Florida travel warning for immigrants, arrests soars

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Immigration arrests have soared more rapidly in Florida in the past year than in any other area of the country and more than a dozen advocacy groups issued warning about travelling in Florida.

New cooperation between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and 17 Florida sheriffs also is spreading fear in the state as per the leader from the immigrant rights and the nonprofit organizations.

Immigrants from other states had been warned by travel advisory  to reconsider Florida trips or to be ready to encounter immigration agents at airports, sea ports and bus stations.

Tomas Kennedy, deputy political director at the Florida Immigrant Coalition said that they were taking the step of warning their communities as the Florida lawmakers, state, local and federal do not take steps to push back against the anti-immigrant policies.

They did not feel like their communities were safe in the state.

However, the advisory came when Florida was braces for its busy spring break season in March, when its beach resorts and theme parks attract millions of people.

Between January to March in 2017, government estimated more than 4 million travelers from Canada and other countries as compared with almost 27 million visitors who came from other states.

Several rallies across the state were staged including at Greyhound bus stations where at least two recent Border Patrol arrests of passengers were caught on cellphone videos.

A review of searches and seizures in the 100-mile zone near borders and coasts has been demanded by the Federal lawmakers.

Currently other groups have advised travelers to be cautious when visiting other areas because of immigration concerns.

After the state had passed a new law banning so-called sanctuary cities, allowing officers to ask people about their immigration status during routine stops in May, the earlier in May, the American Civil Liberties Union had issued warning about traveling to Texas.

From October 2016 to September 2017 Texas saw large numbers of immigration arrests while Florida had the largest increase when comparing numbers to the previous fiscal year.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement statistics the arrests went up to 76 percent in Florida.

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