Drivers license issued to all aliens in Georgia. photo: DDS

States Take Lead in Boosting Immigrants

As Overhaul Drags in Congress, Legislatures Aid Undocumented Students, Drivers

Miriam JordanJan. 21, 2014 12:02 am ET

(PHOTO)

Moses Chege, born in Kenya, hopes the Washington State Legislature will approve college aid to undocumented immigrants such as himself. Matthew Ryan Williams for The Wall Street Journal

Jan. 21, 2014 12:02 am ET

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill last April to give in-state tuition rates to Colorado high school graduates in the country illegally. Associated Press

At the other side of the country last week, the House in Washington state passed a measure that would enable undocumented college students to qualify for state financial aid, a measure the state Senate is expected to back.

–> Colorado, Minnesota and Oregon also extended in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants last year. Meantime, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon and Vermont approved access to driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, bringing to 13 the number of states that allow it.

“There is a move away from enforcement measures to measures that support immigrants, such as in-state tuition and driver’s licenses,” said Ann Morse, director of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ immigration policy project. The group will release a report Tuesday about the laws and resolutions passed by states in 2013.

Supporters of the immigrant-friendly bills say that educating youngsters will bolster state coffers as graduates earn good salaries and pay taxes, while issuing licenses to all motorists improves highway safety and fosters better relations between immigrants and law enforcement.

“Immigrant-inclusive laws are not only sound policy, they are also good politics,” said Tanya Broder, senior attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, an immigrant-rights group. “We expect this momentum to continue in the coming year.”

Opponents say giving undocumented immigrants any benefits rewards illegal behavior, encourages more illegal immigration and saps scarce resources from states.

Washington state Rep. Larry Haler, a Republican, voted against offering financial aid to undocumented immigrants. “We don’t have the money,” he said, adding that the state last year turned down college grants to a third of the 106,000 students who applied.

The growth in inclusive measures marks a shift from previous years, when several states, led by Arizona, passed anti-illegal-immigrant laws. It reflects concerns expressed by some GOP leaders about potential fallout at the polls if Hispanic voters feel antagonized by the party.

After Republican leaders refused to consider a Senate immigration bill last year, several Republicans in the House now are working on a piecemeal proposal to achieve an overhaul.

“Immigration has become a defining, mobilizing issue for Hispanic voters,” said Frank Sharry, founder of America’s Voice, a national immigrant-advocacy group.

The states’ softer approach follows a 2012 Supreme Court decision involving Arizona—whose laws had served as a template for other states—that curtails state authority over immigration enforcement. That year, the Obama administration unveiled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a policy that gives young undocumented immigrants a temporary reprieve from deportation and a work permit.

While much of the pro-immigrant legislation is originating in blue states, Mr. Christie’s support of in-state tuition and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s recent call for immigrants to play a central role in his state’s revitalization suggest more Republicans are recognizing the potential political and economic impact of immigrants.

The immigrant-friendly bills carry a cost. In California, where illegal immigrants can qualify for a driver’s license starting next year, Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, set aside $64.7 million in his proposed 2014-2015 budget to process an anticipated surge in applications that will require more Department of Motor Vehicles staff and offices.

Mr. Christie signed the bill extending in-state tuition to undocumented students only after the New Jersey legislature dropped a provision that would have enabled such students to receive state financial aid. In-state tuition is generally half to a third of the cost of that charged out-of-state students.

The U.S. is home to an estimated 2.1 million undocumented students of college age. In California, which offers both in-state tuition and financial assistance to this group, they represent less than 1% of enrollment at public colleges and universities.

Moses Chege of Tacoma, Wash., say the impact of such legislation could be life-changing. “I’m 18 years old and sound and look American,” said the undocumented Kenyan, who was brought to the U.S. when he was 3 years old.

Mr. Chege, who was a commanding officer in his junior ROTC unit before realizing his immigration status was a barrier to the military and college, has testified before lawmakers on the issue. “I had ticked all the boxes—doing well in school, running track, leading worship at church,” he said.

The son of parents who work as caretakers to the elderly and infirm, Mr. Chege hasn’t been able to afford tuition at any university. “It was almost as if the acceptance letters didn’t mean anything,” he said. Even at lower in-state rates, Mr. Chege said he can’t attend college unless he gets financial aid, which will happen only if the new Washington state measure passes.

Write to Miriam Jordan at miriam.jordan@wsj.com

Tennessee Star on HR1044:

“The FHSI, a long-sought legislative goal of the cheap labor wing of the US Chamber of Commerce and the globalist tech industry, is nothing but a green-card giveaway to 300,000 low-wage Indian contract-workers employed by U.S. companies. Passage of HR 1044 will mean cheaper workers for investors but lower wages for American STEM grads, especially those in computer science and engineering.” Here.

Dalton Daily Citizen News

Opinion

July 25, 2019

Readers who have a concern about diversity in immigration, outsourcing American jobs and importing temporary foreign workers to replace Americans in the tech industry should learn more about the recent “yea” vote by U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, to pass HR 1044 in Washington, D.C.

GA Congressman Tom Graves. Image: GovTrack.com

The bill, cleverly named “the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act” is not “fair” in any way. Having passed the Nancy Pelosi-controlled House of Representatives (yes, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, voted for it too) HR 1044 would reward companies that bring in large numbers of Indian workers on H-1B specialty occupation visas, who displace U.S.-born tech workers.

The lobbying groups for this legislation include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Microsoft, Facebook Inc., IBM and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

We should also take a second look at the lessons we were taught in school about “how a bill becomes law.” Remember that old process in which legislation sees public hearings, a process that allows changes and enough time for careful inspection of the ramifications for Americans if it passes? HR 1044 never saw a committee hearing.

Under current rules, citizens of India are getting about 25% of all the professional employment green cards each year. Graves voted for citizens of India to get more than 90% of the professional employment green cards for at least the next 10 years, according to Jessica Vaughan at the Center for Immigration Studies.

Big corporations and their lobbyists will often claim that there is a “shortage” of American tech workers that necessitates an ever-growing number of “high-skill” visas. This is not true. We live in a time when American tech workers are being forced to train their foreign replacements because the Americans are “too costly” while many of our politicians assist that process.

We hope somebody asks Graves whose side he is on. And we should all speak up to our U.S. senators, where similar legislation is now pending.

Immigration should benefit Americans.

D.A. King

Marietta

Here.

GA – Official Code of Georgia Annotated

TITLE 35. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND AGENCIES

CHAPTER 2. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

§ 35-2-14. “Peace officer” defined; enforcement of immigration and custom laws

(a) As used in this Code section, the term “peace officer” means peace officer as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of Code Section 35-8-2, as amended.

(b) The commissioner is authorized and directed to negotiate the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the State of Georgia and the United States Department of Justice or Department of Homeland Security concerning the enforcement of federal immigration and customs laws, detention and removals, and investigations in the State of Georgia.

(c) The memorandum of understanding negotiated pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be signed on behalf of the state by the commissioner and the Governor or as otherwise required by the appropriate federal agency.

(d) The commissioner shall annually designate no fewer than ten peace officers to apply to be trained pursuant to the memorandum of understanding provided for in subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section. Such training shall be funded pursuant to any federal Homeland Security Appropriation Act or any subsequent source of federal funding. The provisions of this subsection shall become effective upon such funding.

(e) A peace officer certified as trained in accordance with the memorandum of understanding as provided in this Code section is authorized to enforce federal immigration and customs laws while performing within the scope of his or her authorized duties.

Image: DDS

OnlineAthens

July 4, 2019

Group urges Athens commission to halt arrests of undocumented motorists

By Lee Shearer

Message from Dan Stein, President of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

On the Passing of Dr. John Tanton (July 17, 2019)

When I first met John Tanton nearly 40 years ago, he and his lovely wife MaryLou had come to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress for important changes to U.S. immigration law.
Dr. Tanton had taken time off from his busy medical practice – as an eye surgeon he dramatically changed people’s lives for the better every day – in order to change the country’s future for the better ever after. The so-called Simpson-Mazzoli bill was up for congressional consideration.

That was Dr. Tanton (we’ll call him John), a selfless giver of his time and talents in the interests of a better tomorrow. This remarkable giant of a man that passed away this past Tuesday quietly in his home town of Petoskey, Michigan.
Those who knew him recognized a unique personality: A person with extraordinary persistence in promoting ideas based on a careful analysis of how today’s decisions affect the future. I have stated that John was a Renaissance man, and that was true. He was interested in so many different topics and areas that no one person could see the entire picture.

He was interested in history and the future, in population policy and its related ecological considerations; he was concerned about environmental preservation, and culture and family planning, and assimilation and the collective culture that makes a nation successful over time…the list goes on and on. And he made those ideas move with incredible success over time.

What made John the way he was is simple: Educating himself daily, he set out in the constant quest for powerful ideas. He sought to find these ideas through a process of trial and error. John persistently drafted papers, thoughts, ideas – they appeared every day on scraps of paper, torn sheets out of books, the backsides of business memos – in a never-ending stream of trial balloons. His papers show a busy intellect, a restless mind covering the full gamut of ideas that pertain to the human enterprise. He reached out to all manner of persons in the all sorts of fields to obtain feedback on his non-stop idea machine. This brought him into contact with many formidable public opinion leaders and figures of historic importance.

John was not a politician. He was not made for the public spotlight. He was a creative intellect who sought to develop ideas and send them up as trial balloons for feedback. He was stubborn and he was persistent. But simply because he wrote an argument down did not mean he agreed with it or even supported it; often it was merely the process of generating discussion around it. As he learned the hard way, promoting informal ideas – even where they were uniformly dismissed immediately by others – could cause unethical advocates who disagreed with you to ascribe to you policy positions that you yourself never adopted. This nasty sleight of hand was used repeatedly against John, especially in cases where he was floating an idea out as an intellectual exercise.

In so many ways, John exemplified what it means to be a citizen of a free country. The relentless need to inquire, to understand, to shape and guide – all in the service of the greater public good. He always used to say, “a good deal of life is trying to figure out what to do until the undertaker comes.”

Perhaps John never appreciated fully at the outset how public would be the recognition of his work, nor how unfairly those who feared him would seek to destroy his legacy. He was a victim of his unanticipated success. He never accepted these harsh statements about him – his mind wasn’t built to understand the unprincipled, the self-interested and the unethical.

Of course for John, the big reward was to see a number of the organizations he helped conceive grow into tall oaks – guiding and shaping the public discourse in history-changing ways. Looking back on John’s life today, I see a remarkable man whose legacy is barely recognizable in the social media battlegrounds that make up today’s public policy discussions.

John was a gentle soul who merely wanted to ensure we had the vital conversations that would allow future generations to judge that we acted properly at the time when it mattered most. He deserves an honest assessment by those seeking an honest history. He was a gift to the nation and he will be sorely missed.

Obituary for our friend, Dr. John Tanton

*UPDATED

Response from DPS GSPPIO <gsppio@gsp.net>

July 18, 2019    1:29PM

We are in receipt of your request.

—

To whom it may concern at GSP

I am writing a news item for submission to various news outlets including Breitbart News as well as Georgia news outlets and will post the final product on my own widely-read blogs at the DustinInmanSociety.org/blog and ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com .

To insure accuracy and balance I am hopeful that you will respond with an official comment on the apparent lack of an agreement/MOU/MOA with ICE for 287(g) authorization. DPS is not listed on July 2019 federal records that show participating entities for the 287(g) program.

I am aware of the requirement under state law that the department be 287(g) authorized and have officers trained each year and of the fact that the Obama administration terminated the original/previous MOU on December 31, 2012.

My write up will illustrate that the Trump administration issued an Executive Order and memorandum in January, 2017 that made it clear 287(g) was part of the “Enhancing Public Safety in the United States” inituative:

“To the greatest extent practicable, the Director of ICE and Commissionerof CBP shall expand the 287(g) Program to include all qualified law enforcement agencies that request to participate and meet all program requirements. In furtherance of this direction and the guidance memorandum, “Implementing the President’s Border Security and ImmigrationEnforcement Improvements Policies” (Feb. 20, 2017), the Commissioner of CBP is authorized, in addition to the Director ofICE, to accept State services and take other actions as appropriate tocarry out immigration enforcement pursuant to section 287(g) o f the INA.”

I have posted the Executive Order and the associated memorandum here for your convenience 

It is my educated understanding that both the Jail Model and the Task Force Model for 287(g) are available for use by authorized agencies and that ICE is on standby to welcome applications.

Questions

Has the department attempted to reapply for 287(g) authority to ICE since the original MOU was rescinded by the Obama administration and the Trump administration made it clear that 287(g) was being expanded and funded?

If the answer is “no” – please explain reasoning?

If yes, please include the dates of any application to ICE for renewing the authority to be 287(g) authorized as is required by Georgia law?

I welcome any additional information or comments that will help readers understand the current absence of 287(g) – trained DPS officers.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I have great respect for the job your department does.

My deadline is Monday, noon. (July 22, 2019)

Thank you.

Very respectfully,

D.A. King

FYI – My recent column in the AJC on 287(g) here.

*Updated, July 22, 2019

–> Response from DPS:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        11:33 AM , Monday, July 22, 2019

ORU# 22889-19

To: D.A. King

Good Morning,

Based on the information you have provided, we conducted a search within the Georgia Department of Public Safety; however, we were unable to locate any responsive records. In accordance with O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(d) of the Open Records Act, we are hereby notifying you that no responsive records were located.

Thanks,

Felecia
Open Records Unit

___

Received 1:31 PM today from DPS.

Your Open Records request has been received. We will respond within 3 business days, excluding state holidays and weekends.

Thank you,

Open Records Unit

—–Original Message—–
From: D.A. King [mailto:Dking—–]
Sent: Thursday, July 18, 2019 12:33 PM
To: Open Records
Subject: Open records request 287(g)

To whom it may concern at DPS,

Please send me a copy of any and all applications for any 287(g) MOA/MOU or agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/U.S. Homeland Security that may have been created, completed or submitted from January 20, 2017 to today’s date (July 18, 2019).

I would be grateful for an electronic response and a description of any charge for research or copies.

I look forward to your response within the three day period prescribed by state law.

Please contact me with any questions.

Thank you to the entire staff and LEOs for the work that you do!

Very respectfully,

D.A. King

Marietta, Ga. 30066

Note: This group is supported by Coca Cola, Georgia power and the UGA Small Business Development Center. See links for info.

Insider Advantage Georgia

July 17, 2019

Latino Community Fund Director: State E-Verify law a challenge for illegal aliens

D.A. King

From the “that’s pretty much the point” department: Georgia’s E-Verify law represents a challenge for illegal aliens who want to open a business and be more visible here. This critical analysis comes from the executive director and founder of an ethnic-based Decatur group headed by Gigi Pedraza.

Gigi Pedraza

Pedraza, of the Latino Community Fund, was featured in the Saporta Report last month outlining the need “to understand the needs of Latinx Entrepreneurs” and highlighting a study her organization put out last year.

“Undocumented Latinos and other undocumented immigrants face perhaps the biggest of these challenges before they are even able to start a business. In 2011, the state Legislature passed House Bill 87, the Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act. The law required evidence that an applicant for a business license or other documents needed to run a business has approval to use the federal work authorization program” wrote Pedraza. She means the no-cost E-Verify system.

She went on to incorrectly explain to Saporta’s readers that use of E-Verify somehow creates a citizenship requirement for business owners. It doesn’t.

Pedraza in the Saporta report: “Essentially, this instituted a citizenship requirement for Georgia business owners to operate lawfully, pay taxes and act as a visible part of their local communities and economies.”

Employers need not be U.S. citizens to be E-Verify users, but there is a requirement for a Social Security Number to register as a user, making it difficult for an illegal alien to receive authorization to use a federal system designed to help keep black market labor out of the workforce and to protect wages for legal workers.

Unsurprisingly, a goal for the Pedraza’s enterprise is to start a legislative process to end the state’s E-Verify requirement to obtain a business license: “Reducing this burdensome licensing restriction would allow additional Latino businesses to start and flourish, powered by individuals who call Georgia home and have dedicated most of their lives to build and contribute to this country” wrote Pedraza.

New to this writer, the openly restricted Latino Community Fund requires that other non-profit organizations meet two of the following descriptions for membership:

* Be Latino-led (Executive Director or CEO)
* Be governed by a majority Latino board of directors
* Serve a majority Latino client population (here).

• Update, Jen. 9, 2024: Pedraza & Co. have changed “Latino” to “Latinx” in the above related blurb from their website. See here.

Pedraza’s  guest column “Breaking down barriers for Latino Entrepreneurs” can be seen here. The study can be seen here.

An experienced word of warning to readers who may dismiss the chances of any legislative action in the Republican-ruled state legislature to abolish the E-Verify law – don’t.

The combined pressure from business donors, the mantra of “rolling back restrictions on small business”, the possibility of increasing the “great state for business” reputation by intentionally making life easier for illegal alien-run ventures and the ridiculous premise offered by Establishment Republican “influencers” that additional pandering would result in more Hispanic votes for the GOP at election time is powerful fodder under the Gold Dome.

D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society and proprietor of ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com

Here.