Developed Strong Immigration Initiatives

hen waves of migrants from Cuba and Haiti sailed toward Florida's coastline during the summer of 1994, Governor Chiles acted swiftly. The Governor declared a state of emergency in South Florida to ensure the federal government would take decisive action to prevent another situation like the Mariel boatlift in 1980.

As a result, President Clinton changed more than 30 years of U.S./Cuba migration policy and initiated a series of talks with the Cuban government to stabilize the situation and prevent a future mass migration crisis.

While the enforcement of U.S. immigration law is a federal responsibility, the Chiles/MacKay administration pioneered and implemented state and national initiatives to protect Florida's residents from bearing an unfair burden of the costs relating to illegal and uncontrolled migration into the state. Florida was the first state to take legal action against the federal government seeking reimbursement of those costs.

The Governor also signed a historic agreement to expedite deportation of nonviolent criminal aliens incarcerated in Florida prisons. The agreement saved millions of dollars in incarceration costs and ensured inmates would not be released to Florida's streets. Federal prosecution would be swift if any of these nonviolent criminal aliens illegally returned to the United States.

In May 1996, Governor Chiles and Attorney General Janet Reno launced the Florida Immigration Initiative — a series of federal/state efforts intended to combat illegal, uncontrolled migration into Florida. When Congress acted later that year to strip the most vulnerable non-U.S. citizens of their critically needed federal assistance under the guise of welfare reform, Governor Chiles took a lead role in a successful bipartisan effort to restore their lifeline and reverse a huge shift in costs to states.

In October 1998, Governor Chiles and Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner signed a landmark mass migration agreement — another first between a state and the federal government — which details how the federal government will assume primary responsibility for on-shore response operations if migrants evade interdiction at sea and arrive illegally on Florida's shores. The agreement also provides reimbursement to the state and local governments for any requested assistance to the federal operations.

Recognizing that one of the best ways to help prevent mass migration crises is to work toward improving the quality of life in neighboring developing nations, the Chiles/MacKay administration established the Florida/Haiti Initiative in 1996 to promote democracy and help improve the health, education, government and economy of the Caribbean nation. The initiative served as a catalyst to mobilize material and human resources for a wide variety of needs in Haiti. Similar efforts are under way throughout the Caribbean and Central America.


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	hen waves of migrants from Cuba and Haiti sailed toward Florida's coastline during the summer of 1994, Governor Chiles acted swiftly. The Governor declared a state of emergency in South Florida to ensure the federal government would take decisive action to prevent another situation like the Mariel boatlift in 1980. As a result, President Clinton changed more than 30 years of U.S./Cuba migration policy and initiated a series of talks with the Cuban government to stabilize the situation and prevent a future mass migration crisis. While the enforcement of U.S. immigration law is a federal responsibility, the Chiles/MacKay administration pioneered and implemented state and national initiatives to protect Florida's residents from bearing an unfair burden of the costs relating to illegal and uncontrolled migration into the state. Florida was the first state to take legal action against the federal government seeking reimbursement of those costs. The Governor also signed a historic agreement to expedite deportation of nonviolent criminal aliens incarcerated in Florida prisons. The agreement saved millions of dollars in incarceration costs and ensured inmates would not be released to Florida's streets. Federal prosecution would be swift if any of these nonviolent criminal aliens illegally returned to the United States. In May 1996, Governor Chiles and Attorney General Janet Reno launced the Florida Immigration Initiative — a series of federal/state efforts intended to combat illegal, uncontrolled migration into Florida. When Congress acted later that year to strip the most vulnerable non-U.S. citizens of their critically needed federal assistance under the guise of welfare reform, Governor Chiles took a lead role in a successful bipartisan effort to restore their lifeline and reverse a huge shift in costs to states. In October 1998, Governor Chiles and Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner signed a landmark mass migration agreement — another first between a state and the federal government — which details how the federal government will assume primary responsibility for on-shore response operations if migrants evade interdiction at sea and arrive illegally on Florida's shores. The agreement also provides reimbursement to the state and local governments for any requested assistance to the federal operations. Recognizing that one of the best ways to help prevent mass migration crises is to work toward improving the quality of life in neighboring developing nations, the Chiles/MacKay administration established the Florida/Haiti Initiative in 1996 to promote democracy and help improve the health, education, government and economy of the Caribbean nation. The initiative served as a catalyst to mobilize material and human resources for a wide variety of needs in Haiti. Similar efforts are under way throughout the Caribbean and Central America.
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