LATIN TIMES MAGAZINE Vol 9 No 4 | Page 11

Republican Candidate for U . S . Congress , District 11
I support Arizona ’ s right to pass laws aimed at protecting its citizens . If our state ’ s officials and our citizens in Florida deem it necessary to pass a similar law to protect our citizens , I would support it .
One of the underlying problems with illegal immigration is the reality that some people ’ s perceptions of US citizens from Puerto Rico are illegal aliens based solely on the language they speak . Until we eliminate the problem of “ illegal ” in our immigration policy that perception will never change . Our Hispanic culture is as much a part of our rich American cultural heritage as any other ethnic group .
Mike Prendergast website : www . pickprendergast . com
Independent Candidate for Senator of Florida
Charlie Crist supports immigration reform that provides an earned path to citizenship . Today there are as many as 14 million illegal immigrants in America as part of an underground economy . Congress needs to provide an earned path to citizenship to those seeking to stay in the country . By doing so , they would be required to seek citizenship and all that implies with the result being an end to the underground system which exists today and is actually a form of fraud which costs everyone . Just imagine if these 14 million illegal immigrants became law abiding , taxpaying citizens and paid into the social security system how much better off America would be .
Democratic Candidate for Governor of Florida
“ States are passing tougher immigration laws because the Federal government has failed to secure our borders and crack down on illegal immigration . While it is the responsibility of our Federal Government to enforce immigration laws , it is clear that Washington has dropped the ball for decades . And in recent years , many states , like Arizona , have taken matters into their own hands to address a serious and growing problem . One thing , however , is clear : illegal immigrants that break our state ’ s laws should be held accountable both by the state of Florida and by the federal government for being in this country illegally by being deported .”
“ My plan for Florida is to ensure that illegal immigrants don ’ t take jobs away from Floridians or get a free ride off the state welfare system when they don ’ t pay taxes and don ’ t play by the same rules as everybody else .”
Republican Candidate for Senator of Florida
“ States certainly have the right to enact policies to protect their citizens , but Arizona ’ s policy shows the difficulty and limitations of states trying to act piecemeal to solve what is a serious federal problem . From what I have read in news reports , I do have concerns about this legislation . While I don ’ t believe Arizona ’ s policy was based on anything other than trying to get a handle on our broken borders , I think aspects of the law , especially that dealing with ‘ reasonable suspicion ,’ are going to put our law enforcement officers in an incredibly difficult position . It could also unreasonably single out people who are here legally , including many American citizens . Throughout American history and throughout this administration we have seen that when government is given an inch it takes a mile .”
Joe Redner , Independent Candidate for Florida House of Representatives , District 58
I will not support immigration law that doesn ’ t punish American employers severely for hiring undocumented workers , doesn ’ t have a process to bring legal workers in when needed and doesn ’ t have a way to assimilate undocumented workers that are already here , paying taxes that have been good citizens .
Latin Times : What inspired you to run for State Representative ? Joe Redner : The mess in Tallahassee . With all the corruption , backstabbing , lies , compromises , etc . It ’ s a wonder they get anything done .
Latin Times : What is the most important issue in your campaign ? Joe Redner : There is no one important issue . Education , jobs , the environment , balancing the budget and transportation . In order for our state to operate efficiently the problems with all must be solved .
Latin Times : As a State Representative what are your goals and what changes do you want to make ? Joe Redner : I want to make education available to everyone . Protect the environment from sprawl . We have enough permitted land for development for the next 20 years . We don ’ t need any more sprawl . To balance the budget we must tax out of state Internet sales . People who would buy products from local businesses take that 7 % sales tax into consideration and sometimes don ’ t buy locally because of it . So not taxing Internet sales hurts in two ways . One we lose revenue because we don ’ t get the tax money from those sales , and the businesses aren ’ t getting the business . We need to review our sales tax exemptions . We could raise $ 1 billion by eliminating 15 % of what ’ s exempt from the tax . I would get more money from the Indians for their exclusive gambling rights . It ’ s worth more . And of course , we must stop wasteful spending and stop gambling with pension money .