House GOP lawmakers again sided with corporations on Tuesday and voted to block an amendment filed by Rep. Scott Randolph (D-Orlando), which would crack down on employers who hire illegal workers.
Randolph’s amendment called for the doubling of corporate income tax exemptions only for those businesses that used the E-Verify system to ensure its employees were eligible for employment.
Reacting to the defeat of his amendment, Randolph said, Republicans had “turned their backs on Florida’s middle class families who are struggling in these tough economic times.”
“The bottom line: companies should be required to use a national database to check the immigration status of their employees, and we should punish companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants,” he said. “Florida Republicans failed leadership on immigration is shameful. In solving Florida’s problems, we need elected officials who stand up for the people — not the corporations.”
Prior to being elected, Gov. Rick Scott and Republican lawmakers had campaigned heavily on common-sense solutions to addressing the issue of immigration. Their actions today, proved yet again, their campaign promises were more rhetoric then reality, Randolph added.
