Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidates duke it out over illegal immigration
By Matthew Boyle - The Daily Caller | Published: 06/14/10 at 1:58 AM


Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial candidates all favor a crackdown on illegal immigration, but they can’t agree on how far to take it.

The Department of Homeland Security estimated that Georgia’s illegal immigrant population totaled 480,000 in 2009, the sixth-highest in the nation. That figure is 20,000 higher than the reported number of illegal immigrants living in Arizona, where the fight over illegal immigration has gained national attention.

Eric Johnson, Georgia’s state senate pro tempore and one of the seven GOP candidates qualified to run for the state’s top executive position, rolled out his plan for enforcing illegal immigration laws on Friday. Johnson’s plan takes enforcement further than that of any other candidate, mandating the collection of citizenship data from K-12 schools and hospital emergency rooms.

“What it’s doing is requiring a lot more information that hasn’t been available,â€