Jacksonville mayor vetoes anti-immigrant legislation due to public pressure

Jacksonville, FL – On June 24, Mayor Donna Deegan made the decision to veto the anti-immigrant Ordinance 0138. This decision comes after a months-long campaign by the Jacksonville Immigrant Rights Alliance (JIRA) that began back in February. Since the ordinance’s inception, local activists, immigrant families, faith leaders and many more provided testimony against this legislation.

The ordinance sought to block any city services or funding from supporting undocumented immigrants including access to necessities such as healthcare, temporary shelters and programs for children, leaving undocumented people with even fewer resources to navigate their lives.

JIRA responded immediately to the bill, organizing a press conference alongside the Jacksonville Community Action Committee on February 25.

Speaking at the February press conference, Maria Garcia, a founding member of JIRA stated, “They’re calling it a crackdown on ‘illegal immigration’, but let’s call it what it really is, a hateful, fear driven attack on people who are just trying to live their lives!”

The press conference attendees went into City Council chambers afterward to make public comments. “Not only are immigrants a part of your constituency,” a community member, Jamison Collins-Morita, called from the podium, “they are an integral part of our city and culture.” The sentiment was shared throughout the length of the public comment section of the meeting.

Due to its fundamental flaws and public unpopularity, 0138 was sent back to committees for review on March 11, where it remained locked up for three months. The ordinance only made it out of committees on June 2, after a rush job to get it back onto the city council’s agenda. The vote to put the bill back on the agenda came with very little public comment, with most meetings to discuss the bill happening in the middle of constituents’ workdays.

Community outrage ensued. An email blast went out, flooding council members’ emails with pleas to vote no. JIRA began mobilizing people for the city council meeting on June 10, the date 0138 was set to be voted on. In an effort to once again silence the voices of working-class people, the city council moved the time for public comments by an hour.

Despite this, the mobilization culminated in hours of testimony from the people of Jacksonville about the harm this ordinance would cause, while denouncing the city council – especially the bill’s architect, Rory Diamond. Many pointed to the deprioritization of their voices when it came to specific issues, a people’s budget, no morgue in the Brentwood neighborhood, a ceasefire resolution, and more.

“This is political theatre parading as policy,” one speaker condemned “this is a hateful, illegal stunt that will get people killed.”

Outside the chambers, people rallied for hours through public comment and through the bills hearing. The chants echoed inside the chambers, as around two dozen protesters shouted “City Council shame, shame, all these crimes in your name!”

The entire event lasted over six hours, as the city council debated and added multiple amendments. “This is just us trying to make a bad, ugly bill…better,” Councilwoman Tyrona Clark-Murray admitted. The bill passed 11-7 despite the community’s testament, with many council members themselves arguing its faults, and four amendments in an attempt to make the bill acceptable by excluding any people they deemed an “exception” such as children and pregnant women.

In the aftermath, those who waited for hours for this disappointing decision still rallied. The community waited another two weeks for the mayor to make her decision.

In a statement posted the same day, JIRA celebrated the victory, calling it a win for every Jacksonville resident who believes in justice over division. JIRA declared this veto proves their power but that it is only the beginning of their fight. They call on Mayor Deegan to take the next step by using her authority to stop ICE raids and deportations in the city, and asked people to join them for a press conference on Friday, June 27 for the National Day of Action to demand the charges be dropped on Alejandro Orellana.

#JacksonvilleFL #FL #ImmigrantRights #JIRA

Source: https://fightbacknews.org/jacksonville-mayor-vetoes-anti-immigrant-legislation-due-to-public-pressure?pk_campaign=rss-feed