A ruling made yesterday by a federal judge in California temporarily blocking the Trump Administration’s threatened deportation of Haitian refugees is winning praise from state Senator Daphne Campbell (D-Miami). [Read more…] about State Senator Daphne Campbell Hails Federal Judge Ruling Temporarily Blocking Trump Administration From Ending TPS
Senator Daphne Campbell
Democratic Senator Daphne Campbell calls on all elected officials to urge Governor Scott to continue to speak out
As Florida and the rest of the country wait to hear how Donald Trump plans to retreat from his inhumane policy mandating the separation of children from their parents detained at the border, state Senator Daphne Campbell (D-Miami) called for state officials’ actions to continue.
Senator Daphne Campbell seeks to remove archaic Florida statues
Archaic laws that could land someone in jail for up to a year for such crimes as maliciously imputing a woman’s lack of chastity or degrading a bank’s reputation may soon be removed from Florida statutes under legislation sponsored by Senator Daphne Campbell (D-Miami).
SB 1060, which won unanimous endorsement Monday in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, would remove two obscure criminal statutes dating back to the late 1800’s and early 20th century, both first degree misdemeanors.
“This bill would repeal Florida Statute Chapter 836 Section 4 which makes it a first degree misdemeanor for a person to speak of a woman, married or unmarried falsely and maliciously imputing to her want of chastity,” explained Senator Campbell. “It also repeals Florida Statue Chapter 836 Section 6 which also makes it a first degree misdemeanor for a person to speak or make derogatory statements concerning banks or building and loan associations.”
In Florida, a first degree misdemeanor conviction can include up to a year in jail, a $1,000 fine, or 12 months of probation.
At one time 15 states had criminal statutes prohibiting imputing unchastity to women, whether in writing or orally. In addition to Florida, which enacted its law in 1883, these states included Oklahoma, Alabama, and North Carolina.
In the case of the financial institutions, the 1915 law may have been enacted to prevent bank runs, but its origins remain murky.
“We can all agree that defamation or libelous remarks of any kind are serious and have no place in our public discourse,” said Sen. Campbell. “However, in our modern society these penalties are too severe and are an unnecessary government intrusion into an issue that has mostly been handled amongst two private citizens in civil proceedings.”
SB 1060 has two additional committee hearings before heading to the full Senate for a vote. Its next stop will be before the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee.
Senator Campbell's DACA Memorial to Congress Passes First Senate Committee
Democratic Senator Daphne Campbell’s bill urging the US Congress to protect children of immigrants living in the states under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) passed its first committee of reference today.
“DREAMers are under protected status,” Senator Campbell (D-Miami) testified in the Senate Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee, using the acronym commonly associated with these immigrants. “They have been brought to the US by their parents, they have established a life of their own, they have had their own children, they are working and paying taxes, they are contributing to the US economy. Why send them back to a country that they have never known?
“Would we be having this discussion if these kids came from Norway or a similar county where most of the inhabitants are white?”
Senator Campbell’s measure, SM 882, calls on Congress to preserve DACA. The program, begun under President Barack Obama in 2012, allows immigrants who came to the United States as children to apply for temporary residence and eligibility for a work permit in this country. Last September, President Donald Trump abruptly rescinded the program, but deferred full implementation of the rescission until March 5, 2018, kicking the resolution of the issue to Congress.
Almost 800,000 immigrants qualified under DACA, including 50,216 in Florida. Requirements included arrival in the U.S. prior to the age of 16, and ongoing residence since June 15, 2007.
“By sending this message to Washington DC, we are urging Congress to put its foolishness aside and pass the DACA for these children so they can stay here and they don’t have to be deported,” Senator Campbell told the committee. “We are the ones who have the voices. They are the voiceless.”
The committee passed SM 882 on a 3-2 vote. The bill goes next to the Judiciary Committee.
Senator Campbell’s DACA Memorial to Congress Passes First Senate Committee
Democratic Senator Daphne Campbell’s bill urging the US Congress to protect children of immigrants living in the states under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA) passed its first committee of reference today.
“DREAMers are under protected status,” Senator Campbell (D-Miami) testified in the Senate Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee, using the acronym commonly associated with these immigrants. “They have been brought to the US by their parents, they have established a life of their own, they have had their own children, they are working and paying taxes, they are contributing to the US economy. Why send them back to a country that they have never known?
“Would we be having this discussion if these kids came from Norway or a similar county where most of the inhabitants are white?”
Senator Campbell’s measure, SM 882, calls on Congress to preserve DACA. The program, begun under President Barack Obama in 2012, allows immigrants who came to the United States as children to apply for temporary residence and eligibility for a work permit in this country. Last September, President Donald Trump abruptly rescinded the program, but deferred full implementation of the rescission until March 5, 2018, kicking the resolution of the issue to Congress.
Almost 800,000 immigrants qualified under DACA, including 50,216 in Florida. Requirements included arrival in the U.S. prior to the age of 16, and ongoing residence since June 15, 2007.
“By sending this message to Washington DC, we are urging Congress to put its foolishness aside and pass the DACA for these children so they can stay here and they don’t have to be deported,” Senator Campbell told the committee. “We are the ones who have the voices. They are the voiceless.”
The committee passed SM 882 on a 3-2 vote. The bill goes next to the Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Campbell, Rep. Jacquet Take Advocacy for Haitian TPS Extension to Nation's Capital
In a direct appeal to President Donald Trump on behalf of more than 60,000 Haitians living in Florida and facing potential deportation, state Senator Daphne Campbell (D-Miami) and House Representative Al Jacquet (D-Delray Beach) will travel to the nation’s capital on Thursday to meet with top administration officials.
Senator Campbell and Rep. Jacquet are expected to meet at 2 pm on Nov. 2nd with William (Billy) Kirkland, Special Assistant to the President & Deputy Director White House Intergovernmental Affairs, and Landon Loomis, Special Advisor for Western Hemisphere & Global Economics, Office of the Vice President.
The topic of the meeting will be those Haitians who were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the United States after fleeing earthquakes, hurricanes, and an economy ravaged by the disasters. Without an extension of the TPS program, tens of thousands of these individuals will face immediate deportation on January 22, 2018.
Both Senator Campbell and Rep. Jacquet have been outspoken in their defense of allowing these refugees to remain in Florida while Haiti continues to rebuild, and are also expected to hold meetings with US Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio and other elected officials to discuss the expulsion threat and immediate need for extending the TPS program.
Senator Campbell Filing Bill to Boost Florida's Physician Ranks
Concerned that Florida ranks first in the country for the number of residents age 65 or older, and with an eye to a looming shortage of physicians available to treat them, state Senator Daphne Campbell (D-Miami) is filing legislation which would dramatically reduce the looming shortfall.
“By 2025, the shortage of physicians in Florida is expected to grow to 7,000, according to the Teaching Hospital Council of Florida and the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida,” said Senator Campbell. “We can either bury our heads in the sand, or tap into the rich availability of internationally trained physicians to shore up medical care for Florida’s growing number of senior residents.”
Under Senator Campbell’s measure, internationally trained physicians would be able to acquire a restricted license to practice in Florida, provided they met certain built-in criteria and safeguards. Those standards would include an individual who trained in a medical school listed in World Director of Medical Schools published by the World Health Organization, has legally practiced medicine for at least 3 years in their countries of residency, and is not subject to any discipline or prosecution for any acts that threaten public health, safety or welfare.
“This legislation would broaden the pool of trained physicians available to dispense medical aid for the growing number of people who need their help,” said Senator Campbell. “By tapping internationally-trained doctors, we not only stop the shortage of medical doctors from occurring, but we provide a pathway for these individuals to join our communities and contribute to Florida’s prosperity.”
The bill has been filed for the upcoming 2018 legislative session, and will be carried in the House by state Representative Manny Diaz, Jr. (R-Hialeah).
Should it win passage, the legislation would take effect July 1st.
Senator Daphne Campbell, Rep. Al Jacquet Hold President Trump Accountable to His Campaign Promises Protecting Haitian-Americans
Seeking to hold President Donald Trump to a campaign promise he made to be “the greatest champion” of Haitian-Americans, state Senator Daphne Campbell (D-38 Miami) has filed a measure to extend Haiti’s temporary protected status designation (TPS) for at least 18 months beyond its scheduled January 22, 2018 expiration.
The House companion will be filed by Representative Al Jacquet (D-88 Palm Beach).
“On the campaign trail, Donald Trump assured Haitian-Americans, many of them living in my district, that they deserve better, and that he would give them better,” said Senator Campbell. “They took him at his word, and I am holding him to those promises.”
The memorial filed by Senator Campbell (SM 442) is earmarked for the President of the United States, the Secretary of the United States Department of State, and the Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security. Currently, more than 58,000 Haitians resettled in South Florida benefit from the TPS program, which was established for refugees following earthquakes, hurricanes, and ensuing disease, which ravaged the country several years ago, and from which Haiti has still not fully recovered.
Earlier this year, the Trump Administration granted a six-month extension to the program, with a warning to the refugees to prepare for deportation once the reprieve ended in mid-January. Senator Campbell, who hails from the island nation, is asking that TPS be extended for an additional 18 months as Haiti continues to ready for the refugees’ return.
“These individuals have contributed greatly to the economy of Florida. They have not only rebuilt their lives, they have built the American success story from nothing,” said Senator Campbell. “Uprooting them means sending entire families back to the devastation they worked to overcome. And it would violate every promise President Trump made to protect them on American soil.”
