Republican rivals for governor, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Rick Scott, have accused each other of being too helpful toward illegal immigrants — a hot topic in the wake of the Arizona immigration law. Their campaigns sent dueling press releases June 15 and 16, 2010, trying to portray their opponent’s business practices as being too friendly to illegal immigrants. The Republicans’ positions on illegal immigration will be key for primary voters. If elected, Scott has promised to bring an Arizona-style law to Florida — a law that requires officers who have made lawful stops to check an individual’s immigration status. PolitiFact gave McCollum a full-flop for sending mixed signals on the law.
McCollum sent these fighting words in a press release June 15, 2010: “In just the latest case of hypocrisy, it was revealed today that Rick Scott has heavily invested in a company that is geared to helping illegal aliens transfer money to family and friends out of the country. … Rick Scott says he wants to crack down on illegal immigration, but now we find out he has been profiting from illegal immigrants.”
The following day, June 16, 2010, Scott’s campaign issued a press release about McCollum which stated: “Bill McCollum jumped his sinking ship of a campaign today and fled to Washington, D.C., where he served as a lobbyist whose clients enabled mortgages for illegal immigrants.”
‘In this Truth-O-Meter item, we explore whether Scott invested in a company that is “geared to helping illegal aliens transfer money to friends and family out of the country.” Click here.
