Outside, hundreds rallied against the measure, including students and workers who came after their shifts.

The day before some 500 rallied against the ordinance in a park in front of city hall. Protesters came from small towns throughout central Florida and from as far south as Homestead and Immokalee. Two smaller demonstrations, of 50 and 125 people, took place during the preceding week.

Avon Park is a town of about 9,000 people. It is surrounded by orange groves. Many of those who work in nearby fields and dairy barns live here.

Most of those who spoke at the hearing opposed the measure. Mayor Thomas Macklin then solicited a motion to table, which would have saved the measure for a vote at a later date. The motion failed. The proposed ordinance was then struck down in a 3-2 vote. “These hearings show me that 70 percent of you haven’t read the ordinance,” complained Macklin, who voted for the measure. The mayor had campaigned for the bill, crafted after the “Illegal Immigration Relief Act,” which was approved July 13 by the city council in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Avon Park city attorney Michael Disler was fired after he expressed his opinion that the ordinance was unconstitutional.

The Avon Park measure would have made English the city’s “official language”—prohibiting translation of official forms, public signs, and telephone communications. This provision generated a lot of discussion the night of the vote. Some argued it would propel immigrants to learn English. Others pointed out its pitfalls, which would include minimizing the ability of Spanish speakers to call for emergency medical services.

Nora Santana said the proposal had already promoted a climate of prejudice against those whose first language is not English. When her relatives visited her recently from out of town, talking in Spanish amongst themselves in public, Santana said she was told to “speak English or go back to where she came from.” She responded that although “I am Puerto Rican, I came from Fort Benning, Georgia,” drawing laughter and applause.

People from various classes and political convictions spoke at the hearing. They included representatives of right-wing groups, such as the Minutemen and Floridians Against Illegal Immigration that supported the ordinance. Robert Barben, whose family owns a fruit company on 1,400 acres around Avon Park, read a resolution passed by the Highlands County Citrus Growers Association opposing the measure. He said, “Without the Mexican population we would be out of business.” The local Chamber of Commerce has campaigned against the ordinance and sent representatives such as local landlords and businessmen to voice their opposition.

Christine Moorer, who spent a lifetime working in the fields and is now disabled, said early in the evening, “I don’t mind if immigrants come, but come legal,” a sentiment echoed by others.

Later in the hearing, Lillie Hilton said to applause, “I have no cows and no groves—I am here not for myself but for the human heart. This law is not the answer. What do you want, to send us all back on the boat? This reminds me of what they said about Blacks.”

Eric Simpson, the Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. Congress in Florida’s 17th Congressional District, also took the floor at the hearing. “The U.S. constitution said slavery was legal and those who escaped were ‘illegals,’” he said. “It took a civil war to make slavery illegal, and then the civil rights revolution to end Jim Crow segregation in the South. Today, we are seeing the birth of a new proletarian movement for the legalization of immigrants that has strengthened the working class and the labor movement.” The proposed ordinance would be a blow to this working-class movement and should be defeated, he said.

Most of those protesting outside were vocal against the ordinance. Two construction workers who are Black saw the protest and joined in. “It’s affecting all of us,” said Arkeen Watson, 22. “They aren’t taking jobs. Immigrant workers need to live, too.”

Cheers erupted in the community center when the measure was voted down. Chants of Sí se pudo (Yes we did!), “Hell no, they won’t go!” and “USA, USA” caught on outside as immigrant rights supporters celebrated the victory.  
 
 
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