A Florida state lawmaker has filed a bill allowing families of those slain by illegal immigrants to sue local governments.
Florida State Representative Berny Jacques announced that the Shane Jones Act is “aimed at establishing protocol to provide compensation to the victims and families of crimes committed by illegal aliens.”
The bill, HB 299, honors the husband of Nikki Jones, described as a “mother of two who tragically lost her husband due to a traffic accident committed by an illegal alien with numerous prior arrests for driving violations.”
Jones said of the bill, “For too long, American families have been left to pick up the pieces after their loved ones were taken from them by crimes that could have been prevented.” She explained that the Act serves as a “turning point — finally holding local governments accountable when they fail to enforce immigration laws.”
The bill imposes a $10,000 fine on state law enforcement agencies failing to enforce and comply with the current state immigration law.
“Florida stands against lawlessness,” Jacques said in a statement. “We will stand with law-abiding citizens first and ensure that those who break our laws are held accountable.”
A similar bill introduced in February allows victims of migrant crime in sanctuary cities to sue those areas.
According to the bill, “Any individual, or a spouse, parent, or child of such individual (if the individual is deceased or permanently incapacitated), who is the victim of a murder, rape, or any felony (as defined by the State in which the crime occurred) for which an alien has been arrested, convicted, or sentenced to a term of imprisonment of at least 1 year, may bring an action for compensatory damages against a State or a political subdivision of a State, in the appropriate Federal or State court.”
