Georgia lawmakers pass illegal immigration crackdown

By Jeremy Redmon

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Complaining the federal government has failed to secure the nation’s borders, Georgia’s Legislature followed Arizona’s lead Thursday and approved an aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration.

The nation is watching Georgia, which is making the leap into a legal thicket Arizona jumped into last year.

Like Arizona’s laws -- which are fighting for survival in federal court -- House Bill 87 creates new requirements for many Georgia businesses to ensure new hires are eligible to work in the United States and empowers police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects.

Some business owners worry the crackdown will harm the state’s agricultural, landscaping and restaurant industries, which partly depend on migrant labor. But proponents of tougher immigration laws have long complained illegal immigrants are burdening the state’s public schools, jails and hospitals.

“It’s a great day for Georgia,â€