Orlando Sentinel

Advocacy groups warn that immigrants from other states should reconsider Florida trips or to be ready to face immigratio­n agents at airports, seaports and bus stations.

-

MIAMI — More than a dozen advocacy groups issued a warning about traveling in Florida on Wednesday saying immigratio­n arrests there have soared more rapidly in the past year than in any other area of the country.

Leaders from immigrant rights and nonprofit groups said new cooperatio­n between Immigratio­n and Customs Enforcemen­t and 17 Florida sheriffs also spreads fear in the state. The travel advisory issued by 15 groups warns immigrants from other states to reconsider Florida trips or to be ready to face immigratio­n agents at airports, sea ports and bus stations.

“We are taking the step of warning our communitie­s that as the Florida lawmakers, state, local and federal do not take steps to push back against the anti-immigrant policies, we do not feel like our communitie­s are safe in the state,” said Tomas Kennedy, deputy political director at the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

The advisory comes as Florida braces for its the spring break season in March, when its beach resorts and theme parks attract millions. The government estimated more than 4 million travelers from Canada and other nations arrived from January to March in 2017, compared with nearly 27 million who came from other states.

Activists staged several rallies across the state Wednesday, including at Greyhound bus stations — where at least two recent Border Patrol arrests of passengers were caught on cellphone videos. Federal lawmakers have demanded a review of searches and seizures in the 100-mile zone near borders and coasts.

Recently, other groups have advised travelers to be wary when visiting other areas because of immigratio­n concerns. In May, the ACLU issued a warning about travel to Texas after the state passed a new law banning so-called sanctuary cities, allowing officers to ask people about their immigratio­n status during routine stops.

Although Texas saw large numbers of immigratio­n arrests from October 2016 to September 2017, Florida had the largest increase when comparing numbers to the previous fiscal year. Arrests went up by 76 percent in Florida from about 3,500 to nearly 6,200, according to Immigratio­n and Customs Enforcemen­t statistics.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States