“Let’s acknowledge immigrants’ contributions to our economy, not demonize them.” – Former Chairman of the Florida GOP and ABIC Board Member, Al Cardenas
TALLAHASSEE – Today, the American Business Immigration Coalition Action (ABIC Action) issued the following statements in response to the recent announcement of Governor DeSantis’ budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24, which includes $12 million to relocate migrants around the country, continuing the program that spent at least $1.5 million to fly 49 migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in August.
Statement from former Chairman of the Florida GOP and ABIC Board Member, Al Cardenas:
“Immigrant workers have always made Florida stronger by filling in labor shortages in industries like hospitality, construction, healthcare, and agriculture. In fact, immigrants make up more than a quarter of Florida’s labor force, and as consumers, immigrants hold more than one-hundred billion dollars of spending power and pay billions of dollars in local, state, and federal taxes.
With that in mind, I urge Governor DeSantis to reconsider his request for $12 million for the migrant relocation program, which can only hurt our state’s economy at a time of high inflation. Let’s acknowledge immigrants’ contributions to our economy, not demonize them.”
Statement from CEO of Pan American Behavioral, Brendan Ramirez:
“This budget is the most recent threat to the future of our state and economy, which has been largely built by immigrants. We must prioritize dealing with the labor shortages in key industries across the state, including healthcare. As an employer in the healthcare industry, I’ve seen how hospitals and clinics across the state are struggling to fill critical positions, making wait times longer for Floridians seeking care.
As employers struggle to recruit and retain specialized healthcare workers, immigrants address a critical role in meeting the need. With an increase in demand for multilingual and culturally competent employees, internationally trained healthcare professionals are sorely needed. Immigrant workers are critical to filling in those gaps and funding the relocation of more immigrants not only harms our state’s economy, it also harms those seeking care in the Sunshine state.”
Statement from Government Affairs Director of La Fraternidad de Concilios y Entidades Evangélicas (FRACEEV), Agustin Quiles:
“As evangelicals, we have a biblical mandate to protect and care for the immigrant. Governor DeSantis has had a lot of support from our community, but he continues to take us for granted, disrespecting us by using taxpayer dollars to bus and fly those who worship in our churches. The immigrant church is the fastest growing church in Florida, even so, he shows no concern and continues to use us to score political points.”
BACKGROUND
One in five Florida residents is an immigrant and the state benefits enormously from the diversity, energy, and contributions of our immigrant communities. Almost 400,000 are entrepreneurs, with $8.1 billion per year in business income. Immigrant households earn $138.6 billion per year, pay $31.4 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, and have a total spending power of $107.3 billion.
Cubans, and more recently Venezuelans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and others, are part of a proud legacy of new immigrants building Florida into an economic powerhouse. The success of our immigrant communities was the result of welcoming immigration policies and supportive neighbors.
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 17 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.