Press Advisory from Florida For All
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 18, 2014
Contact: Rachel Johnson, [email protected]

Election-Year Pandering Won't Change Rick Scott's Anti-Immigrant Record
Hispanic leaders blast Governor's flip-flop on in-state tuition for DREAMers

Miami – Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, Chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, and former Republican State House Representative Ana Rivas Logan will hold a press conferenceWednesday, March 19th to warn voters that Rick Scott’s 180-degree support for in-state tuition for DREAMers is nothing more than crass election-year pandering.

Rick Scott campaigned aggressively on an anti-Hispanic agenda in 2010. He vowed to bring a “common sense” Arizona-style immigration law to Florida, to "placate hard-liners demanding stricter border security,” and supported the idea of police checking immigration status. His campaign even bragged about its support of this extreme anti-Hispanic law in radio commercials and on its website.

While in office, the Governor has pursued and fought for policies that hurt Hispanic families. Rick Scott’s anti-Hispanic agenda includes:

• Vetoing a bill intended to make it easier for DREAMers to obtain Florida driver’s licenses;
• Efforts to restrict voting rights for Hispanics and other minorities at the polls;
• Opposing comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship at the federal level.

Scott’s flip-flop is just the latest in a dizzying number of policy shifts during his tenure as governor — including voicing tepid support to Medicaid expansion after campaigning against it, to increasing funding for public schools after slashing $1.3 billion from the education budget in his first year.

Hispanic leaders will warn that this is an election-year tactic to shore up support among Hispanic voters, particularly in Miami-Dade — where 55% of registered voters are Hispanic. With a 51% disapproval rating, according to a recent poll, it's no wonder Scott is desperate for votes wherever he can find them.

Where: Miami-Dade College Campus (300 NE 2nd Avenue) @ the corner of NE 1st Ave and NE 3rd Street

When: March 19 at 10:30 am

Who: Annette Taddeo-Goldstein, Chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party; Ana Rivas Logan, former Republican Florida State House Representative; and local college students

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