Cabinet Supports E-Verify but Crist, McCollum Differ on Arizona-Law Injunction

With immigration becoming one of the chief issues in the race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, Attorney General Bill McCollum, trying to catch up with front-runner Rick Scott, sponsored a motion at Thursdays Cabinet meeting for state offices to use E-Verify to ensure that no illegal aliens are hired.

E-Verify is a service provided at no cost by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration that compares completed I-9s filled out by potential employees to information held by the federal government.

When individuals who ignore the legal process of citizenship obtain work, they are taking away employment opportunities from thousands of Floridians who need jobs to support themselves and their families, said McCollum.

McCollums motion was backed by every member of the Cabinet -- Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running as an independent for the U.S. Senate; state CFO Alex Sink, who is the likely Democratic nominee in the gubernatorial race; andAgriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson, who is the only member of the Cabinet not seeking another office this election cycle.

While united on the vote, McCollum and Crist had different takes on an injunction issued from a U.S. District Court judge in Phoenix on Wednesday striking down parts of Arizonas new immigration law. McCollum said he opposed the decision while Crist said, at a media event this morning, that he had no reaction.