Touting her legislation to ban enforcement of sharia law in Florida, state Rep. Hillary Cassel of Broward said in a podcast interview that immigrants to the U.S. who don’t want to “assimilate and become American” should instead go to other places.
Also, in excerpts of the podcast released Sunday, Cassel said she was looking forward to discussion in the Legislature about her proposal, which she said would be “fun.”
“We know that here in America, we welcome legal migration, but we also want assimilation and you’re not here to come to our country to change our beliefs and our founding principles, but to assimilate and become American and be a part of our country. And if you don’t want to do that, then there are other places that are probably better suited for you,” Cassel said on “Standpoint with Gabe Groisman.”
The full podcast was set to drop Monday, Groisman said.
Cassel agreed with the podcast host when he suggested that hearings on the legislation would be “fun.”
“They are going to be fun. I’m looking forward to it,” she replied.
Cassel has said previously that her proposed “No Sharia Act” is designed to ensure that “Florida will never submit to foreign law, including sharia law, in any form, at any time, under any circumstance.”
She told Groisman that the legislation has a noble purpose. “The bill really focuses on foreign laws and ensuring that the Constitution — the United States Constitution and Florida Constitution — always reign supreme.”
House Bill 119, which so far is the only measure Cassel has introduced for the 2026 legislative session, has been denounced by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and its Florida chapter as “rooted in lies, fearmongering and political distraction.”
CAIR said it is drawn from “Islamophobic playbook” and is “designed to stigmatize Muslims.”
Former state Rep. Rick Stark, president of the Florida Democratic Party Jewish Caucus, said Sunday via text that the legislation and Cassel’s comments were wrong. Stark represented Broward in the House; he now lives in Palm Beach County.
Cassel, who also is Jewish, was elected twice to her Broward County state House seat as a Democrat. After the 2024 election she became a Republican.
Stark said, “This type of bill is one of the unnecessary ones that are frequent in the state Legislature. This is an attention-getter bill. Due to the nature of the Florida legislature it’s got a good shot to pass. Sharia law becoming a reality is not possible without the legislative process and constitutional test.”
He added that “there is no requirement to assimilate to become a U.S. citizen. I don’t think anyone would dare say that to the Cuban immigrants here. It does play to the MAGA base, and maybe to GOP leadership for Cassel.”
Stark also said using the word “fun” in this context “is inappropriate. Unfortunately typical of politics from the right these days.”
Cassel posted a statement to multiple social media platforms describing the need for the bill when she introduced it last month. An aide said last month that Cassel was unavailable to answer questions about the bill. She also didn’t respond to emailed questions.
Groisman, the podcast host who interviewed Cassel, is a former mayor of Bal Harbour and is a national board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition. One of his recent guests was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
After working as a partner in the prominent lobbying firm LSN Partners, Groisman’s LinkedIn profile shows he started his own eponymous lobbying firm in January. State records show Groisman was registered during the 2025 legislation as a lobbyist in Tallahassee.
There is no indication that sharia law is in place in Florida or elsewhere in the country. On the podcast, Cassel said her legislation is a necessary precaution.
“We know that there is an influx of foreign law that can be dealt with in individual contracts, family law, real estate purchases, and we want to make sure that we send the message that whether it be sharia or foreign laws that are contrary to the United States and our founding fathers’ intent as to what type of country this was expected to be, those types of foreign laws will not be applicable in the State of Florida,” Cassel said.
The Council on Foreign Relations, the prominent nonpartisan policy and research organization, explains that sharia, which means the “correct path” in Arabic, is based on the Quran and teachings attributed to the Prophet Mohammed.
Sharia law isn’t a thing that is “law” the way many non-Muslims in the U.S. may believe, said Junaid Akther, president of the Baitul Mukarram mosque west of Lake Worth Beach. It’s more a set of principles that guide people in their lives, Atker said in an October interview.
The Florida House of Representatives district Cassel represents — all or parts of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach and Hollywood — includes neighborhoods that are home to many Jewish voters.
Democratic registered voters outnumber Republicans in the 101st state House district. But an analysis of presidential results by Democratic data analyst Matthew Isbell shows voting has become more Republican. In 2020, former President Joe Biden received 56.7% of the vote in the district’s precincts. In 2024, President Donald Trump received 50.6% of the vote.
Many Democrats in the district were infuriated by Cassel’s changing parties after the 2024 election. She is being challenged in the 2026 election by Todd Delmay, one of the candidates she defeated in the Democratic primary when she first ran for the state House of Representatives in 2022.
Cassel was previously a Republican, and told Groisman that her parents didn’t like it when she strayed.
“I grew up in a conservative household, so my parents for a few years — and I was a registered Republican longer than I was ever a Democrat, but when I became a Democrat, my parents were very confused. So I tell them, you know I wasn’t a rebellious child,” Cassel said. “They’re very happy to have me home in the Republican Party.”
Political writer Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.