Guests for Sundial on Monday, March 5:
Democratic State Rep. Kionne McGhee, from District 117 in Miami-Dade County , discussed Senate Bill 7026, also known as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.
The Senate held a special meeting over the weekend to try to come to an agreement over the bill as the legislative session is scheduled to end Friday. The bill proposes funding for mental health services, and an age requirement to be implemented for the purchase of firearms. Bi-partisan agreement has been difficult to achieve due to provisions of the bill that allow for teachers who undergo special firearm training to be armed while on school grounds and it has been met with resistance because it does not ban the sale of assault weapons.
McGhee spoke with us on what measures he believes should be adopted in order to prevent further mass school shootings.
President Donald Trump made March 5 the deadline to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals also known as DACA or the Dreamers Act. Congress has not extended the deadline, but a federal judge has said that the program, which provides renewable legal status to children who were brought to the United States illegally by their immigrant parents, would stay in place for now.
DACA recipient and immigrant rights activist Jasiel Lopez joined the program to share his experiences and relay his hopes for the future of the Dreamers Act.
Florida Immigrant Coalition founder and Executive Director Maria Rodriguez spoke with us on what measures her organization is taking to promote a path to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants in the state.
Attorney Alexander Berengaut represents the University of California in a federal lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security. The suit has not been resolved, but an injunction was issued that has kept DACA rights in place for people who already have them. He joined the program to discuss his role in the case and described his hopes for the resolution of the suit.