Inaccurate Mailers Attack Senate Candidate on Immigration

Rep. Kevin Ambler is in a tough race for state Senate.

A shadowy group is attacking a Tampa state Senate candidate for allegedly voting to give illegal immigrants free hospital care and in-state tuition. But both claims are either inaccurate or incomplete.

As the race for the Hillsborough/Pasco county seat heats up between Rep. Kevin Ambler and Hillsborough County Commissioner Jim Norman, so has the negative campaigning.

Recently, a series of mailers put out by an organization called the Florida First Initiative accused Ambler of voting to provide benefits to illegal immigrants.

Cracking down on illegal immigration has been one of Ambler’s main talking points. He has sponsored an immigration bill similar to that passed by the Arizona legislature.

“I feel that we have a huge problem here that threatens the economic safety as well as the actual safety of our citizens,” Ambler said during an interview with Fox 13.

The Florida First Initiative’s advertisements accused Ambler of providing “$100 million to illegal alien healthcare.” The piece of legislation they cited was a 2007 bill adopted by the Florida House of Representatives that defined who is eligible for KidCare, state-sponsored health care for children.

Ambler says the bill would provide health care for U.S.-born kids of illegal immigrants, who are U.S. citizens. He added that it would be unconstitutional to deny health care coverage to these American-born children.

“If the children that we are talking about are children born in the United States under the United States Constitution, those children are U.S. citizens,” Ambler said. “You cannot punish the children for the wrongs of their parents.”

The 2007 KidCare bill deals with more than just U.S. citizens. Legislative analyst Arnold Cooperman pointed out that to receive premium assistance, the child must either be a citizen or a qualified non-citizen. "Qualified non-citizen" is a classification designated by the federal government.

KidCare’s Web site lists who counts as a “qualified non-citizen”: permanent residents, refugees, asylees, Cuban and Haitian entrants, victims of human trafficking, and others.

KidCare's current policy does not require parents to disclose their immigration status. But it does require the child to have a social security number or proof that he or she is applying for one.

While the KidCare bill was going through the house, Republican representative Gayle Harrell offered a last minute amendment that would bar illegal immigrants from receiving premium assistance. That amendment was not up for consideration.

Another advertisement says Ambler flip-flopped on immigrant issues, stating that he “voted to offer in-state college tuition rates for children of illegal aliens.”

This accusation refers to a 2006 bill he voted for when he was a member of the college and university committee. Ambler says when he voted for the bill, he was not aware that it dealt with illegal immigration at all.

“There was no intent to provide provide benefits to illegal immigrants,” Ambler said. “I can tell you that the entire Republican caucus voted for that bill.”

The 2006 bill, which tried to define who could receive in-state tuition, was complicated. One part allowed children of foreign military personnel and multinational corporations to receive in-state tuition. Another part of it offered out-of-state tuition exemption for students who lived and attended high school in Florida for at least three years.

The bill did not specify whether a student is barred from exemptions if his or her parents are undocumented. The bill is vague and there could be different interpretations, said Arnold Cooperman, a Florida House legislative analyst.

Every member of the college and university committee, except Republican representative Dorthy Hukill, voted for the bill, but the bill never came up for a vote in the full House.

Little is known about the Florida First Initiative, the Tallahassee-based 527 organization that has ties to gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum. The group has also launched a series of attacks on Rick Scott, McCollum’s opponent.

The organization is not currently in Florida division of election’s online register. One of the big contributors to the Florida First Initiative is another 527 called Freedom First Committee, which is connected with incoming Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos.

The Tampa Tribune reported last month that Haridopolos endorses Norman, Ambler’s opponent in the senate race.

Jim Norman’s campaign, the Florida First Initiative and the organization’s registered agent Ken Cleary have not responded to WUSF’s calls.