Jorge Garrido is a Cuban-born American conservative who believes that when anyone becomes an American citizen, they are American before anything else. If someone has friends or family in America illegally, that is not a reason to allow illegal immigration to continue. Garrido knows what he is talking about. He came to Florida in the eighties as a legal migrant on the Mariel boatlift. Garrido was in the Coast Guard in the nineties and worked on a drug task force. He is the current chairman of The Hispanic Vote, a nonpartisan organization in Palm Beach County that endorses and supports politicians who work with the Hispanic community. Their mission is to empower and inform Hispanic voters.
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One of the group’s main focuses has been affordable and attainable housing within the community. This is an important issue throughout Florida, with about a thousand new residents coming to the state daily. The Hispanic Vote has fought hard to ensure that politicians prioritizing affordable housing for the whole community get elected.
Garrido has a fascinating personal story that he shared with Florida Jolt. Garrido is known as a “Marielito.”
The Mariel boatlift was a mass emigration of Cubans to the United States in 1980. It was named after the Cuban port of Mariel, where the boat people departed. The boatlift was triggered by a Cuban government decision to lift restrictions on emigration temporarily. Thousands of Cubans took advantage of this opportunity and attempted to leave the country by boat, mainly heading toward Florida. The boatlift lasted for approximately five months, from April to October 1980.
The Mariel boatlift was a significant event in the history of Cuban emigration and had lasting effects on both Cuba and the United States. It represented an important chapter in the ongoing migration patterns between the two countries and contributed to shaping Cuban-American communities in the United States.
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The Mariel boatlift was ended by mutual agreement between the two governments in late October 1980. By then, as many as 125,000 Cubans had reached Florida. Garrido notes that the 80s were a time of high inflation and unemployment. Many were unhappy to see the influx of Cubans, legal or not, as they were perceived as low-wage earners, taking away jobs from people already here.
Garrido is a conservative Republican who believes that Hispanics’ needs must align with what suits all Americans. He feels that if someone has friends or family in America illegally, that is not a reason to allow illegal immigration to continue. He says some people have gotten stuck in the system. We should help the people here under those circumstances, but we must stop the influx of illegal immigrants coming in now and the influx coming in due to the end of Title 42.
Garrido says Hispanic leaders must publicly support Florida’s new law, SB 1718, which Governor DeSantis signed into law on May 10th.
Illegal immigration devastates our country, and a true conservative leader must take the lead in supporting Governor DeSantis and be vocal about it. ~Jorge Garrido, Chairman of The Hispanic Vote
Garrido says Illegal immigration is bad for Americans and the Hispanic community for numerous reasons, such as human trafficking and drugs. He points out that we don’t have the infrastructure to accommodate a massive influx of people in Florida.
With a thousand people from other states coming to Florida daily, we are having trouble adapting affordable housing for those legally here. People here legally are not getting jobs that they would because illegals can be hired for less. They’re being taken advantage of while legal Americans are suffering. The money illegal immigrants make is not returning to our economy. They are paying nothing into America and sending billions of dollars back to their countries of origin. Other countries get the benefit, and we don’t .~Jorge Garrido, Chairman of The Hispanic Vote.
Garrido also pointed out that some pastors are taking advantage of illegal immigrants, which is why they say it’s terrible for the economy. He says it’s awful for “their economy.” Their congregations are made up of illegals, and they’re making money from them through tithing.
Garrido is interested in helping people here legally, and he doesn’t believe in identity politics above all else. Just because someone is Hispanic doesn’t mean they do what is best for their people. Maybe they are, perhaps they aren’t. He says most Hispanics in America feel the same way he does. They believe in welcoming legal immigrants only.
All of the same rules apply to immigrants from anywhere. Illegal immigration is not strictly a Hispanic issue and shouldn’t be treated as such. Any leaders who tried to stop Governor DeSantis from signing SB 1718 knew the governor would move forward and sign that bill. Where were these “leaders” two months earlier, writing the governor? Where were the proactive measures? It seems the real purpose was to have bad publicity for the governor. It was a political hit job. ~Jorge Garrido, Chairman of The Hispanic Vote
America is a beautiful country; to keep it that way, we must fix our broken immigration system. Governor did the right thing by taking on the illegal immigration problem and boldly enacting the law. He’s shown that Floridians and Americans are the main priority.
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