As the owner of Marc Bell Capital Partners, an investment firm located in Boca Raton, Florida, Marc Bell is a top contributor for Congresswoman Lois Fankel’s political campaign donating $5,200. “So far so good,” is what he said about the job the congresswoman has done so far. For Boca Raton, “creating jobs and fixing the economy” are the most prevalent issues according to Bell.

He feels that Congress has made progress in addressing these issues. “Unemployment is going down, not as fast as it should be, but things are moving in the right direction.” As for the whole country, Bell says that “the economy, balancing the budget, cutting costs” are the issues Congress should focus on this year. 

Brett Smith, a manager from a Boca Raton Subway shop, agrees that immigration is a “huge” topic for debate in South Florida. “The number of illegals here increases every day, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Brett concurred that with large number of undocumented immigrants, there are “more customers in the area” therefore making them “beneficial to the workforce.” 

To get the full perspective of the district, we made calls to local businesses in the area and asked them about major issues in their community. These interviews were held to see how the local business owners of the district perceived the most prevalent topics surrounding them, specifically immigration reform. The population in district 22 is predominately white, but also has a large Hispanic population. The district is situated on South Florida’s coastline and is focused on its beautiful sandy beaches. Other than the beach, constituents tend to be found shopping or working. Popular businesses in this area include medicine, law, and tourism.  

However, Delray Beach manager from McDonald’s, Vivionna François, believes that undocumented immigrants do not affect her business and that McDonald’s only hires legal residents for their restaurants. 

Even for 18 year old Shea Gouldd, who owns her own bakery called Shea’s Bakery, immigrants do not affect her business. She also says that the federal government does not “handle anything well.” Her biggest issues facing her and her business now are taxes, interest rate, and renting. 

It is evident that in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, the issue of immigration does not affect all businesses. Even though there are a large number of undocumented people, local businesses decide to hire people who are here legally. 

Congresswoman Lois Frankel has taken a very liberal approach to immigration reform. She favors amnesty. During a July press release in Washington, DC, Frankel said, “I applaud the Senate’s passage of bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform.” Frankel believes that it shouldn’t be complex for undocumented people to acquire citizenship after living in the United States for so long and opposes exiting America to apply for citizenship. “We need a roadmap to citizenship where aspiring Americans pay taxes, families stay together and students who go to school here can continue to contribute to our economy,” says Frankel.

Fact box:

Florida District 22:

Total Population: 630, 775

Hispanic or Latino: 130,065

White: 544, 234

Black: 41, 954

American Indian: 1,378

Asian: 9,065

Native Hawaiian: 352

Other: 17,013

Mixed Race: 16,779

Median Household Income in 1999 Dollars: $40,487

White Alone Householder: $43,886

Blacks Alone Householder: $30,956

Hispanic Householder: $31,124

Winner of 2012 election in Florida: Barack Obama 

 

Reach guest contributor Laura Saker here.