Thread: Immigration issue under the radar at Georgia Capitol

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/pol ... 723053.htm

Posted on Sat, Feb. 17, 2007



Immigration issue under the radar at Georgia Capitol this year

SHANNON McCAFFREY
Associated Press

ATLANTA - There have been no protests on the steps of the Georgia Capitol like those that greeted the state's sweeping immigration legislation last year. But quietly, and in piecemeal fashion, state lawmakers have been working around the edges to again crack down on those in the country illegally.

Georgia made international headlines last spring when it passed some of the toughest laws in the U.S. targeting illegal immigrants within its borders. Those included provisions to sanction employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and deny some state services - like non-emergency medical care and unemployment checks - to adults who can't verify that they're in the country legally.

A flurry of smaller proposals have been moving through the state Legislature this year, including several that would make it tougher for illegal immigrants to drive in Georgia. Many never mention the words "illegal immigrants," but they stand to be affected most by the changes.

"This is an issue that I hear from my constituents all the time about," said state Rep. Timothy Bearden, a Republican from Villa Rica, who wants to require all state forms to be in English only.

"The federal government has been derelict in their duty and until they do something I guess it's going to be left up to us here in the states," he said.

State Sen. Chip Rogers was the author of last year's Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act. Most provisions of that law aren't set to take effect until July, and Rogers said he doesn't foresee another comprehensive immigration bill until the effects of that legislation can be judged.

"But there is still room to do other things," said the Republican from Woodstock, a north Atlanta suburb.

This past week a proposal by Rogers coasted through the state Senate that would require Georgians to obtain a valid state driver's license before they can get their car licensed. To get a Georgia driver's license, a resident must already verify that they are in the country legally.

Rogers portrayed it as a public safety measure but acknowledged that it would make it harder for those in the country illegally to get behind the wheel, since their vehicles wouldn't have valid plates and would be easy for law enforcement to spot and stop.

The measure passed unanimously without debate. It moves to the House, which like the state Senate is controlled by Republicans.

Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, said the measures are little more than a backhanded way to again go after illegal immigrants. "In some ways it's worse than last year because it's sneakier," he said.

Gonzalez said the measures under consideration would drive the state's growing Hispanic population deeper underground and discourage them from cooperating with law enforcement.

But Republican backers of the new proposals say they are needed to close loopholes.

Drivers licenses and document fraud are popular initiatives. Another proposal would mandate that police determine the immigration status of those arrested for driving without a license.

And the crackdown isn't just coming from the state Legislature. Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue announced during his re-election bid that 10 new investigators would be placed at drivers services centers - where driver's licenses are issued - that are believed to be at the highest risk for receiving forged documents.

Another bill would require residents to show that they are U.S. citizens when registering to vote. And notaries must be U.S. citizens under another measure.

In their haste to attach their names to immigration measures popular with their constituents, some lawmakers may be crafting solutions in search of problems.

State Sen. John Douglas, a Republican from Social Circle, was pushing a measure that would have boosted fines for those who use fraudulent documents to obtain car tags or drivers licenses. The only problem was the penalty already on the books is stiffer than the one he was proposing.

"We've dropped that bill because it would have actually lessened the penalty instead of increasing it," Douglas explained.

And Bearden's English-only proposal failed to get a vote in a House subcommittee after a prosecutors group said that that it could place some court proceedings and plea agreements in jeopardy if a defendant argued he couldn't understand the paperwork.

That hearing prompted an exchange that showed the unintended consequences of the law.

State Rep. Rob Teilhet, a Democrat from Smyrna, asked where Bearden he was from. When the lawmaker replied Villa Rica, Teilhet inquired whether he'd have to translate that into English on official paperwork under his proposal.

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English only needs to be one of the next bills tha congress should do. If State and local governments are going to have to the work, we need to do away with DHS and give the $1.7B to the states and local governments to do their jobs. this would also provide more work at those levels instead of just in DC where there is no accountability.