The pressure is growing on detention centers here in Florida that house immigrant kids who’ve been separated from their parents at the border.
What’s next for the children? A judge said they must be reunited with their families. A watchdog will tour the centers as protestors march around the country demanding action.
Meanwhile, candidates running for Florida governor debated this week as a new poll shows a very tight contest on both sides of the aisle.
And, Florida is getting a cryptocurrency czar. This week’s Florida Roundup podcast look at the growth of digital currencies, like crypto- and why they need to be regulated as the industry expands across the state.
Trump’s Separation of Immigrant Families Trigger ‘Families Belong Together’ Rallies
Saturday hundreds of thousands of Americans enraged by the separation of immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border will take to the streets to protest a controversial Trump administration policy that has caused the detention of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
They will call on the government to reunite more than 2,000 migrant children taken from their parents.
“Families Belong Together” rallies are planned in more than 200 cities across the U.S., including every major city here in Florida.
As the protestors rally, a judge has ordered that families be reunited as soon as possible.
That’s turning up the heat on child detention centers like the one in Homestead that’s housing some of the migrant children.
President Donald Trump, under intense pressure, reversed his zero tolerance policy of family separation, and a federal judge this week ordered immigration officials to reunite all of the children with their parents in 30 days, or within 14 days if the children are younger than six.
But it’s still unclear how exactly that will happen. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has created an unaccompanied children reunification task force to begin working toward reuniting families.
So can the kids make it back with their parents? And what about those Florida detention centers?
We welcomed Ericka Curran, an attorney who runs the immigration clinic at the Florida Coastal School of Law to discuss the issue.
Saturday marches are planned in:
Boca Raton, Clermont, Dade City, Daytona Beach, Deland, Fort Myers, Gainesville, Gulfport, Hollywood, Inverness, Jacksonville, Jensen Beach, Key Largo, Lake Worth, Lakeland, Melbourne, Miami, Naples, Orlando, Palmetto Bay, Panama City, Pensacola, Saint Augustine, Sarasota, Sebastian, Sebring, Tallahassee, Tampa, The Villages, West Palm Beach, Spring Hill
Top GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Debate
The Republican candidates for Florida governor- Adam Putnam and Ron DeSantis- appeared on Fox News last night in a televised debate from Kissimmee.
Putnam, the state’s Agriculture Commissioner, leads DeSantis, a Congressman from the Palm Coast area, in the latest poll of the state’s Republican voters.
After last night’s debate, some viewers called the winner- not Putnam or DeSantis- but President Trump. That’s because both candidates took pains to praise the president, often at the expense of discussing Florida issues.
On the Democratic side, it’s a crowded field of five candidates seeking the nomination.
Former Congresswoman Gwen Graham and former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine are currently neck and neck atop the latest polls.
So what’s the state of the race? Keep in mind the primary is coming up very soon. Elections officials will start sending mail ballots in four weeks and in just two weeks for overseas voters. Many voters remain undecided.
The Roundup spoke with Adam Smith, Political Editor for the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida appoint Cryptocurrency Chief
A brand new position is being created in Florida: cryptocurrency chief.
Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said there’s a need to oversee the growing crypto industry in the state. He’s ordered his office to create a position that will manage the application of current insurance and securities laws to initial coin offerings (ICOs) and digital currencies. The designee will also develop a regulatory framework within the state.
If you’re confused about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, you’re not alone. What’s all this about? And why’s it growing so fast?
Jacksonville Business Journal Editor Tim Gibbons joined us with more about the world of crypto.
