Thread: Ga. residents soon will need to prove citizenship

Updated Saturday, April 7 at 2:57 PM


Ga. residents soon will need to prove citizenship
by The Associated Press

ATLANTA - Come this summer, Georgia residents will need to carry a passport, an original birth certificate or other papers proving their U.S. citizenship accompanied by a state photo ID to get most public benefits from the state like food stamps, Medicaid, assistance for paying heating or cooling costs.

The change is part of a sweeping immigration reform, passed last year by the state Legislature that will go into effect July 1, aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from receiving state and local government-funded benefits reserved for citizens and some legal immigrants.

Critics say it will add a tremendous burden for state agencies that will have to consult a long list of documents issued by thousands of different institutions. They also claim it will create a barrier for citizens who don't commonly carry the proper identification, like the poor, homeless and mentally ill.

``Any time you create additional identity requirements, it's going to make it harder for the homeless and the poor,'' said Laurel Weir of the Washington-based National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. ``When you're sleeping on the streets, your possessions get stolen or misplaced or destroyed, and it's more and more difficult to get new documents.''

Requiring every state agency to verify the lawful presence in the U.S. of any adult applying for public benefits except for emergency and disaster relief is arguably the most far-reaching of the many provisions in last year's Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act.

State Sen. Chip Rogers, the Republican from the north Atlanta suburb of Woodstock who authored the law, says it doesn't deny any benefits to anybody who was eligible before. Rather, ``all persons are denied benefits until proving they meet the eligibility requirements'' already in place, he said.

One agency, the Department of Driver Services, already checks for citizenship and legal status before issuing driver's licenses, so the agency is not expecting any changes in its procedures under the new law. It is, however, dealing with challenges like Georgia residents who might not have their original birth certificate or women whose married name doesn't match their Social Security records, spokeswoman Susan Sports said.

Other state agencies have been working on lists of acceptable documents and training employees on what's considered a valid ID, including the Department of Human Resources, which handles everything from food stamps to elderly care. Spokesman Thomas Wilson said the agency plans to apply the same identity requirements for Medicaid which are mandated by the federal government to applicants for all the non-emergency benefits administered by the agency.

Applicants with a passport, certificate of naturalization or certificate of citizenship won't need to also show a state photo ID, but it will be required of those presenting other documents ranging from tribal census records to birth certificates issued by one of thousands of agencies, according to a checklist Wilson provided.

And that's for applicants who execute affidavits saying they're U.S. citizens. If they say they're immigrants or permanent residents, then a different set of documents is needed, including green cards, foreign passports and employment authorization cards. Their immigration number assigned at entry and akin to a Social Security number also will be run through SAVE, a database maintained by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services division of the Department of Homeland Security.

The database contains more than 70 million immigrant records, is updated at least daily, and is the only way to check whether somebody who entered the U.S. legally hasn't fallen out of status, federal officials say.

All of these requirements have already sparked opposition in areas where similar hurdles have been put in place.

Across the country, states including Georgia have been revolting against the Real ID Act of 2005, which would create a national driver's license. Critics attack the requirement that license applicants prove they're in the country legally, saying it would be too much of a burden for motor vehicle clerks unfamiliar with the intricacies of immigration law and that the SAVE database is unreliable.

Officials in Virginia and other states also say that thousand of American children, not illegal immigrants, dropped off Medicaid rolls after a 2006 federal law started mandating applicants prove their citizenship and identity.

``There's a crisis in Georgia right now, 100,000 children are not enrolled who'd be eligible,'' said Dr. Martin Michaels, a pediatrician in Dalton who's president of the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. While the new state law doesn't affect those under 18, Michaels and others worry a ``fear factor'' might prevent immigrant parents from enrolling their U.S.-born children.

In Colorado, which passed an immigration law similar to Georgia's, lawmakers have been working on a permanent waiver process for people applying for taxpayer-funded benefits who don't have proper identification. Some hope that Georgia agencies will take a similar approach, especially since the new law allows them to ``adopt variations to the requirements,'' but none has officially announced such plans.

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/hall/ ... ?ID=113212

In Colorado, which passed an immigration law similar to Georgia's, lawmakers have been working on a permanent waiver process for people applying for taxpayer-funded benefits who don't have proper identification. Some hope that Georgia agencies will take a similar approach, especially since the new law allows them to ``adopt variations to the requirements,'' but none has officially announced such plans.

So pass a law, and then immediately find a way to circumvent it???

I just don't understand the big deal about having some form of ID and if you were born here you should have a birthcertificate and if not it is very simple to get one, just get off your lazy hind end and do it!!

Officials in Virginia and other states also say that thousand of American children, not illegal immigrants, dropped off Medicaid rolls after a 2006 federal law started mandating applicants prove their citizenship and identity.

That statement makes NO sense! Maybe they WEREN'T citizens after all!! These people want to go out and dig up people to GIVE benefits to.....oh that they were so concerned about American citizens! As an illegal, you can go lie you butt off to get benefits....do the same as a citizen and you go to jail!