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TALLAHASSEE – Today leaders from Florida’s Venezuelan community and American Business Immigration Coalition Action delivered a letter to Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-10), Senator Aaron Bean (R-4), Senator Kathleen Passidomo (R-28), House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-65), Rep. John Snyder (R-82) and Governor Ron DeSantis, condemning SB 1808 (Bean)/HB 1355 (Snyder), which is pending in the Florida Senate today.

Full Letter:

Open Letter from Florida’s Venezuelan Leaders to Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-10), Senator Aaron Bean (R-4), Senator Kathleen Passidomo (R-28), House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-65), Rep. John Snyder (R-82): 

As leaders and organizations from throughout Florida’s over 320,000-strong Venezuelan-American community, we write to express our opposition to the Governor’s anti-immigrant bill, SB 1808/HB 1355.

The Governor’s anti-immigrant bill is a direct attack on Florida’s Venezuelan community. Many of us with Temporary Protected Status have work permits delayed due to long backlogs at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. As written, this legislation would define us as “unauthorized aliens” because our applications for work permits are delayed through no fault of our own.

All these people want – our family, our neighbors – is to be able to work to provide for their families.

It is an outrage that this bill risks jeopardizing their ability to do so, injects instability and uncertainty into their long-term plans.

As Venezuelans, we are a key and growing part of Florida’s communities and economy. We join a proud tradition of immigrants making this state an economic powerhouse.

This bill was done for political reasons. We’ve seen too many times in the Americas and now in Europe when strongmen engage in bullying and political theater, innocent children, workers and families are hurt.

This is wrong in Ukraine, it is wrong in Venezuela, and it is wrong in Florida. 

We urge our state legislators to reject this bill. 

SIGNATORIES: 

    • William Diaz, Founder, Casa De Venezuela Orlando
    • Rohel Tovar, Casa de Venezuela Southwest Florida
    • Belkys Polanco, Casa de Venezuela Jacksonville
    • Brenda Stephens, Casa de Venezuela Emerald Coast
      Norma Camero Reno, Casa de Venezuela Tampa Bay
    • Lorena Camacho, Casa de Venezuela Sanford 
    • Maria Antonietta Diaz, Founder and President, Venezuelan American Alliance, Miramar
    • Maria Corina Vegas, Florida Business and Community Coordinator, American Business Immigration Coalition Action
    • Samuel Vilchez Santiago, Venezuelan American Caucus, Orlando 
    • Adelys Ferro, Venezuelan American Caucus, Weston
    • Cecilia Gonzalez, JOVENEX, Kissimmee
    • Ronald Rosales, Pembroke Pines
    • Virginia Celli, Orlando
    • Jose Gamboa, Deltona
    • Carlos Artigas Segovia, Orlando
    • Yael Muller, Board Secretary, Miami New Drama, Coral Gables
    • Victoria Azpurua, Raymond James & Associates, Coral Gables
    • Carola Bravo, HartVest Project, Miami
    • Carolina Diaz, Lokius LLC, Weston
    • Maria A. Marquez, Miami
    • Cioly J. Alvarez, Orlando
    • Diana Medina, Miami
    • Mariela Briceño, Venprendedoras, Miami
    • Jorge Fernandez, Director, GBS Group, Miramar
    • Sylvia Lam, Decoevento, Miami

ABOUT

ABIC Action is the political arm of the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), a bipartisan coalition of over 1,200+ CEOs, business owners, and trade associations across 16 mostly red and purple states. ABIC Action promotes common sense immigration reform that advances economic competitiveness, provides companies with both the high-skilled and low-skilled talent they need, and allows the integration of immigrants into our economy as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, and citizens. ABIC Action works to win bipartisan solutions at the state and federal levels on the way to winning a path to citizenship for as many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants as possible.