Billionaire from Miami creates a fund to protect illegal immigrants

Photo: twitter / @ ICE

The billionaire from Miami decided to defend illegal immigrants in court over the next couple of years in order to counter the aggressive migration policy of the Trump administration.

Told about it Miami Herald.

Mike Fernandez, a Republican, intends to create in the coming days and independently fund a non-profit organization that will provide legal services for illegal immigrants who face deportation from the United States.

“Immigrants are the link to the economic survival of our country,” Fernandez said in an interview Miami Herald. - We are hard workers. We clean the rooms. We collect fruits. We care about elderly people. If we don't, no one will do it."

Over the next 2 years, Fernandez hopes to attract at least $ 5 million to his foundation. Immigration Partnership and Coalition (IMPAC) Fund. And if he fails, he said that he would independently finance such agencies as Catholic Legal Services and Miami-based Americans for Immigrant Justice. Fernandez has already paid $ 500 to each of them.

The politician assured that only those people who did not commit crimes would get under protection. [Illegally present in the United States is in itself a civil wrong]. Part of the money will be used by immigrants to study their rights, to assist in applying for residency and citizenship, and to raise public awareness about how immigrants affect the economy.

Billionaire Fernandez, 64, is a prominent figure in local politics. He was a major donor to Republican Jeb Bush's presidential campaign. After his departure, Fernandez promised to support Democrat Hillary Clinton. He paid for newspaper ads against Trump, which led to a lawsuit by Trump's lawyers during the presidential race.

The politician began to help immigrants for a reason. Over 50 years ago from also turned out to be an illegal immigrant.

“We were expelled from Cuba on Christmas Eve in 1964,” Fernandez said. “I came to Mexico with my family, who had no documents. I know what it's like to hide in a hotel room and only play outside late at night. My mother never left the room during the entire 6 months we spent in Mexico.”

Fernandez hired immigration lawyer Wendy Adelson as executive director of the fund. Adelson is a former professor of immigration law at the University of Florida, and has overseen projects for the protection of human rights and the Immigration Act from the former Soviet Union countries.

For weeks, Fernandez traveled around the country to create his coalition and meet with political players and business people who supported such a pro-immigration effort.

Ideally, as Fernandez said, he would like to raise $ 10 million for his foundation, which will begin its work in Florida, and then expand at the national level.

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