Thread: GA: Yet more excuses and sob stories

House Democrats Show Solidarity, Oppose Immigration Bill
Overreaching HB 87 unfriendly to Georgia's tourism, agriculture industry

ATLANTA, Ga., (March 2, 2011) - The Georgia House Democratic Caucus voted today to oppose HB 87, an Arizona-style bill meant to crack down on illegal immigration in Georgia, but takes the issue much too far.

HB 87 would allow local police to randomly detain anyone who can not produce documentation of citizenship. Additionally, police could detain and jail suspects who are transporting those thought to be undocumented.

"No one in our caucus is condoning illegal immigration," said Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, Caucus Treasurer. "But this bill does not solve that issue, and it creates new ones. We must be mindful of the side effects of any legislation on business, tourism, and law enforcement. Our state can ill-afford what Arizona has been through."

On Monday, February 28, HB 87 passed out of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee completely along party lines. It has been added to the House Calendar for Thursday, March 3.

"We cannot support any legislation that would hurt Georgia's reputation and economic well-being, particularly during such a severe economic downturn," said Rep. Stacey Abrams, who serves as House Minority Leader. "This bill raises concerns about racial profiling, burdens local law enforcement without providing additional financial support and may yet prove unconstitutional, potentially exposing local governments to costly lawsuits."

HB 87 also allows individual citizens to bring a lawsuit against a local government or agency if they believe the entity is not complying with the requirement to use E-Verify, an Internet-based system that enables employer to determine an employee's eligibility to work in the United States.

The bill was also amended to make presenting false documentation or information when applying for a job a felony offense, punishable by one to 15 years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000.

In Rules Committee, House Minority Whip Carolyn Hugley expressed concerns about the bill's impact on women fleeing domestic violence.

"Women seeking to provide for their families while awaiting a slow federal process to help them secure new identities. These women deserve our protection, not the possibility of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine," said Hugley.

Prior to adopting a position, the House Democratic Caucus discussed the negative impacts on statewide tourism and efforts to recruit new business to Georgia, particularly international companies.

"Several corporations have publicly condemned Arizona-style immigration laws and vowed to boycott states that enact similar legislation. They have adopted internal policies that state they will not do business in states with legislation like Arizona," said Rep. Brian Thomas, Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. "We cannot afford to chase businesses away from Georgia, especially with unemployment hovering near ten percent."

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Arizona's SB 1070 has cost the state more than $140 million in cancelled conventions. Georgia's tourism industry was estimated to be four times the size of Arizona's before this law was enacted.

HB 87 is authored by Rep. Matt Ramsey (R-72) and has undergone several substantive changes since it was originally offered. The original version required law enforcement officers to develop a reasonable suspicion guideline before trying to determine an individual's immigration status.

The Senate Democrats have held a number of public hearings across the state regarding immigration, and House Democrats share their concerns about the impact of the legislation on the state's bottom-line and reputation.

The version that passed out of House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee removes the "reasonable suspicion" language and authorizes officers "to seek to verify" a suspect's immigration status if he or she is unable to provide an accepted form of identification.

This language raises questions about its impact on tourism, Georgia's second largest industry.

"For 2011, Arizona has lost more than $45 million due to cancelled conventions and boycotts. Georgia relies on tourism to feed our families. This bill will not curb illegal immigration, but it will put a black-eye on our state and send jobs elsewhere. This is an anti-economic development bill that will haunt Georgia for years to come," said Rep. Abrams.

http://www.theweekly.com/news/2011/Marc ... _Bill.html

this debate is taking place now and you can watch or listen online if ya want
just go here http://www1.legis.ga.gov/legis/2011_12/ ... sBrian.htm and click live broadcast on the left.
Vote comes up later today.

Call the offices of the legislators mentioned in the story and tell them how wrong they are

"Women seeking to provide for their families while awaiting a slow federal process to help them secure new identities. These women deserve our protection, not the possibility of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine," said Hugley.

What, they can't walk down to the corner and buy a new drivers license and social security card like everyone else?

It is very disturbing and diappointing how our own Countrymen/women persist on fighting against us, when they should be on our side. These traitors have more power than we do, and keep getting their way. Just how in the world are they not punished for defying common sense and laws? Why, no matter what We The People say or do within our rights, are we continually "shot down" daily? What is the motivation behind the one's who betray us? Is it for votes? because aren't there more Americans who are on our side that would vote for ianti-llegal immigration enforcement, than those who oppose it? If that were the case (and I hope it is), wouldn't they be wanting our vote as we are the majority who would vote for them? I feel that as next years voting approaches, they need to decide who's side to take. It seems to me that the illegals and their supporters are way more aggresive and active in protests and rallys then we are, and that makes them stand out more and get more attention than we do. Do any of you agree?

The implication that companies make decisions on doing business in a state based on whether or not they can use illegal labor is disturbing. I would like to know which companies the Democrat is talking about.

Yep, I agree. Unfortunately, I missed the boat on this thing when it mattered because I just started a new job that doesn't pay a lot of money. By the time I found out, it was a bit late. Since then, I've been praying that this bill in Georgia passes.

I'm sick and tired of excuses to not address and reverse our illegal immigration problem. People tried to use alleged reduction in tourism in Arizona as reasoning to not pass their law. While there is no question that Arizona took a hit, they fail to mention the Americans who traveled to Arizona specifically for the purpose of supporting that state while illegal aliens were looting and getting violent with the cops. (I saw footage on CNN of a girl shoving a cop, among other things. It was ridiculous.)

"Several corporations have publicly condemned Arizona-style immigration laws and vowed to boycott states that enact similar legislation. They have adopted internal policies that state they will not do business in states with legislation like Arizona," said Rep. Brian Thomas, Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. "We cannot afford to chase businesses away from Georgia, especially with unemployment hovering near ten percent."

This right here is probably the most irksome statement in the article. How much longer are we going to be held hostage to non-domestic businesses? Should we not be supporting local companies instead of their foreign competitors? Needless to say, if illegal aliens make their exit, that will open up waitressing and construction positions that Americans WILL do.

I hope that Georgia is strong enough to stand against the wiles of the open borders nutters.

Originally Posted by Newmexican

The implication that companies make decisions on doing business in a state based on whether or not they can use illegal labor is disturbing. I would like to know which companies the Democrat is talking about.

Man would I love to know too! That would be several new companies for me to boycott. We need to hit these people where it hurts... their greedy pocketbooks; they threaten we DO! It's not as easy to pick up an entire Company as they would like people to believe.

"Several corporations have publicly condemned Arizona-style immigration laws and vowed to boycott states that enact similar legislation. They have adopted internal policies that state they will not do business in states with legislation like Arizona," said Rep. Brian Thomas, Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. "We cannot afford to chase businesses away from Georgia, especially with unemployment hovering near ten percent."

Yeah the american people would like to know what companies they happen to be so that we can start boycotts of their products.