U.S. Senate seat: Did immigrants lose a vote in Florida?

From OrlandoSentinel.com

Immigration advocates are wondering if Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s pick for a temporary Senate seat will be as friendly to their cause as the outgoing Sen. Mel Martinez was.

America’s Voice issued a statement today asking if Crist appointee George LeMieux will be favorable to the kind of immigration reform that would allow for the legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants—such as Sen. Martinez had championed.

That much is not clear, since Crist has made statements about supporting his party’s outreach to the Hispanic community, but has stayed away from the controversial subject of immigration reform—an issue with which the next senator from Florida will most likely have to address in the coming year.

LeMieux is just filling a seat for which Crist is considered the top Republican contender. His Republican challenger, Marco Rubio, has expressed support for some form of legalization program. U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, the Democratic contender for the seat, has said he supports comprehensive immigration reform. And U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, the Democrat who holds the other Florida seat, supported legislation for reform in 2007 and favors the DREAM Act that would offer visas to young immigrants.

Crist and his appointee remain the only question marks on immigration.

The statement from the group based in Washington, D.C. asked: “Will the new Senator follow Martinez’s example and push for comprehensive immigration reform, the policy supported by the vast majority of Latino voters and Americans overall? Or will he embrace a more strident viewpoint, and further marginalize the Party at this crucial moment? How will LeMieux’s record in the Senate help or hurt the budding Crist candidacy, particularly as he does outreach to Latino and immigrant voters?”

It seems as if those immigration advocates see some cause for concern in the pick of LeMieux as they warned that Republicans in Florida could go the way of Republicans in California, isolating Hispanic voters if they adopt what could be perceived as anti-immigrant stances.

“All across America, the Republican Party’s rhetoric and actions on immigration reform have sent Latino voters into the Democratic camp these past several years,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice. “Martinez was right to point his Party toward a new direction, and all eyes are on Governor Crist and George LeMieux to see if they will follow through and embrace a more inclusive stance on issues of importance to this group issues like comprehensive immigration reform.”