"Georgia Immigration" - (Google) News Sweep - 4/18/'06 11:45 PM
"Georgia Immigration" - (Google) News Sweep - 4/18/'06 11:45 PM
4/18/'06 - The following article(s) were found in the media. Several stories are provided ... with links to the original sources ... for your convenience:
- Immigration law a federal matter (AJC)
- Mexico slams Georgia migrant law (BBC)
- Mexico blasts Georgia illegals law (AJC)
- Not mean or extreme (AJC)
- Georgia governor signs illegal immigration bill; Arizona governor vetoes prosecuting illegals (Jurist)
- Mexico criticizes Georgia's newly approved anti-immigrant law (AP)
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http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/0419edequal.html
EQUAL TIME
Immigration law a federal matterPublished on: 04/19/06
A movement has begun that will mark the end to a dark shadow over our history.
Inhumane laws have kept hardworking, contributing members of our community in an exploited subclass. The members of this class have virtually no opportunity to change their own fate because there are no visas for them; there is no line for them to get into. Their hope can be found in the ensuing debate in Congress; a debate that has taken shape in recent weeks.
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| Tisha R. Tallman is Southeast regional counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. | |
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Unfortunately, instead of waiting for Congress, Georgia has decided to take matters into its own hands, signing into law a punitive bill that does nothing to solve this complex issue.
The immigration crisis is an issue much bigger than Georgia. It is an issue that affects every single person in this country. As such, the regulation of immigration was made an issue solely for the federal government in our U.S. Constitution and reiterated with the passage of comprehensive federal legislation.
This Georgia law will do nothing to advance our state economically, socially and culturally, morally or ethically. It is neither just nor fair to take, on the one hand, the labor and economic contributions of our immigrants (an estimated $200 million in state and local taxes) and, on the other hand, tell them they cannot completely integrate into the economy to which they contribute.
It is time that we move forward, urge Congress to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill that includes a path toward legalization and reasonable enforcement. We need a bill that will recognize the humanity of our Georgia undocumented immigrants and, indeed, recognize our own humanity
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(On BBC FRONTPAGE Main Story Americas - Attached)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4921000.stm
Last Updated: Wednesday, 19 April 2006, 01:40 GMT 02:40 UK
| Mexico slams Georgia migrant law | ||
Presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar said the legislation discriminated against Mexicans and that diplomats would monitor how it was applied. The law, which will take effect next year, prevents illegal immigrants from receiving many social services. It will also require police and employers to report undocumented workers to the Immigration Service. Complex issue The signing of the legislation comes amid deadlock in the US Congress about how to deal with illegal immigration, as well as nationwide protests by worried Latino groups. "The referred legislation incurs discriminatory acts against the Mexican population and those of Mexican origin," Mr Aguilar said. "It is a partial measure that fails to resolve the complex phenomenon of immigration between Mexico and the United States in an integral manner." Since becoming Mexico's president in 2000, Vicente Fox has been pressing for reforms that would allow more Mexicans to work legally in the US. 'Not anti-immigrant' Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue, who signed the bill, said it was intended to ensure that everyone who lives in Georgia abides by the laws there. "It is our responsibility to ensure that our famous Georgia hospitality is not abused, that our taxpayers are not taken advantage of and that our citizens are protected," Mr Perdue. "I want to make this clear: we are not, Georgia's government is not, and this bill is not anti-immigrant," Gov Perdue said. The law, which will take effect in July 2007, will also impose prison terms for human trafficking and limit the services commercial companies can provide to illegal immigrants. BBC correspondents say the move has come at a difficult time in the US as there have been country-wide protests over a federal immigration law currently being debated in the Senate. "It is a punitive bill," said the president of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Sara Gonzalez. "This is a very complicated issue, and I don't see any good coming out of this." There are an estimated 11 million undocumented workers in the US. | ||
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http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/0419edimmigration.html
Mexico blasts Georgia illegals law
By JEREMY SCHWARTZ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/19/06
MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government blasted Georgia's new illegal immigration law Tuesday, calling it a half-measure that discriminates against Mexicans.
Ruben Aguilar, spokesman for President Vicente Fox, told reporters Tuesday morning that implementing parts of the Georgia law could result in "acts of discrimination" against Mexicans living in Georgia. "It's the position of [Fox] that the half-measures in this law are insufficient to resolve ... the complex phenomenon of immigration between Mexico and the United States," Aguilar said.
The Georgia bill, signed into law Monday by Gov. Sonny Perdue, requires verification of the legal status of those seeking certain taxpayer-funded services. The law also prevents employers from claiming the wages of illegal workers as a state tax deduction.
Perdue spokesman Dan McLagan dismissed the Mexican government's characterization of the bill, Senate Bill 529, as a discriminatory measure.
"This is not an anti-immigrant law. It is a fairness issue. This is saying that people should come in the front door, not the back door, and that the laws of our country and our state need to be obeyed. We are a hospitable people in the state of Georgia, but when folks wish to immigrate to the country, they need to do it in a legal way," McLagan said.
Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), the sponsor of SB 529, fired back at the Mexican government. "I challenge President Fox to reread Senate Bill 529, and if he can find a single reference to Mexico or any foreign nation, I will move to repeal 529," he said.
"I would suggest the government of Mexico stop concerning themselves with what we do in Georgia and instead worry about their own corrupt government, which has caused millions of their own citizens to leave their home country. A foreign government has no place in making Georgia law," Rogers said.
Polls show about 80 percent of Georgians want their elected leaders to confront the issue of illegal immigration.
The Atlanta office of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has said it is contemplating a legal challenge to the law, calling it "unjust and unfair." There are an estimated 250,000 to 800,000 illegal immigrants in Georgia.
Activists in Georgia favoring stricter immigration controls predicted the bill would be used as a model by other states and influence the national debate, which resumes in the U.S. Senate next week. That's something that worries some officials and observers in Mexico, who are pushing for U.S. reforms that would legalize the status of illegal immigrants and offer guest worker programs.
"The news has everybody concerned," said Ana Cristina Castillo Petersen, an international relations expert in Mexico City. "It's having an impact on how [Mexicans] believe immigrants are perceived — as a threat to cultural values, as a cost to the state."
Castillo said the Georgia law appeared to follow the lines of bills and laws in California and Arizona that are perceived as anti-immigration. "And now in Georgia," she said. "It's certainly seen as a negative impact."
While condemning the Georgia law, Aguilar praised Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, who vetoed a bill Monday that would have allowed local authorities to arrest illegal immigrants under broadened trespassing definitions.
Fox, a former executive for Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. in Mexico, has pushed hard but unsuccessfully over the last five years for immigration measures that would allow more Mexicans to work legally in the United States. Estimates of the number of illegal immigrants in the United States range from 10 million to 12 million.
Jorge Bustamante, a special rapporteur to the United Nations on the human rights outlook of migrant workers and one of Mexico's leading experts on the topic, called the complaints by Fox's government "absolutely irrelevant" because Mexico has so far failed to influence immigration policy in the United States.
"Unfortunately, some people are confused by these statements because they think Fox is doing the right thing by protesting, when in reality it has no impact," Bustamante said.
Staff writer Carlos Campos (ccampos@ajc.com) in Atlanta contributed the material from Georgia officials.
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http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/stories/0419edimmigration.html
Not mean or extreme
Georgia legislation deals with illegal immigrants and their employers without exceedingly harsh measures
Published on: 04/19/06
The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act is perhaps the best example in the nation of states acting responsibly in the limited role they have in dealing with illegal immigration.
The measure — signed into law Monday by Gov. Sonny Perdue and aimed at the state's estimated 300,000 to 800,000 illegal immigrants — is far superior to some of the mean-spirited immigration bills the General Assembly faced when it opened its 2006 session in January. Most of those never would have passed muster with the courts, which have consistently ruled that only the federal government is empowered to enforce immigration laws.
The failure of the federal government to deal with immigration has prompted more than 40 of the 50 states to take up statewide measures this year. Most are aimed at cracking down on government services to illegal immigrants, such as the measure Arizona voters approved in 2004. Very few states have gone about deciding what proper role they can play as thoughtfully as Georgia has in passing Senate Bill 529.
Much of the credit for that success should go to state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock), who took on the responsibility of fashioning the most worthwhile of the proposed immigration bills into a comprehensive measure that deals not only with illegal immigrants, but also those who illegally employ them and profit by their cheap labor. State Sen. Sam Zamarripa (D-Atlanta) worked closely with Rogers to refine parts of the proposal to mitigate the impact on undocumented workers and their families.
Rather than take the legally and morally dubious step of denying essential health services, such as prenatal care and childhood immunizations, to all illegal immigrants, Rogers and Zamarripa agreed to apply the new rules to adults only — a compromise that both men were criticized for by zealots on the extremes.
In the end, Zamarripa voted against the measure because he felt the issue should be handled by Congress and not the states. But his role of working with Rogers to improve the measure was very important in the process.
For instance, one of the provisions of the new law, effective next year, makes human trafficking a felony in Georgia, punishable by up to 20 years in jail. Already Atlanta and Cobb County police have set up special squads to investigate tips on human trafficking operations.
Plus, the law will phase in a requirement that companies doing business with state or local governments use a federal work authorization program to verify the legality of new hires — a process that has been voluntary and widely ignored in the past. All other Georgia employers will eventually need to prove they checked the immigration status of their workers or face losing the state tax deduction they claim on the wages they pay them.
Few observers expected the Legislature to make employers face up to their responsibilities on this issue. But failure to do so would have rendered the legislation meaningless.
The new law may not stem the tide of new arrivals to our state, nor will it significantly reduce local spending for undocumented workers and their families who are already here, but it helps clarify Georgia's proper role in this important national issue.
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http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2006/04/georgia-governor-signs-illegal.php
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Georgia governor signs illegal immigration bill; Arizona governor vetoes prosecuting illegals
Holly Manges Jones at 7:09 AM ET
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Meanwhile, however, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano [official website] on Monday vetoed [veto letter page one, PDF; page two, PDF] a bill that would have allowed the prosecution of illegal aliens, showing the great divide on the immigration [JURIST news archive] issue as members of Congress try to reach a compromise on immigration reform at the federal level. The Arizona bill [PDF text] would have made it possible to prosecute illegal workers as trespassers, but Napolitano said the law would impose additional burdens on police and prosecutors without the available funds to meet these extra costs. The bill would have allowed first-time offenders to be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to six months in jail, while a second violation would result in a felony charge with a possible one-year jail sentence. The Arizona Republic has local coverage . Reuters has more.
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http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=4784959&nav=8fap
Mexico criticizes Georgia's newly approved anti-immigrant law
MEXICO CITY The Mexican government slammed a newly approved immigrant enforcement law in Georgia today -- saying the legislation discriminates against Mexicans while failing to resolve the migration issue.
Ruben Aguilar, the spokesman for President Vicente Fox, told a news conference that Mexican consular officials will closely watch the application of the law, which gives Georgia some of the toughest measures against illegal immigrants in the United States.Aguilar said Georgia's law is a partial measure that fails to resolve the complex phenomenon of immigration between Mexico and the United States in an integral manner.The law signed yesterday by Governor Perdue requires verification of the legal status of people seeking many state-administered benefits. It sanctions employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and mandates that companies with state contracts check the immigration status of employees.It also requires police to check the immigration status of people they arrest.
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Erik Voss
erik@ICAtlanta.org
404-457-5901 Direct
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