A Florida-based immigrant rights organization announced they will continue to protest at presidential candidates' events as they want a pathway to citizenship for immigrants currently in the U.S.

The Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), a coalition of over 30-member organization and 100 allies for the fair treatment of immigrant, candidate Jeb Bush, former Florida governor, protested against former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's presidential announcement, which forced him to speak about immigration. As Latin Post reported, Bush's original speech made no reference to immigration, but he has to improvise and speak about it as protesters made their voices known last Monday.

"Just so our friends know, the next president will pass meaningful immigration reform so that will be resolved -- not by executive order," Bush said to protesters wearing yellow shirts that stated, "Legal status is not enough."

"We wanted to see what was Jeb Bush's stance on immigration," FLIC Communications Manager Natalia Jaramillo said, via NBC affiliate WLFA.

Many immigrant rights advocates have criticized Bush's immigration stance.

According to People for the American Way (PFAW), a progressive nonprofit organization, Bush's priorities "are clearly out of line" with the Latino community. PFAW Coordinator of Political Campaigns Carlos Sanchez said Bush's belief is to not provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. The organization also launched a Spanish-language advertisement across four swing states highlighting Bush's position on the issue.

Last May, Bush said the 11 million U.S. immigrants deserve an "earned legal status" while fixing the broken immigration system. During a speech at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), a Latino evangelical group, Bush said the immigration system has to improve by making the legal immigration process easier and dealing with the 11 million immigrants who should "come out of the shadows." According to Bush, the 11 million immigrants should have an "earned legal status" path, pay a fine but not receive government assistance and then "over a period of time" earn legal status.

Julio Calderon, an undocumented immigrant who attended Bush's presidential-bid announcement, told WFLA that all presidential candidates who do not support immigration reform "should expect us." Calderon revealed the protesters were waiting until Bush mentioned immigration, but they realized he was not going to reference the topic. On realization, the FLIC made their moves, showed off their bright yellow T-shirts and finally received Bush's attention.

Based on Quinnipiac University's latest Florida poll, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton narrowly defeated Bush in a hypothetical matchup. Clinton received 46 percent to Bush's 42 percent.

"Secretary Clinton continues to out-poll most major Republican wannabes in the Sunshine State. She holds her own when matched against the GOP's two native sons, former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac Poll.

"The margin stems from her ability to keep the gender gap running in her favor. She holds low double digit leads among women when matched against either man and that is enough to make the difference."

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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