Deal signs illegal immigration bill
TV cameras were rolling today as Gov. Nathan Deal signed House Bill 87 in a ceremony at the Capitol, one day before taking off for a trade mission to Europe.
The bill’s chief sponsor, state Rep. Matt Ramsey, R-Peachtree City, has denied charges that the legislation mirrors Arizona’s infamous immigration bill, and to an important degree he’s right. The new law allows Georgia law enforcement to check immigration status only of those actually being detained as criminal suspects. That’s a more narrowly defined authority than that granted under Arizona law and should reduce the danger of police profiling of Hispanic Americans. Nonetheless, a constitutional challenge of the entire bill still seems inevitable.
On the other hand, the penalties to be assessed against illegal immigrants — up to 15 years for using fake identification to get a job here, for example — are almost cartoonish in their severity, while provisions that supposedly attempt to get tough on business owners who knowingly employ illegal labor are extremely mild and contain no enforcement mechanism. The bill targets the powerless while protecting the powerful, an approach that has failed everywhere it has been tried because as long as the jobs are available, the people will come to fill them.
In other words, it is not a serious attempt to address a serious problem, it is a serious attempt to look tough for purposes of political gain. On those grounds, it is a success.
And it is now law in Georgia, at least temporarily.
– Jay Bookman
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296 comments Add your comment
jm
May 13th, 2011
2:02 pm
No e-verify?
Normal
May 13th, 2011
2:03 pm
Big deal (no pun intended). It will never work because nobody will try.
AngryRedMarsWoman
May 13th, 2011
2:03 pm
Enter your comments here
Yahtzee
May 13th, 2011
2:04 pm
JM,
E-Verify is included in the bill, but Jay doesn’t want to mention it.
willie lynch
May 13th, 2011
2:04 pm
Hypocrisy at it’s finest. Great job Nate!
jm
May 13th, 2011
2:04 pm
Yahtzee – I though he was arguing for the longest time that if we were going to be fair and intelligent about immigration, then E-verify was the logical solution…… hmmmm
Jay
May 13th, 2011
2:05 pm
jm, employers will have to submit a statement that they have registered for and use E-verify.
And that’s it. Law enforcement has no power to audit employers to see whether they actually do.
AngryRedMarsWoman
May 13th, 2011
2:05 pm
Guess my ex, who is a cop, is gonna have to marry that illegal Mexican chick he has been dating or they might find out that it ain’t exactly legal to overstay your tourist visa by a few years and have a job. But hey, it isn’t his job to enforce the laws….oops.
Yahtzee
May 13th, 2011
2:09 pm
The only thing the AJC is reporting concerning business using E-Verify is when they are required to start using it. Also reported, “Government officials who violate state laws requiring cities, counties and state government agencies to use E-Verify could face fines of up to $10,000 and removal from office.”
Blue
May 13th, 2011
2:11 pm
Can you expound on what the ‘mild’ consequences for businesses are? I DO agree with you on one point (for a change); I would like to see businesses hit hard. But I still wouldn’t want to be soft on the ILLEGAL immigrants either.
Jay
May 13th, 2011
2:12 pm
And Harry:
“So man-up you pathetic loser.”
“Thanks, but getaclue is such an easy target I often feel small for smacking him down like that. He’s pretty much defenseless in a contest of wits.”
After multiple warnings … see ya.
Recon (2nd.and 3rd.)
May 13th, 2011
2:13 pm
I think just yesterday or the day before the AJC was saying how terrible it would be and how Georgia’s economy will suffer. Today, Deal signs it into law and Jay says its no big deal and nothing will really change.
Dusty
May 13th, 2011
2:17 pm
Once again Bookman attacks the WRONG ones when he writes “The bill targets the powerless while protecting the powerful.”
A more correct version would say that the bill targets those who break American law while protecting those who provide jobs for American citizens..
Deal did not sign an”Illegal immigration bill”. He signed a bill AGAINST illegal immigration. It is strictly against LAWBREAKERS.
Evidently Bookman has nothing against lawbreakers. I think he believes they vote but they won’t if this bill is not overun by Democrats.
Jefferson
May 13th, 2011
2:19 pm
Dumb law, will cost more than it will save.
AMF HC
Jefferson
May 13th, 2011
2:21 pm
What’s funny is nothing as far as the use of their labor will change, it will only cause problems
Jay
May 13th, 2011
2:21 pm
Blue, I’m not a lawyer, so take it for what it’s worth, but I see no penalties for businesses for knowingly hiring illegal workers, only a mild punishment for filing false documents if they claim to use E-verify but don’t. And again, there’s no real means to police that.
I don’t even see an explicit requirement that they use it E-verify for every hire, only a general requirement that they have registered to use the system and that they use it.
Here’s a link to the bill:
http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20112012/116631.pdf
The section at issue is Section 12, on Page 11. For those unfamiliar with reading legislation, the underlined portions are those portions being added to existing law. The portions with strike-throughs are the portions being deleted.
Guy Incognito
May 13th, 2011
2:22 pm
Harry, WOW, …………Jay’s hunting lodge is filling up with stuffed heads on the wall
The legislation is mostly toothless, but at least it’s a start
Dusty
May 13th, 2011
2:22 pm
Business owners with less than ten workers do NOT have to have E-Verify under the GA bill. That’s what I read.
Jay
May 13th, 2011
2:23 pm
So Dusty, those who knowingly hire illegal immigrants ALSO break the law. You seem to suggest that we should NOT be as harsh with them as with those they hire.
Interesting double standard there. I mean, if the law is the law and all that.
DebbieDoRight
May 13th, 2011
2:23 pm
Why doesn’t Deal sign something that will make jobs go up and the unemployment rate go down? Or better yet, sign something that will eliminate him from profiting from office (like SonnyDo did); or even better, sign something that helps Georgia’s education system! He’s wasting his time and ink signing a bill into law that’ll just be repealed and/or litigated for years to come.
Peadawg
May 13th, 2011
2:23 pm
It’s not perfect, but it’s a good start. Good job Mr. Deal!!
Yahtzee
May 13th, 2011
2:25 pm
Section 7 of HB 87 takes the vehicle away from anyone who is caught using a day laborer for whom they have not verified documentation. It also finds that person between $5,000 and $20,000, and puts them in jail for at least one year, and possibly for as long as five years. And, that vehicle gets auctioned off and the proceeds go to the local police for immigration training.
This section also makes it illegal to “harbor” someone who is undocumented. This could be interpreted to mean that anyone renting property to someone who is undocumented goes to jail and pays a large fine. Maybe the law will encourage property owners from renting to illegal immigrants and require proper documentation.
jm
May 13th, 2011
2:25 pm
Jay 2:05 – that’s pretty toothless. Nevertheless, they’d be breaking the law if they don’t use it. Wonder what the punishment / fine is….
Ernesto
May 13th, 2011
2:25 pm
Sad day for Georgia. This bill is just going to affect our state reputation and economy. This HB87 is unconstitutional. Immigration enforcement is a federal matter.
Nathan Deal is a corrupt politician. Did anyone read or watched Fox5’s reporting that 90k of his campaign founds went to his daughter-in-law? Whenever the reporters from Fox5 tried to go in to the signing of the HB87, they were denied entrance. The officers explained they were following orders. REPORTERS WERE DENIED ENTRANCE TO THE SIGNING BECAUSE THEY REPORTED ON NATHAN DEAL’S SHADY BUSINESS!!! Do you hear this Georgia?! You have elected a corrupt politician!
Dusty
May 13th, 2011
2:26 pm
So Harry’s gone. When does getalife get warnings for the multiple namecalling he so often posts?
Keep Up the Good Fight!
May 13th, 2011
2:26 pm
Any chance that Deal could have signed the bill to avoid more publicity on the $90k paid by his campaign to a company created in 2010 that hired his daughter? I’m sure its merely coincidence.
Peadawg
May 13th, 2011
2:26 pm
As for ” The bill targets the powerless….”
Let me get out the world’s smallest violin and play a sad song for the poor poor illegal immigrants….ESPECIALLY the KSU girl who lied on her application to get in-state tuition. Those poor poor victim!!!!!
jm
May 13th, 2011
2:26 pm
Jay, if you’re going to pull a plug on people….. “you are a mindless con hack.” we don’t need to guess who wrote that…
Peadawg
May 13th, 2011
2:27 pm
“I see no state penalty for hiring illegal immigrants.”
Kinda like Obamacare…it ain’t perfect but it’s a start.
Jay
May 13th, 2011
2:28 pm
Again, jm, the only punishment I see in the bill is for filing a false document. I see no state penalty for hiring illegal immigrants.
@@
May 13th, 2011
2:28 pm
Well…that oughta make some “Hard-Pressed Democrats” happy.
According to a May 4, 2011, report from the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 76 percent of “hard-pressed Democrats” — defined as “religious, financially struggling” — agree with the statement: “Immigrants today … are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care.”
Who they are: A sizable number are non-Hispanic African American (35%), while 53% are non-Hispanic white. About seven-in-ten live in the South (48%) or Midwest (23%). Most (61%) are female. Two-thirds (68%) have only a high school education or less.
Lifestyle notes: Only 28% have a U.S. passport. More than four-in-ten (43%) describe their household as “struggling.” About one-in-five (21%) are currently out of work and seeking a job. 23% follow NASCAR. 61% regularly watch network evening news and 44% watch CNN.
Perhaps jay’s team would like to call ‘em xenophobes?
Nah…they reserve that label for GOP voters only.
Peadawg
May 13th, 2011
2:28 pm
Jay, y’all need better web programmers over there!!!!!!! I commented on your comment before you posted it!
Jefferson
May 13th, 2011
2:28 pm
The court will surly strike it down. Just a matter of time and the gov’t’s wasted money.
The Leg Lamp is a “major award”….
May 13th, 2011
2:28 pm
Jay, this bill aside, what’s been your overall opinion of Deal?
getalife
May 13th, 2011
2:29 pm
cons are soft on white collar crime.
Fact.
jm
May 13th, 2011
2:30 pm
Jay 2:28 – scanning through the document, all I see are $1,000 and $5,000 fines, not to exceed $20k blah blah blah. Ie, as you said, toothless.
The Leg Lamp is a “major award”….
May 13th, 2011
2:30 pm
getalife
May 13th, 2011
2:29 pm
Gee, would I prefer to be “soft” on a person who hires an illegal alien or to a person who ruthlessly murders people for petty cash? Hmmm………
TaxPayer
May 13th, 2011
2:30 pm
I’m sure this bill was written by ethical Republican legislators given that we have no known unethical ones here in Georgia by design.
getalife
May 13th, 2011
2:30 pm
cons will waste money on appeals to silly laws and call themselves fiscal cons. The lawyers are happy to take your money.
Fact.
Peadawg
May 13th, 2011
2:31 pm
Or maybe I’m psychic, Jay. I have espn. I knew what you were going to say!
getalife
May 13th, 2011
2:31 pm
“I think there are some “cons” that are very disgusted by corruption and white collar crime”
Better late than never.
Now, what do you cons propose to fix it?
jm
May 13th, 2011
2:32 pm
getalife 2:29 – color me shocked. I actually partly agree with you. Though I think its bipartisan, and I think your generalization doesn’t apply to all “cons”. I think there are some “cons” that are very disgusted by corruption and white collar crime…..
Dusty
May 13th, 2011
2:32 pm
No twisting around, Bookman.
The laws are applied equally and I favor no one who breaks the law nor did I suggest such a thing. These laws will be hard on some companies who cannot run their work legally. Nobody said differently.
Everyone does not change words to suit their motives as you do. I certainly don’t even if you try to suggest it.
The Leg Lamp is a “major award”….
May 13th, 2011
2:32 pm
Maybe the Republicans had to pass this bill to see what was in it……
Jay
May 13th, 2011
2:32 pm
Dusty, at your suggestion I’ve just scrolled back thru getalife’s most recent posts. I did find this:
“XX is a boring, crying, con, partisan, hack, troll.
To be ignored and marginalized as a kook.”
And yes, that justifies a warning:
Getalife, no personal attacks on other bloggers. Debate the issues, not each others’ perceived personal failings.
Guy Incognito
May 13th, 2011
2:32 pm
Jefferson
May 13th, 2011
2:28 pm
and the gov’t’s wasted money.
You mean, the taxpayers $. Govt doesn’t have money of its own
I love the concept of litigating against the same provisions that the Federal law follows. Only libs can manage to be sooooooooooooo illogical
Keep Up the Good Fight!
May 13th, 2011
2:32 pm
Well certainly the Republicans have picked up on the simple Day 1 Crim Law discussion….why if we just imposed severe penalties for all crimes that will end them…..
Speeding, <10 miles — cut off 1 hand
Speeding 10-20 miles — cut off 2 hands
Speeding 20+ cut off head
Harsh penalties only on those that are already at the bottom are bound to work!
jm
May 13th, 2011
2:33 pm
TaxPayer 2:30 – that was funny. and true.
Olderandwiser49
May 13th, 2011
2:33 pm
The illegals don’t feel threatened (yet) because they know some smarmy, tree-hugging liberal will be contesting this in court, and that it will drag out for 1-2 years. The convention industry is concerned that Atlanta will lose business because of the law. They keep throwing out the $141 million lost by the State of Arizona, after trying to enact their law, as evidence of the “critical” loss of revenue. As I have pointed out a few times in earlier comments, illegal aliens cost this state over $2 BILLION per year. That is in excess of the amount they allegedly contribute to our economy. If I have to give up 7 cents, and then get a dollar in return, I can’t think of a single reason not to give up the 7 cents! Look at all the discretionary spending that will become available. We won’t have to pay any additional funds to schools. They’ll improve dramatically just from the population changes and shifts. Personally, I think we should send half the savings to Arizona, Georgia’s donation to securing our borders, and help avoid a recurrence of this type of invasion again.
The Leg Lamp is a “major award”….
May 13th, 2011
2:34 pm
getalife
May 13th, 2011
2:30 pm
Is “sue the deepest pockets” John Edwards a “con”? I know he’s a con man, but is he a conservative?