Thread: GA County Granted Access to Citizenship Database

County granted access to citizenship database

Published: 07/02/2009
By Ashley Fuller
afuller@cherokeetribune.com

The Cherokee County government now has access to a federal database to ensure people receiving public benefits are in the country legally.

The county recently received a memorandum of agreement from the Department of Homeland Security for permission to use the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. The purpose of the program is to verify citizenship and immigration status information of non-citizens and naturalized citizens.

The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act requires local government agencies that administer "public benefits" collect an affidavit from applicants swearing to either U.S. citizenship or lawful alien status. The agency then is to use the SAVE database to verify the immigration status of alien applicants.

"If you sign an affidavit, we can now check it, and we should," said Buzz Ahrens, chairman of the county board of commissioners.

The database will be used to check applicants for alcohol licenses, peddler/solicitor licenses, amusement activities licenses, occupational tax, pawnshop licenses, pool room licenses, massage practitioner licenses, precious metal dealer licenses, adult entertainment establishment licenses, ambulance franchise licenses, wrecker licenses and taxi/limousine licenses.

D.A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, an anti-illegal immigration organization, said he was happy to see Cherokee using the database, which he had lobbied them to do. Illegal border crossers who escape capture and make it to Cherokee should not be rewarded with a license to do business, he said.

"Better late than never," said King, who began pushing the issue with county leaders at the beginning of the year.

Commissioner Derek Good said the county has been waiting for several months for the agreement with Homeland Security.

"We are one of the few counties that have done anything," he said.

Cherokee is one of only 13 county or city agencies in the state that are using the SAVE database. Other counties that are following the state law and using the SAVE database include Cobb, Gwinnett, Hall, Athens-Clarke and Forsyth. The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act was sponsored by State Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock).

Ahrens said the county has not had any problems with the system since starting to use it. County Manager Jerry Cooper said the county has budgeted $25,000 for the SAVE program.

Elise Shore, Southeast region counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, which has filed suit against the county over other action related to illegal immigrants, said she would reserve comment until she reviews the agreement.

http://www.cherokeetribune.com/content/ ... 35850.html

Why would any county need to ask permission to use a database set up by the Feds since the people's taxes went to pay for the database in the beginning? The public paid for it and it is for the public good so why does it takes six months to vet a county?