Corcoran and Gillum get nasty during their immigration debate

TALLAHASSEE — In a production filled with political theater, a Democratic candidate for governor and a legislative leader who’s toying with a run for the same office took the stage Tuesday night in a debate over immigration and “sanctuary cities.”

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum and House Speaker Richard Corcoran, a Republican who hasn’t announced whether he’s in the gubernatorial race, came out slugging during the 45-minute debate.

Gillum, who is black, accused Corcoran of race-baiting and trying to turn Florida into a “show-meyour-papers” police state.

Corcoran defended his antisanctuary stance by saying it’s meant to keep dangerous criminals from roaming the streets, preying on innocent victims. It came after his political committee, Watchdog PAC, released a video ad targeting “sanctuary cities.’’ He also rushed a bill through the House last month to ban sanctuary cities.

Corcoran repeatedly defended the bill and his video Tuesday saying the House measure merely requires local law enforcement officials to hold illegal immigrants for 48 hours after notifying federal officials. “Is it OK for an illegal immigrant who’s engaged in criminal behavior to be allowed out to roam free?” he asked. “That’s just crazy liberal logic. Nobody believes that.”

But Gillum said that local law enforcement officials are divided over the issue, and many believe that the anti-sanctuary policy could be a barrier to witnesses or victims cooperating with criminal investigations.

“If you commit a crime in our communities you ought to be held accountable to the extent of the law,” he said. “What the speaker is arguing is not judicial findings. … What it does is basically turn us into a police state.”

The 30-second video opens by alluding to the high-profile 2015 killing of Kathryn Steinle along Pier 14 in the Embarcadero district of San Francisco. The video depicts a bearded man in a hoodie pointing and firing a handgun directly at a woman walking along the sidewalk of a suburban community.

A jury found Jose Ines Garcia Zanate not guilty of second-degree murder charges in Steinle’s death. Garcia Zanate said he found the gun on the pier and it accidentally went off. Authorities confirmed the bullet ricocheted off the ground before striking Steinle.

“The truth is, this ad is a gross misrepresentation of what took place,” Gillum said.