Georgia: Immigration bill gaining more support

http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com

Immigration bill gaining more support

02/28/2006 -

By Dave Williams
Staff Writer
dave.williams@gwinnettdailypost.com

ATLANTA — Illegal immigrants are overburdening Georgia’s health care system, undercutting wages paid to legal workers and contributing to the state’s gang problem, supporters of a crackdown on illegals said Monday.

But opponents of a Senate bill aimed at people in the state illegally continued to hammer at the potential harm it would do to illegal immigrants and society at large, particularly a provision denying health care to those who cannot prove their legal status.

Picking up on arguments aired last week, they asked the Senate Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee to remove any references to health care from the measure.

The committee heard from more than 20 speakers on the second of two days of public hearings.

Chairman Brian Kemp, R-Athens, said the panel would vote on the bill this afternoon.

The legislation would require state and local government agencies to verify the legal status of people seeking most public benefits.

Emergency care, immunizations, treatment for communicable diseases and K-12 education are not included because federal courts have ruled that those services must be provided to anyone.

In addition, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, has agreed to exempt services to children and prenatal care.

The bill also targets employers in two ways. It would prohibit government agencies from entering into contracts with businesses that employ illegal workers and discourage private companies from hiring illegals by denying tax benefits to those who do.

Last week’s hearing was dominated by health care professionals opposed to the bill.

But on Monday, Dr. Geraldine Wade urged lawmakers to pass the measure to relieve hospital emergency rooms of an influx of illegal immigrants who use them for non-emergencies, crowding out seriously ill patients.

“They come in for minor ailments,’’ said Wade, who has worked in several emergency rooms in metro Atlanta, including the Gwinnett Hospital System. “High volumes of non-emergency care are greatly jeopardizing our system.’’

But other health professionals and their representatives argued that the bill’s verification requirements would drive more illegals — not fewer — into emergency rooms because they will forego preventive care and not seek help until they’re very sick.

“If we create a climate of fear in this state, we’ll drive folks to expensive emergency rooms, where federal law requires them to see anybody who walks in,’’ said Earl Rogers, a lobbyist for the Georgia Hospital Association.

“I’d rather treat them on the front end, when I can save a lot of money, rather than on the back end, where it’s going to cost a whole lot more.’’

Others complained about other aspects of the illegal immigrant problem.
Jeff Hermann, of Covington, who runs a landscaping business in Walton County, said he has struggled to make ends meet because he won’t hire illegal workers, while many larger competitors don’t have such scruples.

“It’s hard to be a little guy ... in competition with people who hire illegal aliens and pay them $4 to $5 an hour,’’ he said.

Two other speakers complained that illegal immigrants have contributed to gang activity, both in suburban counties outside of Atlanta and in the inner city.

But beyond any problems caused by people who have entered the U.S. illegally is the fact that they’re breaking the law, said D.A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, named in honor of a 16-year-old Woodstock youth struck and killed in 2000 by a car allegedly driven by an illegal immigrant.

“(The bill) will encourage the state of Georgia to begin obeying the rule of law,’’ King said.

Some of Georgia’s major industries had problems with the original version of Rogers’ bill.

But on Monday, representatives of building contractors and the state’s carpet industry endorsed changes Rogers has agreed to make to the legislation.

For one thing, it doesn’t hold contractors responsible for subcontractors who hire illegal workers.

I'd rather not treat them to medical care at all. Mexico refused to treat an American bitten by a shark until and unless they had the cash in hand. We should abide by the way THEY do business.

RR

Any word on the vote?

W

I haven't checked on the vote. I also had this article but never had the time to post it earlier.


http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/ ... legal.html

Bill on illegals gets first test
Committee expected to vote today

By CARLOS CAMPOS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/28/06
The Georgia Legislature's version of comprehensive immigration reform is expected to come up for its first vote today in a Senate committee.

Among its provisions, SB 529, the "Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act," seeks to make sure that adult illegal immigrants do not receive public benefits, such as food stamps and public housing, and that contractors who hire undocumented workers are not able to claim their salaries as a tax write-off.

The Senate Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, which meets at

3:30 p.m. in Room 307 of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building, is expected to vote on the bill, said committee Chairman Sen. Brian Kemp (R-Athens).

On Monday, the committee held the second of two public hearings on SB 529. Supporters of the bill say it's needed to combat the negative effect illegal immigration is having on public resources.

Dr. Geraldine Wade said illegal immigrants were using emergency rooms as their primary source of health care, taking up vital spaces that should be reserved for true medical emergencies.

Wade, an internal medicine and pediatric physician who said she had worked in emergency rooms, also said illegal immigrants can bring infectious diseases into the U.S.

"We're doing a major disservice to the American health care system by letting this go forward," Wade told the committee.

Maria Litland of Cobb County, a legal immigrant from Austria, testified about her efforts to become a U.S. citizen.

Litland noted that she has had to fill out forms inquiring about her health and whether she had a criminal record.

"I resent that the state of Georgia and the federal government does not ensure our tax money does not go to the people who were born here, including legal immigrants," she said.

"Illegal aliens are not immigrants. I am proud to be a legal immigrant. I had to jump through hoops to come here."

Last week at the first public hearing, most speakers — including emergency room physicians and medical students — assailed the bill.

Some doctors worry that certain provisions in the bill will deter illegal immigrants from seeking primary medical care when they get sick — ultimately resulting in them winding up in already-burdened and more expensive emergency rooms when they get seriously ill.

Some continued Monday to urge legislators to consider removing language in the bill that addresses taxpayer-provided health care.

"Our concern is if we create a climate of fear ... it drives folks to that expensive emergency room," said Earl Rogers, a lobbyist for the Georgia Hospital Association.

Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), sponsor of SB 529, noted that the bill did not seek to deny any taxpayer-funded medical services for which illegal immigrants are already declared ineligible by federal law.

He told the committee Monday he was willing to put language in the bill to spell out those intentions more clearly.

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_ne ... p?ID=71940

Immigration bill passes Senate committee

The Associated Press - ATLANTA

After weeks of heated debate, a bill cracking down on illegal immigrants and the companies that hire them moved one step closer to a vote in the state Senate on Tuesday.

The Senate committee considering the plan voted 6-2 to recommend it be passed by the full Senate.

The panel's roughly 30 minutes of discussion on the plan _ which would deny some state benefits to undocumented adults and use the tax code to penalize employers with illegals on their payrolls _ was in sharp contrast to a pair of hours-long hearings held during the past two weeks.

"I think everyone's concerns were heard," said Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, the plan's sponsor. "We've bent over backward to alleviate some of those concerns."

The bill also requires jailers to verify the people they arrest are in the country legally, sets up "human trafficking" penalties that mirror federal law and toughens penalties for people who sell false documents to illegal immigrants.

Supporters of the plan say it will make Georgia safer by removing illegal residents with arrest warrants or deportation orders against them and free up state services now being used improperly by illegals.

Critics call the plan unconstitutional, saying it unfairly targets members of Georgia's foreign-born communities drawn to the state by industries that rely on their labor.

Sen. Sam Zamarripa, D-Atlanta, the Senate's lone Hispanic member, worked with Rogers on crafting the bill's final version. He said it has been improved, eliminating provisions that would have denied services to children of illegal immigrants and barred those children from attending Georgia colleges and universities.

But he still opposes the plan.

"I still maintain this is a federal issue," Zamarripa said. "We cannot be a substitute for the failure of a national policy."

Estimates on the number of illegal immigrants in the state and nation vary widely. A recent study by the nonpartisan Georgia Budget and Policy Institute estimated that there are between 228,000 and 250,000 illegal immigrants in Georgia.

With approval from the Senate Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, the bill now awaits action from the Senate Rules committee, which decides which bills appear on the Senate floor for a vote.

No date has been set for that panel to consider the bill.

I'm finally back online and SOOOO relieved to hear they passed the bill onto the full Senate. I've been waiting for a call from somebody all afternon.





:wink:

I will get an alert out on this now.

W

Updated added to the homepage

http://www.alipac.us/article-1073-thread-1-0.html

Quote:

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"I still maintain this is a federal issue," Zamarripa said. "We cannot be a substitute for the failure of a national policy."

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This is the tact most of the Pro-Illegal crowd takes. They know full well that the head illegal-alien supporter will do nothing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Justanamerican

Quote:

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"I still maintain this is a federal issue," Zamarripa said. "We cannot be a substitute for the failure of a national policy."

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This is the tact most of the Pro-Illegal crowd takes. They know full well that the head illegal-alien supporter will do nothing.

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Amen, it's nothing more than a pass the buck/bait and switch tactic. Yeah it's a federal issue, so that's justification to just sit idly by and allow our states to be flooded with the so called huddled masses? Just because these maniacs want us to throw in the towel and surrender our nation doesn't mean it's going to happen.

Remember guys and gals, Sam Zamarripa is the guy who co-founded a bank (United Americas Bank) in Marietta, Ga. that makes home loans to illegals using Tax ID #'s. He's also a MEChA alum and is really tight with MALDEF. I saw him at the hearing on Monday, he really is a weasel.



:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/ ... egals.html

Panel OKs crackdown on illegals
Controversial measure heads for full Senate

By JIM THARPE , CARLOS CAMPOS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/01/06
jtharpe@ajc.com

The most comprehensive illegal immigration proposal ever to come before the Georgia Legislature got an initial nod of approval Tuesday, setting the stage for a showdown on the Senate floor.

A Senate committee approved the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act by a 5-2 vote, following two days of hearings.

Critics said the measure will unfairly penalize impoverished immigrant laborers who are here seeking a better life. Supporters called it the first step in a multi-year process needed to address the estimated 250,000 to 800,000 foreigners who have unlawfully come to Georgia, overburdening the state's taxpayer-supported programs while avoiding taxes.

"If this bill in its present form makes it into law, it will be the strongest [immigration] law in America," said the bill's author, state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock).

Political observers expect the bill to pass both chambers of the Legislature in an election year when polls show that more than 80 percent of Georgians want lawmakers to address the issue.

The law would prohibit adult illegal immigrants from receiving many taxpayer-funded benefits, financially penalize private employers who hire illegals, require employers with public contracts to verify that their workers are in the country legally, and crack down on human trafficking.

The measure would not prohibit the children of illegal immigrants from attending public school, nor would it deny them certain medical benefits, such as emergency medical care, prenatal care and immunizations. Many of those benefits have been guaranteed by federal courts.

The bill also does not include any major effort to deal with forged documents, which Rogers said is its biggest failing. Forged documents make it impossible to verify legal status and can often be used to obtain genuine documents, he said.

"Does it have all the teeth in it needed to correct this entire problem? No," Rogers said. "But we don't always get everything we want. Politics is about working with people and agreeing on where you can meet in the middle."

Four Republicans on the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee joined with Sen. Valencia Seay (D-Riverdale) to send the proposal to the full Senate. Two Democrats opposed the measure, including Sen. Steen Miles (D-Decatur), who called it "draconian."

"The message here is simple: 'If you're brown, get outta town,' " Miles said after the vote. She said the federal government, not the state, should be dealing with illegal immigration. "If we can't keep them out of the United States, how can we keep them out of Georgia?" Miles asked.

Proponents of Senate Bill 529 say the state must act because the federal government has repeatedly failed to secure the nation's borders. Legislation aimed at illegal immigration has sprung up in statehouses around the nation this year.

After the vote, Sen. Sam Zamarripa (D-Atlanta) said that, while he will not vote for the bill when it goes before the Senate, it "is certainly better than it started out." He worked closely with Rogers on parts of the bill.

"I still maintain this is a federal issue," said Zamarripa, the only Hispanic in the state Senate. "We cannot be a substitute for the failure of national policy."

D.A. King of Cobb County, who has mounted a grass-roots effort to crack down on illegal immigration in Georgia, said he is pleased with the bill.

"In its present state, it's the most effective bill in the country," King said. "And I think it could get stronger before the end of the [legislative] process."

It seems people have a concern only about one particular group of immigrants. Please do a google search on illegal immigration and you will see it is not only one group that has illegals in the US. As far as the suggestions here, I rather not comment because obviously people do not remember their history nor geography. It is sad to see ignorance all over this forum. SAD.

Which group are you talking about? If you thoroughly search the forum there are news articles and discussions involving illegal immigrants from many different countries. However the largest majority happen to come from Mexico. It seems to me the largest group is most likely going to get the biggest discussions. Sounds like you need a geography and history lesson with your ignorance.

alien,

What ignorance is that? would you care to enlighten one as backward as myself?

Hey alien. Do a search on illegal immigration and you will see www.alipac.us on the first page results of all search engines.

I think we know a thing or two about illegal immigration!

W

Which group are you talking about, alien? Yesterday alone, I recall seeing posts regarding illegal aliens from at least five different countries. The common thread is "illegal" and it doesn't make a whole lot of difference to any of us which country those illegal aliens came from. One is just as illegal as the next. So unless you have some profound new evidence to support why you are so smart and the people here who seek out articles and information each day are dumb, I suggest that you keep your thoughts to yourself or take them someplace where the people are as blind as you are to the facts.