Posted on 04/17/2006 3:02:27 PM PDT by HEMICRASHBOX
Gov. Sonny Perdue on Monday signed a sweeping immigration bill that supporters and critics say will make Georgia's laws among the toughest in the nation.
"I want to make this clear: we are not, Georgia's government is not, and this bill is not anti-immigrant," Perdue said Monday at a signing ceremony.
"We simply believe that everyone who lives in our state needs to abide by our laws."
The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act will verify that adults seeking many state-administered benefits are in the country legally. It sanctions employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and mandates that companies with state contracts check the immigration status of their employees.
The law will also require police to check the immigration status of people they arrest to see if they face deportation orders.
The measure is believed to be the first comprehensive immigration package to make it through a statehouse this session, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Many of the new law's provisions will not take effect until July 1, 2007.
Tisha Tallman, Southeast regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said she was studying potential legal challenges to the bill
Tallman said she was "incredibly disappointed" that Perdue signed the bill, rather than waiting for the federal government to act.
The bill drew protests at Georgia's state Capitol and prompted a daylong work stoppage by thousands of immigrants.
The new law will not affect emergency medical care and education for children in kindergarten through 12th grade, which federal courts have said must be provided regardless of immigration status. Exemptions were also added for some other services like prenatal care and the treatment communicable diseases.
The move to tighten up rules in Georgia comes as lawmakers in Washington wrestle with competing proposals to shore up controls at the border, create a guest worker program and create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the United States.
Outside the Capitol on Monday, a few hundred supporters of the legislation roared their applause when word came that Perdue was planning to sign the proposal.
The crowd waved American flags and cheered as state Rep. Melvin Everson, one of the Georgia House's two black Republicans, denounced illegal immigration as a cancer and proclaimed: "The last time I checked, America was the land of English _ not Spanish."
And they hollered as Republican state Sen. Chip Rogers, the bill's author, called it "the strongest single bill in America dealing with illegal immigration _ bar none."
But perhaps the greatest applause came when Catherine Davis, a black Republican running for Congress against U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, was introduced.
If Davis is elected, she vowed, "I'd tell all the illegal aliens to go home."
At the bill signing on Monday, Rogers said he has been approached by state lawmakers from South Carolina and Colorado who were interested in crafting similar proposals for their states. And Rogers said he hoped to introduce legislation next year tackling document fraud, which he said undermines efforts to enforce immigration law.
Rogers acknowledged the bill Perdue signed on Monday is not a cure all, but said the state was acting where the federal government refused to.
As long as she doesn't send them next door to Alabama
Your tag line says it all. I, along with many Americans feel betrayed.
Then when that state is overwhelmed in every respect, they also may get the message.
TO SEND SENATOR CHIP ROGERS A THANK YOU FOR HIS WORK ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, THE FOLLOWING IS HIS EMAIL ADDRESS:
chiprogers2@comcast.net
Senator Rogers was under extreme pressure from the Hispanic Newspapers. Pictures of his home and maps to get to his home were published in these newspapers! The GBI and the Sheriff's office have had to keep his home under surveillance.
Thank you for your response! Actually, I'm not Asian. I chose this name years ago because it was as far from my ethnic group (white male) as possible. At the time I had a political job and didn't want anyone to know I was posting. Sorry for the confusion. :)
That is a much better quote, you're right. It's a shame that AP didn't use that one.
Thanks you!
Thank you! Actually, I'm not Asian. I chose this name years ago because it was as far from my ethnic group (white male) as possible. At the time I had a political job and didn't want anyone to know I was posting. Sorry for the confusion. :)
The new law will not affect emergency medical care and education for children in kindergarten through 12th grade, which federal courts have said must be provided regardless of immigration status.
This education issue should be readdressed. It's unconscionable to require U.S. legal citizens to foot the bill for invaders of any age. It's not our fault, nor our children's, that these people won't/can't properly govern their own countries.
I think you'll need to type louder.
Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post Delete this post
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/0418metillegal.html
By CARLOS CAMPOS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/18/06
D.A. King has held lonely protests against illegal immigration, even paying participants to hold signs and stand with him. He needed no such help Monday.
The Cobb County activist was joined at the Capitol by dozens protesting recent calls for amnesty by illegal immigrants.
John Spink/Staff
(ENLARGE)
JOHN SPINK / Staff Malachi Foster, 8, has had heart surgery and a kidney transplant. His mother, Lisa Morton, says immigrants are clogging the health system.
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King estimated that the crowd swelled to 300 at one point, though Capitol police estimated it as less than half that number.
"I don't know how many people are here today, but there's 10,000 times this many people thinking the same thing we are thinking," King told the crowd.
Many in the crowd waved American flags and held signs reading, "Illegal Aliens Are Criminals," "Enforce Our Laws," "Secure Our Borders," "Pay For Your Own Babies and Healthcare" and "Margaritas Yes Illegals No."
A few protesters wore sombreros and held inflatable characters, including a jalapeño pepper with a "No amnesty" message. A small group of counterprotesters stood across the street, at least one with a sign reading, "Go Back to Europe."
The noontime crowd roared its approval when King informed them that Gov. Sonny Perdue planned to sign Senate Bill 529 later in the day — which he did. The measure, passed by the General Assembly in March, seeks to crack down on illegal immigrants and those who hire them.
King said he was motivated in part by the recent show of strength by Hispanics, who have taken to the streets en masse in major U.S. cities, including Atlanta. He stirred the crowd with his opening: "I am an American citizen who has had enough!"
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), addressed the rally, as did state Reps. Melvin Everson (R-Snellville) and Matt Dollar (R-Marietta). Catherine Davis, a candidate for the 4th Congressional District seat, and John Konop, running in the 6th Congressional District, also spoke.
The crowd cheered when Rogers was introduced, chanting, "Chip! Chip! Chip!"
The biggest reaction came when King told the crowd Davis was seeking to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney. The crowd cheered and applauded Davis, who further won over protesters by suggesting that illegal immigrants "go home."
King and other speakers emphasized that they do not oppose legal immigration. He introduced Maria Litland, a legal Austrian immigrant.
"That's how you come into this country," she said, holding up her green card. She called the green card "a gift," and said it was a "slap in the face to every legal immigrant ... to have any elected official let illegal aliens sneak into our country and allow them to remain here."
Jim Newman of Lawrenceville held up a large sign reading, "Pay For Your Own Babies and Healthcare."
"Most of us here don't have a problem with legal immigrants," said Newman, a construction contractor. "What we are here for is the illegals that don't pay their taxes."
On Saturday a mother-daughter duo from the Smyrna area held an anti-immigration rally at the Capitol that drew about 60 people.
King, who acknowledged paying 14 homeless men to hold up signs at an October protest at the Capitol, said he believed Monday's rally was a turning point for his movement.
"It was a very big day," said King, who first took to the streets in September 2003 with six other people. "I feel like we've passed the point where speaking about illegal immigration is politically incorrect. What I saw today were Americans of all colors, sizes and shapes standing up for the rule of law and secured borders in their own nation."
Wow. That almost makes me want to move to McKinney's district....almost. :)
It was a wonderful sight as I was driving through downtown yesterday, and saw a HUGE sign bashing McKinney.
As I understand it, the child's status is often used to facilitate citizenship for the entire family, including extended family in Mexico etc.
Finally some politicians with some gonads. Clap clap clap clap
Someone posted something here a long time ago that said that in Florida, it costs $5,000.00 to enroll a foreign student in a public school. (parent here on work visa?) That applies to all foreigners except mexicans.
Not bad for an AP story!
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