Democrats, Republicans split on approaches to illegal immigration
December 16, 2010
By Jeremy Redmon


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Democratic and Republican state lawmakers staked out different positions in the debate over illegal immigration Thursday, as a special committee studying ways to crack down on the problem met for the third and perhaps final time before the Legislature convenes.

Minutes before the all-Republican committee met, a pair of Democratic state lawmakers held a news conference warning against any legislation that would scare immigrants away from Georgia and hurt the state’s economy. Georgia’s $65 billion agricultural industry, they said, relies heavily on immigrant workers.

“We need policies that grow our economy, that create jobs and that move us back on the road to a prosperous Georgia,â€