Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is no fan of House Speaker Richard Corcoran’s views and policy proposals on immigration, and Corcoran is no fan of Gillum’s, either.
Gillum has declared his views publicly as mayor and on the campaign trail as he seeks the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2018.
Corcoran, who is widely expected to announce he will run for the Republican nomination for Governor, has taken the fight beyond verbal jousting at his potential political opponent.
More: Gillum, Putnam and Corcoran get in Twitter spat
In a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Tuesday, Corcoran asked for an investigation of Gillum and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman for comments they’ve made supporting so-called “sanctuary cities” and decriminalizing illegal immigrants.
“Unfortunately, my state of Florida has two elected mayors — one in Tallahassee and one in St. Petersburg — who’ve publicly stated and continue to openly advocate for these illegal, sanctuary policies.”
The Land O'Lakes lawmaker said he believed that elected officials who ignored some laws should be removed from office.Corcoran said he’s tried to address the problem with the passage of House Bill 9, which would ban sanctuary cities in Florida and impose strict penalties on officials who try to “circumvent America’s immigration laws.”
The bill passed out of the House during the first week of session but has not been taken up by the Senate.In a news release, Gillum called the bill a “misguided and ill-informed attack on local cities and municipalities, and on immigrants.”
No city in Florida, including Tallahassee, has a sanctuary policy. But many cities have directed their police departments to enforce local and state laws before helping round up illegal immigrants on behalf of the U.S. Department of Immigration Customs and Enforcement.“Our local law enforcement entities should not be doing the job of federal ICE agents,” Gillum said, “and it is incumbent on public leaders to make sure that legislative distractions like this one do not damage the trust and community that cities build with all residents, regardless of where they come from."
It’s not the first time the two have sparred over immigration. Back in December, Corcoran waded into a Twitter exchange between Gillum and Adam Putnam, the state secretary of Agriculture and Commerce who is running for governor as a Republican.Putnam claimed Gillum wanted to turn Florida into a sanctuary state. Gillum called Putnam a racist. Corcoran called them both soft on immigration.
Corcoran is using his tough immigration rhetoric to court President Donald Trump, who has already endorsed Congressman Ron DeSantis of Jacksonville, said Geoff Burgan, Gillum’s campaign communications director.
“We are proud to stand with Mayor Kriseman on the right side of history,” Burgan said. “Tallahassee's police department aren't ICE agents, but if Corcoran wants to suddenly expand the federal government in Florida that's his prerogative."This week, ICE and 17 Florida county sheriffs announced an agreement that any undocumented immigrants arrested on local charges be held until they can he transferred to an ICE facility. The policy is expected to be embraced by all county sheriffs, eventually.
Gillum has not offered a statewide policy for local governments dealing with detainee requests from immigration officials, according to Politifact.He is holding a news conference Friday morning to make a major policy announcement.
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