Florida Republican Governor Rick Scott has put forth a bill that if passed would authorize Florida leadership to use military power in order to restrict and remove immigrants they cannot unequivocally prove are harmless.
Scott’s bill refers to 9/11 as justification, saying that since that date, Florida has been under imminent threat of attack from foreign invaders. The bill, dubbed the “Prevention of Acts of War” bill, would also place a widespread restriction on any immigrants who come from a place that is associated with terrorism (i.e. Syrians).
To put it simply, this bill is the physical manifestation of anti-refugee and anti-Muslim sentiment that has become widespread in the U.S., particularly in the Republican party.
Opponent of the bill, Democratic Rep. Dave Kerner calls it “offensive,” and argues that even having to debate on it is insulting.
“It’s unconstitutional, it’s offensive, it does nothing for the safety and protection of our state and it’s highly ineffective and very subjective. I could go on for hours about problems I have with the bill.”
In addition to allowing the Governor to ban immigrants at his discretion, it would also severely limit state funding to any person or entity who attempted to circumvent the ruling and help an immigrant or refugee in need.
This bill is unconstitutional in every way, and will hopefully be struck down by the Supreme Court if it is passed, but it will be a dark shadow on American history if it ever gets that far.
