Eric Johnson: Prison camps for illegal immigrants


By Steve Visser

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Eric Johnson said Friday that he wanted to round up illegal immigrants in Georgia and he was willing to build prison camps to house them for deportation if elected governor»

“If we have to set up a Guantanamo Bay of Georgia, I would do it," the Savannah Republican said at a debate among five of the seven Republican candidates for governor being taped at WSB TV.

The debate was hosted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and PolitiFact Georgia, WSB TV and WSB Radio, and the League of Women Voters. It will air Saturday on WSB TV.

Johnson, a former state senator, far surpassed immigration positions taken by other Republican or Democratic candidates at their respective debates Friday.

At the Democratic debate taped earlier in the day, Roy Barnes, the front-runner among seven Democrats candidates, said he would sign an Arizona-type law to use state officials to crack down on illegal immigrants. But Barnes added that he was reluctant to use state dollars to pay the costs of incarcerating the illegal immigrants.

Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, the front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination, said he wanted to sue the federal government to recover state money spent on the education, health care and prison costs of illegal immigrants.

“I’m tired of Georgia taxpayers paying for illegal aliens because the federal government has fallen down on the job,â€