Politics

Barbara Sharief files ‘Patterson’s Law’ to help parents disprove false child abuse claims

Published

2 weeks ago

January 18, 2025

The story of a South Florida couple whose children were taken away by the state three years ago is now the inspiration for legislation by freshman Sen. Barbara Sharief.

Sharief, a Broward County Democrat, filed SB 304, titled “Patterson’s Law,” to guarantee parents the right to request examinations from a licensed physician in the event of suspected child abuse. Under current Florida law, Sharief’s office said there is no such recourse for families to disprove abuse allegations once a state welfare agency determines there are physical symptoms present, regardless of whether there is a valid, medically provable explanation.

The measure is named for Michael and Tasha Patterson and their twin sons, whom the Department of Children and Families (DCF) took into custody and haven’t returned after broken bones the boys suffered raised alarms during an emergency room visit.

The couple has taken the matter to court, citing medical evidence showing that like their mother, the boys suffer from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes easy bruising and fragile bones.

They’ve cited expert analyses of the twins’ medical records to no avail. Dr. Irman Forghani, a doctor at Mount Sinai Medical Center, told WSVN last month that one of the boys “continued to show new fractures while the child was not in” their parents’ custody.

Another doctor said the twins had fractured bones in utero.

Similar instances of family separation due to previously undiagnosed Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have occurred across the country, Sharief’s office said, “due to a lack of proper diagnosed medical conditions.”

One such case occurred in Jacksonville, when a couple faced harsh media attention and public condemnation — including calls for them to be jailed, tortured and executed — after it was discovered that their young daughter had more broken bones than weeks in her life.

As was the case with the Pattersons, the DCF took Brooke Bornhorst and Will Meade’s daughter and two other children away and fast-tracked them for adoption. The couple was then charged with felony child abuse.

A lengthy legal fight ensued, during which it was revealed their daughter also had Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. The state ultimately dropped its charges and returned the children, by which time ample and potentially irreparable mental, monetary and reputational damage had been done to the family.

“Parents that were wrongfully accused subsequently lost their children and were ostracized by their communities,” Sharief’s office said. “As a result, children are often removed from their homes and frequently pushed into an already overburdened foster system.”

In a statement, the Pattersons said they’ve endured “an emotionally draining and mentally exhausting journey,” suffering “countless sleepless nights yearning for the return of our children.”

They said they’ve exhausted their finances to fight “a battle that never should have been necessary.”

“We pray that this bill will bring much-needed change, sparing other families the pain and suffering we have faced, and offering a path to swift resolution. We love our children more than words can express, and all we want is to see them home—safe, happy, and sleeping in their own beds each night.”

SB 304 does not yet have a House sponsor.

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Politics

Gov. DeSantis ready to ‘get in the game’ of migrant transfers to GITMO

Published

55 minutes ago

January 31, 2025

May Greene

President Trump has ordered the Cuba-based detention center to be prepped for full capacity as part of his deportation push.

Saying Guantánamo Bay is a “hell of a lot closer” to Florida than Martha’s Vineyard, Ron DeSantis reiterated interest in sending migrants there in accordance with a Donald Trump executive order.

“I think it’d be a great place, quite frankly, to have criminal aliens,” DeSantis said Friday in Destin, adding that Florida is “going to be able to assist” moving undocumented immigrants to the base in Cuba.

The Governor has made this case all week that the state is a logical launching pad for deportations.

DeSantis posted to social media Wednesday that he’s “happy to send flights from Florida down that way with deportees in tow,” in the wake of Trump saying he’s telling the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to “begin preparing the 30,000 person migrant facility at Guantánamo Bay” for an influx of undocumented immigrants.

“What better state to take advantage of that than the state of Florida,” he told podcaster Dave Rubin Tuesday.

DeSantis also said this week “deputized” state forces who can “make the same decisions” as Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Border Patrol could also “take them back to Haiti or the Bahamas or wherever they are coming from, right on the spot” if they “intercept them on the sea.”

The Trump Executive Order calls “to expand the Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay to full capacity to provide additional detention space for high-priority criminal aliens unlawfully present in the United States, and to address attendant immigration enforcement needs … in order to halt the border invasion, dismantle criminal cartels, and restore national sovereignty.”

It does not contemplate a state role in extradition or extraterritorial transport.

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GOP strategist Justin Hollis joins Weatherford Capital, will lead growth and partnerships

Published

1 hour ago

January 31, 2025

May Greene

Justin Hollis, a veteran consultant and political strategist, is joining Weatherford Capital as Vice President of Growth and Partnerships, the firm announced this month.

Hollis previously served as a partner at The Southern Group, one of the state’s top lobbying firms by compensation and one of the top firms in the southeastern U.S. There, he forged valuable relationships with private investment firms and elected officials, making him an asset to Weatherford Capital, a firm co-founded by former Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford.

“Justin’s exceptional leadership, keen understanding of policy, and unwavering commitment to excellence align with our mission,” said Weatherford, the firm’s managing partner. “As our portfolio companies continue to grow and transform industries, Justin will play an integral role in advancing that growth with his experience and relationships.”

Before his work with The Southern Group, Hollis was the executive director of the Beer Industry of Florida, where he advocated for the state’s largest beer distributors in one of the state’s most complex regulated industries.

“I am thrilled to embark on this exciting new opportunity with the exceptional team at Weatherford Capital,” Hollis said. “Their investments are propelling some of the nation’s greatest innovations forward and yielding strong returns for their investors. With my experience in leadership, policy, and business development, I aim to advance those initiatives further.”

Hollis will be based in Weatherford Capital’s Tampa office, a short drive from Lakeland, where he lives with his wife Rachel and their two children.

In addition to his service with The Southern Group and the Beer Industry of Florida, Hollis was one of former Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam’s longtime strategists. He also previously chaired Putnam’s political committee, Florida Grown PC, throughout Putnam’s unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2018. With Hollis as chair, that committee reeled in more than $29.5 million in contributions.

Hollis quietly announced his departure from the Beer Industry of Florida earlier this month when the organization announced it was merging with the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association.

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Politics

Anna Paulina Luna seeks significant restrictions on immigrants claiming asylum

Published

2 hours ago

January 31, 2025

May Greene

As Republicans look at changing legal immigration, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wants Congress to change asylum rules.

She filed the House version of the Refugees Using Legal Entry Safely (RULES) Act.

“The days of open-border chaos are over,” the St. Petersburg Republican said.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, filed similar legislation in the Senate earlier this month.

“I’m joining Senator Moreno in introducing the RULES Act to put an end to the rampant fraud and abuse in our asylum system. America is a nation of law and order—not a free-for-all for illegal aliens gaming the system,” Luna said.

“If you want asylum in the greatest country on Earth, you follow our rules, period. No more loopholes, no more catch-and-release, no more second chances for lawbreakers. We are taking our border back.”

The bill would restrict asylum claims only to those entering the country at legal ports of entry. It also stated individuals making any claims cannot be released or paroled into the U.S. until cases are adjudicated in court.

As written, the legislation would bar anyone denied asylum in the process to apply again at a later date. It would also prohibit anybody who had previously entered the country from seeking “this cherished humanitarian help.”

More than 100,000 individuals were granted asylum in the fiscal year that ended in 2024, President Joe Biden’s last year in office, according to the Immigration Policy Institute. By comparison, the last full year under President Donald Trump’s first term saw about 11,400 admissions to the U.S. on asylum claims.

Luna’s bill was filed after Trump took several steps to restrict legal immigration, including revoking humanitarian parole programs for Cubans, Venezuelans and Haitians in the United States. That is something other representatives from Florida, such as Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Hialeah Republican, have asked the President to reconsider.

The Homeland Security Department also just vacated any extension of Temporary Protected Status for refugees of Venezuela.

It’s unclear how a change in asylum status and the restrictions on new applications would apply to individuals already in the United States who will lose legal status under the new changes.

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