Florida Republicans concerned about the state’s new anti-immigration law and its potential impacts on Florida’s economy are seen in newly revealed footage urging Latinos not to leave the state.
The footage adds to growing evidence that the law, heavily pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis as he launched his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, will have downstream impacts on the state economy.
We at “The ReidOut” have been warning Floridians about the looming consequences of their governor’s bigoted agenda for months. (If you’d like a refresher, check out this post from Joy or this post from me.)
The immigration law, Senate Bill 1718, has been condemned by activists, religious groups and even Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. It will take effect July 1.
In the new footage, shared online by Democratic activist Thomas Kennedy, we see two Republican members of the Florida Legislature trying to downplay the law’s harms. One of them begs the meeting’s attendees to tell Latinos not to leave Florida.
“This bill is 100% supposed to scare you,” says state Rep. Rick Roth, who intermittently waits on a translator to relay his words in Spanish. “I’m a farmer, and the farmers are mad as hell. We are losing employees. They’re already starting to move to Georgia and other states. It’s urgent that you talk to all your people and convince them that you have resources — state representatives and other people — that can explain the bill to you.”
Roth then randomly pivots to professing his adoration for both DeSantis and Donald Trump.
“We had the best president in my life — in the last 30 years — and I’m still supporting Donald Trump. I love my governor. He’s the greatest governor in,” he’s heard saying before the clip cuts off.
In another clip, Roth claims the law is “more of a political bill than it is policy” — before quickly conceding that the legislation (controversially, I might add) gives state police more…
Read the full article here