Arizona’s sweeping immigration reform, which gives local law enforcement the right to demand legal papers of suspected undocumented immigrants with little or no evidence. Despite the changes, the law still draws fire from scores o...

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Haitians in US can seek Temporary Protected Status beginning tomorrow listen

01/20/10 Seán Kinane
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Tags: Haiti Earthquake, Haiti, immigration, TPS

Beginning tomorrow Haitian nationals in the U.S. will be able to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Any Haitian who was in the U.S. before the earthquake devastated their home country is eligible for 18 months amnesty from deportation.

Stuart Dresser, director of the Tampa Field Office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced in a press conference this afternoon that the application window opens tomorrow. “During the de...

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Citizenship Day reflection on immigration debate and Florida voter trends listen

09/16/09 Seán Kinane
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Tags: immigration

Tomorrow is Citizenship Day, which recognizes the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and those who have become citizens. The Reform Immigration for America Campaign is stressing the importance of the day for the immigration debate and for voter trends in Florida. Doug Rivlin is their communications director.

In a conference call on Wednesday, Rivlin said that more than 8,000 people will take the oath of citizenship on Thursday and 360,000 have done so in the last four years. One of tho...

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Immigration advocates psyched for action this year listen

06/24/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: politics, immigration, immigration reform, illegal immigrants

In anticipation of a meeting on immigration between members of Congress and President Barack Obama tomorrow, advocates for getting immigration reform spoke today on a conference call.

Tamar Jacoby is president & CEO of Immigration Works, a business oriented organization.

Mark Lauritsen is vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers. He spoke angrily of some high profile immigration raids made last year by the Immigration & Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). Frank Sharry, ...

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Latino advocates say GOP still doesn't get it listen

01/28/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Immigration, politics, Republicans

The Latino vote went overwhelmingly for Barack Obama in the 2008 election, a big difference than what happened between John Kerry and George W. Bush in 2004.

Tomorrow, a group of conservatives are expected to present a report in Washington that will show in detail that every single House Republican who lost last year was because they either supported amnesty, or the Democrat supported tough border security.

The event is called “Immigration and the Future of the Republican Party”, and w...

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Sami Al-Arian to go on trial on contempt charges listen

01/16/09 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: Sami Al-Arian, civil liberties, Race, racism, immigration, ICE, Muslims, USF, human rights, terrorism

A federal judge in Virginia ruled today that Sami Al-Arian should stand trial in March for criminal contempt.

The ruling was a blow to the former USF professor, who was released on bail by Judge Leonie Brinkema back in September after being incarcerated in numerous prisons and jails since his arrest in February 2003 on federal terrorism charges.

Mel Underbakke is with the group Friends of Human Rights. She says she was one of nearly two dozen supporters of Al-Arian from Tampa in the ...

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Latinos vote in record numbers in 2008 listen

11/13/08 Mitch E. Perry
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Tags: 2008 election, Barack Obama, immigration, Latino voters

Latinos in the U.S. took into consideration harsh rhetoric about undocumented immigrants, and that played a part in their strong support of Barack Obama in last week’s election.

That was the message issued by a group of officials in Washington today.

Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a relatively new organization advocating for comprehensive immigration reform, said that has been a lack of political will by Washington-based elected officials. He blamed it on faulty ...

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