Few issues in American politics inflame emotions more than immigration. Now a Tallahassee academic thinks he can help lower the temperature of the discussion.
Today, Mark Schlakman is the senior program director for the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at Florida State University. But years ago, he served as special counsel to Florida Governor Lawton Chiles. Schlakman remembers when that governor had his own immigration crisis. Thousands of refugees, mostly from Cuba and Haiti, were risking their lives on the high seas in a desperate attempt to reach Florida.
"Governor Chiles accepted the principles of federalism, However, he took a strong position in terms of what the federal government wasn't doing or must do moving forward."
Since then, immigration has become a national hot-button issue. And since many states have come up with their own approaches to the matter, Schlakman plans to launch a national fact-finding survey. Something he says hasn't really been done to the extent he proposes.
"The objective is to reach out to the 50 U.S. state governors' offices, the 5 U.S. territorial governors and up to 20 U.S. mayors."
And the purpose of all this is:
"To identify areas or issues that from their various perspectives could or should be more effectively addressed by or with the federal government."
The idea is picking up some powerful traction. Emilio Gonzales headed up immigration policy in the Department of Homeland Security during the President George W. Bush administration. He thinks a project like this is long overdue.
"The federal government is not only NOT doing anything to curb, they're also not doing anything to help. So the states feel obliged to get involved and do whatever they can within whatever powers they have to try and stop this human wave. And it is a human wave. There's no other way to describe it."
Gonzales isn't alone. Susan Martin heads the Institute for the Study of International Immigration at Georgetown University.
"You can't really solve the problem by just increasing border enforcement. You have to solve it in a much more holistic way and that's something that we're not doing, partially because it's locked up in congress."
Schlakman said that's why the results of the survey will go members of congress, as well as the new presidential administration. No matter who wins the election. He's convinced, despite all the conflict surrounding immigration, a way forward is possible.
"There are adversarial issues here. There are different perspectives. But there are also opportunities to cooperate, to collaborate and respect the constitutional framework that we all live within."
Schlakman said the survey results will also be made public after the data is in and compiled.
