Three of Florida’s gubernatorial hopefuls got into a social media spat Thursday over immigration. Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and House Speaker Richard Corcoran exchanged words over sanctuary city policies.
Politifact Florida recently ran a story evaluating a claim by Putnam that Gillum’s statements on immigration and President Donald Trump’s travel ban indicate the mayor wants Florida to be a sanctuary state. The fact-checking site rated the claim half-true.
Does Andrew Gillum want to make Florida a sanctuary state?Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is using the controversial topic of sanctuary cities to drum up Republican support in his bid for governor. At a campaign stop in Jacksonville, Putnam warned voters that one of his Democratic opponents wants a statewide expansion of policies that prevent the deportation of immigrants in the country illegally.
Putnam sent out a tweet highlighting the finding and taking a dig at Gillum, stating that would not happen should he become Governor. And Gillum responded, effectively calling Putnam’s stance racist.
Thanks for the Half True, @PolitiFactFL. @AndrewGillum wants to make Florida a sanctuary state. That WILL NOT happen on my watch. #FloridaFirst https://t.co/23RVRyiOZd
— Adam Putnam (@adamputnam) December 7, 2017
Half true & all racist is nothing to be proud of, Commissioner. I’m proud to stand up for all people - precisely what Floridians expect of their leaders. https://t.co/m71ZRO9ToF
— Andrew Gillum (@AndrewGillum) December 7, 2017
House Speaker Richard Corcoran added to the back-and-forth, claiming both men have supported policies that he says, amount to amnesty for undocumented immigrants.
Ironic to see a dust up between these two on immigration, since they’ve both supported #amnesty for illegal immigrants. Call it amnesty or sanctuary cities, both defy our rule of law and make the nation (and Florida) less safe. #TwoSidesOfTheSameCoin https://t.co/fLnTkHD5mX
— Richard Corcoran (@richardcorcoran) December 7, 2017
According to a 2014 Pew Research Center report there are more than 850,000 undocumented immigrants living in the state. And the Sun Sentinel reports arrests have nearly doubled from last year.
The Pew findings show the top employment areas for undocumented immigrants are agriculture, construction, leisure and hospitality.
