Florida has an estimated 5 million immigrants — more than 20 percent of its total population. It is also ground zero of the Trump administration’s mass deportation program. With the eager assistance of Gov. Ron DeSantis and state legislators, it has seen some of the country’s most aggressive enforcement round-ups and most enthusiastic cooperation from state and local law enforcement. This week, we talk to Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, about the efforts of grassroots and community organizations to fight for the rights and security of the state’s immigrant communities.
We also take a drive out the Tamiami Trail, through the Everglades, to the entrance of Alligator Alcatraz — DeSantis’ hastily built immigrant detention camp, which has already generated many complaints about inhumane treatment of detainees.
And in our arts and culture segment, we consider the work of the late Arkansas poet Frank Stanford. A new biography makes a case for his place in the pantheon of modern Southern literature.
Show Notes:
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Republican Party of Florida Storefront
https://secure.winred.com/republican-party-of-florida/storefront
“Bright Lit Place” WLRN
“Frank’s Battlefield” Arkansas Times
“Frank Stanford” Poetry Foundation
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/frank-stanford
“It Wasn’t a Dream; It Was a Flood” Frank Stanford