Attorney general: Electronic ID OK for now

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Jeremy Redmon
7:13 p.m. Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Prosecuting government officials under Georgia’s new immigration law for allowing public benefits applicants to submit copies of their identification electronically wouldn't be proper, Attorney General Sam Olens said Tuesday in a letter.

At the same time, the Republican said the law is ambiguous. Olens indicated he would hold this position unless the Legislature changes the law or a court construes it differently. The overall intent is to block illegal immigrants from getting obtaining taxpayer-funded benefits they are not entitled.

In his letter, Olens said he did not “believe it would be appropriate to prosecute an enforcement action against any person for accepting, relying upon, or using electronically transmitted copies of secure and verifiable documents when such person acts in good faith and compliesâ€