EXCLUSIVE! Gwinnett Cities, County Ignore State Immigration Law

By Bob Griggs, Publisher, on 06-17-2008 13:31


Almost 18 months after Georgia enacted one of the toughest illegal immigration laws in the nation, neither the county nor a single Gwinnett city has fully complied with the new requirements regarding eligibility for public benefits.

S.B. 529, enacted as the "Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act," went into effect on July 1, 2007. The law requires any employer doing business with a state or local government to verify the eligibility of their new employees through the federal E-Verify system. It also defines several new crimes including trafficking a person for labor servitude, as well as requires jails and prisons to determine the legal status of all arrestees.

But it is the provision regarding eligibility for public benefits that Gwinnett's cities and county government continue to ignore.

A Political Football Fumbled

In District 1, where the arguably largest illegal immigrant population is found, former Duluth Mayor Shirley Lasseter's solution is to court the Feds to build a new prison in Gwinnett while challenger Carol Hassell accuses her of having practically presided over a "sanctuary city" in Duluth.

The candidates for County Commission Chairman have alternately claimed credit for the county's immigration efforts to date and accused each other of stealing campaign promises. As the D-1 Commissioner, Lorraine Green led the push for tougher restrictions on employers holding county contracts while incumbent Charles Bannister has promised to "enact an ordinance blocking illegal immigrants from obtaining business licenses," should he be reelected.

Bannister's promise rings a little hollow, however, since SB-529 required the county to verify the citizenship status of business license applicants-- a year-and-a-half ago.

Verification for Public Benefits Required

O.C.G.A. 50-36-1(a) requires that "...on or after July 1, 2007, every agency or a political subdivision of this state shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of any natural person 18 years of age or older who has applied for state or local public benefits, as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1621...."

To verify the applicant's eligibility, the city or county must require the applicant to sign, under penalty of perjury, an affidavit that he or she is eligible for the benefit. The government agency must then submit the applicant's data to the Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement (SAVE) system. The affidavit serves as proof of lawful presence until the SAVE verification can be completed.

The Business License: A "Public Benefit"

For local government, "public benefit" is defined by federal law in 8 U.S.C. Section 1621(c)(1)(a) :

"... the term “State or local public benefitâ€