Dear Members of the Florida Legislature,

As Florida business leaders, employers, and faith and education leaders, we write to you regarding a package of proposals addressing immigration policy in Florida.   

Immigrants, documented and undocumented, have made up the heart and soul of Florida for decades. One in five Florida residents is an immigrant, and the state benefits enormously from the diversity, energy, and contributions of our immigrant communities. Almost 400,000 are entrepreneurs, with $8.1 billion per year in business income. Immigrant households earn $138.6 billion per year, pay $31.4 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, and have a total spending power of $107.3 billion. Since 2013, DACA recipients in Florida have earned $3.608 billion and contributed $329 million in state and local taxes. Projecting through 2032, Florida DACA recipient wages through 2032 will be $19.5 billion and state/local tax contributions will be $15.5 billion.

We are concerned that the proposals will create a number of challenges for many faith-based organizations by criminalizing the humanitarian work they do while carrying out their spiritual or professional mission to support our state's youngest and most vulnerable.

For example, I believe we all agree that the children of undocumented adults should and must be treated differently, and today, a vast network of faith groups, schools and nonprofits transport undocumented children to and from places of worship, schools, after-school programs, and social services. One of the legislative proposals would make it a third-degree felony to transport an undocumented immigrant from Point A to Point B.

The prospect that they would be committing a crime by doing this work is profoundly unfair to both these hard-working service providers and the young people they serve. It especially goes against their  spiritual calling and duty to serve and protect our most vulnerable amongst us. These restrictions, were they to be imposed, will put faith leaders in an untenable position between their most deeply held moral and spiritual beliefs and extremist laws.

In addition, these proposals could end up targeting individuals who are here escaping the tyranny of regimes throughout Latin America, namely places like Venezuela and Cuba.   As you know, many of these refugees do not have immediate status, meaning not only do these bills put them at risk, they also put their families at risk, as they wait on a broken immigration system to provide them permanency.

Further, some of these proposals could negatively impact the ability of undocumented children – children who would be DACA eligible of Congress would take action – children who today, assuming they have lived in Florida at least 3 years before entering college, are eligible for waiver from out-of-state tuition under the law passed overwhelmingly by the Florida Legislature in 2014.

We all know Washington, one day, needs to act to solve a problem that has been kicked down the road for too long.  We also understand the need for Florida to take care of its own borders, but we pray, as you wrestle with the broad range of proposals out there this year, and their inevitable vast swath of impact across every aspect of life in our state for both undocumented people and citizens— that a balance can be struck that remembers that many who are undocumented are in fact, victims themselves – children brought here by family, and both children and adults who are seeking refuge from violent regimes who have forced them from their homes.

Sincerely,