**TALLAHASSEE, FL - ** Governor David Acton (R-TX) condemned attempts by Democratic lawmakers, led by Colorado state legislator Jordan Carter, to water down a Florida bill to crack down on illegal immigration.

Governor Acton in particular highlighted problems with two amendments, though he opposes all of them. “Democrats want to make it to where an illegal immigrant has to go through the entire process of being convicted of an additional crime, after he’s been arrested and positively identified as an illegal alien, before local law enforcement can hand him over to ICE. That’s absolutely insane. Illegal immigrants, especially ones being arrested for crimes, do not have a right to be in this country. They must be sent back. This only allows them more time to disappear and evade justice.”

He also criticized an amendment that would protect sanctuary cities. “Democrats want to pass laws that prevent their jurisdiction’s law enforcement from cooperating with immigration enforcement. So you have them combining provisions that allow them to ignore federal law and make it harder to arrest illegal aliens, and what does that give you? According to Democrats, that is apparently getting tough on illegal immigration! It’s two-faced. It’s disgraceful. They want to continue selling out our country and undermining the rule of law, but they’ll talk out of both sides of their mouth while doing it.”

Governor Acton also pointed to Democrats opposing other policies elsewhere to ensure law and order and crack down on crime. “Democrats like Jordan Carter can’t even vote to crack down on criminals in Missouri. They feel more sorry for lawbreakers than good citizens, and they fight harder for illegal aliens than actual Americans.”