The Scott-O-Meter is tracking three different promises made by Rick Scott related to immigration. Scott pledged to bring an Arizona-style immigration law to Florida, to require all Florida employers to use a federal E-Verify that checks a person's immigration status and to oppose amnesty for people living in the United States illegally.
The first two promises have so far been rated Promise Broken by the Scott-O-Meter.
But what about Scott's broader promise to "oppose amnesty?"
The issue is largely a federal one — which means Scott is hamstrung by what he can do — but the governor is on record opposing the federal DREAM Act, which critics say would amount to amnesty for some.
The legislation, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives in December 2010 but died in the U.S. Senate, would have allowed some children of undocumented immigrations to become legal residents.
Hours before the House vote, then Gov.-elect Scott told reporters he opposed the act.
"I'm against the DREAM Act," he said during a tour of the Port of Miami. "Why? I don't believe in amnesty. … I believe the federal government needs to secure our borders. I also believe we need to have a logical immigration policy. I don't believe in amnesty. I also believe that if you are stopped in our state and you are violating our laws, just like I get asked for my ID if I were stopped, you should be asked if you're legal or not. We have to be fair. We're a state of laws, we're a country of laws, and we have to abide by the law."
We contacted Scott's office on Dec. 9, 2011, to ask if he had made any other or more specific efforts to fight amnesty. Spokesman Lane Wright said he couldn't find anything specific related to amnesty but says that Scott often says in press gaggles that if anybody who is here illegally is caught committing a crime "we should have the ability to ask them if they are here legally."
The issue of amnesty is largely out of Scott's hands, but he did use to bully pulpit to oppose the federal DREAM Act, which critics say amounted amnesty for some illegal immigrants.
To us, that makes this immigration pledge a Promise Kept.