Politics
House advances bill making it easier for domestic violence victims to report abusers for breaking immigration law
The path is less certain in the Senate.
A bill bringing together two state priorities — immigration enforcement and stopping domestic abuse — is moving through the House Committees process.
Rep. Kim Daniels’ measure (HB 485) is getting the green light from the House Justice Subcommittee.
The Jacksonville Democrat’s bill, which advanced on a 14-0 vote, would add a new checkbox to the domestic violence injunction petition form, allowing the accuser to say they are a victim of “marriage fraud” by a noncitizen abuser.
The petitioner would have space to delineate their claim, and the Clerk of the Court would be compelled to report the allegation of noncitizenship to the Board of Immigration Enforcement within 24 hours of the form being filed. The Board would then have 30 days to reach out to the petitioner.
The proposed legislation follows up on Attorney General James Uthmeier urging people who are being abused at home by illegal immigrants to report them to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a move that got national publicity.
Daniels’ proposal would give the state latitude to investigate and apprehend based on the petitioner’s attestation, which would continue the close cooperation between Florida and federal immigration enforcement.
Rep. Berny Jacques, the prime co-sponsor, explained why he’s behind the “commonsense accountability bill.”
“This makes sure that those who are harming Floridians are held accountable two different ways, through the injunction process, and letting the state officials know that that person probably shouldn’t have been here in the first place. So thank you for doing that, and I’m proud to support you all the way through,” the Seminole Republican said.
Daniels’ bill has one more Committee stop ahead in the House Judiciary Committee.
A companion measure (SB 1316) sponsored by Clay Yarborough has yet to be heard in the Senate though. The Senate bill has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee, the Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee, and the Rules Committee.
