We Deserve Honesty
Keith Fitzgerald OPPOSES ‘More Open Borders’ or Welfare for Illegal Aliens
It is time for my opponent to stop lying about my position on immigration. Immigration is a real issue in Florida and in America – but it is primarily addressed at the federal level because the U.S. Constitution gives the U.S. Congress the exclusive power to regulate borders and other immigration matters.
My opponent has suggested that I have voted to “give taxpayer funded welfare benefits to illegal aliens” because of my support for Florida Kidcare.
Don’t be deceived. I was proud to vote with a large, bipartisan coalition – including Speaker Marco Rubio, Speaker Pro Tempore Marty Bowen, and incoming Speaker Ray Sansom (all Republicans) – in support of revising eligibility requirements for Florida Kidcare. I am proud of my record of supporting this program, the state’s children’s health insurance program for children under age 19. Kidcare covers important services for children and ensures that the money Floridians pay in taxes to the federal government comes back to our state.
Similarly, my opponent has decided to lie about a book I wrote in 1996. This book recounts the history of immigration policy in the United States and, as academic research, absolutely does not make any policy recommendations. Suggesting that I call for “more open borders” is ridiculous – and irresponsible. State legislators have no power to regulate borders in any case. That is the job of the U.S. Congress.
I will say what I said to my opponent two years ago during the election: her charges against me on immigration policy are “absolutely concocted lies,” and if anyone can find a sentence in which I promote unrestricted immigration or open borders, I will drop out of this race right now. [Sarasota Herald-Tribune, October 27, 2006]
While I have quoted the Sarasota Herald-Tribune correctly, my opponent has not. In her mailers and on her attack website, she implies that she is quoting the Herald-Tribune, when in fact the article she cites is the very one that called her out on her lies in 2006.
Laura Benson is banking on the people of District 69 not paying attention to the facts. Let’s hold her accountable.
