| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to illegal or undocumented aliens; |
| 3 | creating s. 775.0865, F.S.; requiring that the court |
| 4 | reclassify a felony or misdemeanor offense to the next |
| 5 | higher degree if the offense is the second or subsequent |
| 6 | offense committed by an illegal or undocumented alien who |
| 7 | has unlawfully reentered the United States after |
| 8 | deportation; providing for application of the severity |
| 9 | ranking chart of the Criminal Punishment Code; defining |
| 10 | the term "illegal or undocumented alien"; creating s. |
| 11 | 944.5965, F.S.; requiring that the Department of |
| 12 | Corrections provide to the United States Department of |
| 13 | Homeland Security certain information concerning inmates |
| 14 | who are suspected of being illegal or undocumented aliens; |
| 15 | requiring that the department transfer an illegal or |
| 16 | undocumented alien to the custody of the United States |
| 17 | Department of Homeland Security upon completion of |
| 18 | sentence; providing procedures for the Department of |
| 19 | Corrections to transfer illegal or undocumented aliens who |
| 20 | voluntarily choose to return to their country of origin; |
| 21 | providing an effective date. |
| 22 |
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| 23 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 24 |
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| 25 | Section 1. Section 775.0865, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 26 | to read: |
| 27 | 775.0865 Crimes committed by an illegal or undocumented |
| 28 | alien; felony or misdemeanor reclassification.-- |
| 29 | (1) If an illegal or undocumented alien is convicted of |
| 30 | committing a felony or misdemeanor in this state and: |
| 31 | (a) Has previously been convicted of a felony or |
| 32 | misdemeanor in this state; |
| 33 | (b) Has been deported to his or her home country by the |
| 34 | Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the United |
| 35 | States Department of Homeland Security; and |
| 36 | (c) Has reentered the United States without legal |
| 37 | authorization and documentation, |
| 38 | |
| 39 | the court shall reclassify the felony or misdemeanor to the next |
| 40 | higher degree as provided in this section. |
| 41 | (2) The reclassification shall be made in the following |
| 42 | manner: |
| 43 | (a) In the case of a misdemeanor of the second degree, the |
| 44 | offense shall be reclassified as a misdemeanor of the first |
| 45 | degree. |
| 46 | (b) In the case of a misdemeanor of the first degree, the |
| 47 | offense shall be reclassified as a felony of the third degree. |
| 48 | (c) In the case of a felony of the third degree, the |
| 49 | offense shall be reclassified as a felony of the second degree. |
| 50 | (d) In the case of a felony of the second degree, the |
| 51 | offense shall be reclassified as a felony of the first degree. |
| 52 | (e) In the case of a felony of the first degree or a |
| 53 | felony of the first degree punishable by a term of imprisonment |
| 54 | not exceeding life, the offense shall be reclassified as a life |
| 55 | felony. |
| 56 | (3) For purposes of sentencing under chapter 921, the |
| 57 | following offense severity ranking levels apply: |
| 58 | (a) An offense that is a misdemeanor of the first degree |
| 59 | and that is reclassified under this section as a felony of the |
| 60 | third degree shall be ranked in level 2 of the offense severity |
| 61 | ranking chart. |
| 62 | (b) A felony offense that is reclassified under this |
| 63 | section shall be one level above the ranking specified in s. |
| 64 | 921.0022 or s. 921.0023 for the offense committed. |
| 65 | (4) As used in this section, the term "illegal or |
| 66 | undocumented alien" means a person who: |
| 67 | (a) Is not a citizen of the United States; |
| 68 | (b) Has entered the United States in violation of federal |
| 69 | law; |
| 70 | (c) Is not lawfully present in the United States; or |
| 71 | (d) Has legally entered the United States subject to a |
| 72 | time limit but has remained illegally in the United States after |
| 73 | the expiration of the time limit. |
| 74 | Section 2. Section 944.5965, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 75 | to read: |
| 76 | 944.5965 List of suspected illegal or undocumented aliens; |
| 77 | notifications to the United States Department of Homeland |
| 78 | Security; voluntary transfer of illegal or undocumented aliens |
| 79 | to their countries of origin; procedures.-- |
| 80 | (1) The department shall compile monthly a list of persons |
| 81 | suspected to be illegal or undocumented aliens who are serving a |
| 82 | sentence in a correctional institution in this state. The list |
| 83 | shall include the earliest possible date of release of the |
| 84 | offender, whether through expiration of the term of the imposed |
| 85 | sentence, parole, or other means. The department shall provide a |
| 86 | copy of the list to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement |
| 87 | Section of the United States Department of Homeland Security so |
| 88 | that the section may determine whether it wishes to take custody |
| 89 | of the suspected illegal or undocumented aliens. If the |
| 90 | Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section indicates that it |
| 91 | wishes to take custody of an inmate, the department is |
| 92 | responsible for the inmate until the section takes physical |
| 93 | custody of the inmate. |
| 94 | (2) The department, pursuant to a valid detainer lodged |
| 95 | against an illegal or undocumented alien who is not legally |
| 96 | present in the United States and who has been convicted of or |
| 97 | has pled guilty to a felony, shall transfer that alien to the |
| 98 | custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section of |
| 99 | the United States Department of Homeland Security upon |
| 100 | completion of the alien's prison term. |
| 101 | (3) The department may at any time interview inmates |
| 102 | appearing on the monthly list of persons suspected to be illegal |
| 103 | or undocumented aliens who are serving a sentence in a |
| 104 | correctional institution in this state. The department may ask |
| 105 | the inmate whether he or she would prefer to finish his or her |
| 106 | sentence in the correctional facility or whether he or she would |
| 107 | prefer to be released from incarceration and returned to his or |
| 108 | her country of origin. If the inmate voluntarily agrees to be |
| 109 | returned to his or her country of origin, the department shall |
| 110 | purchase for the inmate a one-way airplane ticket to the |
| 111 | inmate's country of origin. The department shall transfer the |
| 112 | inmate to the county jail in the county of the airport from |
| 113 | which the inmate will depart. At the time of departure, deputies |
| 114 | of the sheriff shall escort the inmate from the county jail to |
| 115 | the appropriate airplane and may not leave the airport boarding |
| 116 | area until the airplane is airborne. |
| 117 | Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2008. |