Blackmon: Dealing with bad law, but no bad blood

Myra Blackmon

Athens Banner-Herald

Published Sunday, January 31, 2010

When I opened my annual business license renewal recently, I – like most business owners in Athens-Clarke County – was stunned to find I now must prove my citizenship. ( Note from D.A. – actually, citizens are not currently required to prove citizenship, only asked the question…but she has a good idea!)

The renewal notice referenced a new state law, and I did recall some recent state legislation designed to prevent government benefits from going to illegal residents. Surely, though, a law that required every business owner in the state to prove citizenship or legal residence to get a license would have garnered headlines, not to mention howls from chambers of commerce across the state. I didn’t recall any of that…

PLEASE READ THE REST HERE

I sent this response to the editor asking that he forward to Ms. Blackmon :

To whom it may concern
ON GEORGIA BUSINESS LICENSES

Requiring everyone who applies for a business license, whether new or renewal, to swear to eligibility is not an “unintended consequence” of anything.

Although this long time American grows weary of explaining this string of facts, here it goes again.

1996 federal law defines both federal and state and local “Public Benefits” in 8 USC 1611 & 8 USC 1621 . The definition, it its entirety is:

c) “State or local public benefit” defined
(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), for purposes of this subchapter the term “State or local public benefit” means—
(A) any grant, contract, loan, professional license, or commercial license provided by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government; and
(B) any retirement, welfare, health, disability, public or assisted housing, postsecondary education, food assistance, unemployment benefit, or any other similar benefit for which payments or assistance are provided to an individual, household, or family eligibility unit by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government.

IF the reader wants to argue that a business license is not a commercial license, please stop reading here. We cannot communicate on a reasonable level. Also that a business license isn’t really a business license, but an “occupational tax certificate.” By any name, it is a condition (“regulation”) put on a business operator to conduct commerce.

This law was designed to stop the administration of finite benefits to people who are present in the USA in violation of our immigration laws and to help insure that we are not rewarding them or encouraging them to remain here. (Both also crimes under 8 USC 1324)

The original state law to mandate compliance with federal law was passed in 2006 (the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act – GSICA ) and became effective July 1, 2007. Giving local governments more than a year to prepare for the required affidavit and federal database (SAVE program) verification.

They ignored it with the help of GMA and ACCG. And when confronted, claimed that a business license isn’t really a business license but an occupational tax certificate…see above.

In 2009, the General Assembly passed HB 2 which clarified the language of the original law and took a list of Public Benefits from the SAVE Website in an effort to remove the claim that no one understood what a Public Benefit really is. That part seems to have worked all too well for some.

For the most part, SAVE is designed to verify immigration status of non-citizens – thus the affidavit asking the question: Citizen or lawfully present alien? If alien, the applicant is required to enter their alien number. The affidavit is the only way we have of separating citizen from alien. We thought about using a valid Georgia drivers license, but that would exclude a business owner who lives in Chattanooga from legally getting a Ga. business license in Dalton …for example.

Also, some states still grant drivers licenses to illegals.

False swearing on the affidavit is a felony – and a deportable offense. Not that may in the federal government are paying attention. But still a deterrent to illegals. Which is another reason for the state law: to protect Georgia jobs and benefits from illegal immigration.

Public Benefits have nothing….zero, nada, do with how many employees anyone has or how long they have been in business…or how long their family has lived in the US.

There is a section of the law that says public employers and their contractors must use another federal database called E-Verify to insure that newly hired employees are eligible to work in the USA. Again, this is not related to compliance with federal law on administering Public Benefits.

Illegal aliens do indeed hold Georgia business licenses and removing that benefit is encouraging many of them to leave Georgia for more hospitable states. Honest.

We have heard from a very few people who regard as a “hassle” swearing on a notarized affidavit that they are eligible for Public Benefits – to apply to renew their business license.

We respectfully direct them to the young Americans who are right now risking their lives in the freezing desert to secure our borders and stop illegal and uninspected entries.

Please tell them what a “hassle” the process is. Choice B is to change the federal law to openly and lawfully reward the illegal crossers who escape capture at the borders – or to simply declare open borders.

Until then compliance with the law is our duty as grown-ups, even immigration law.

A respectful heads up to all concerned: This state law was not thrown together at the last minute or in the waning days of last session. It is carefully thought out, well researched and written with the attitude that each legal method we have of making life hard for illegals is a good idea.

Any uneducated, knee-jerk attempt to dismantle the process of keeping illegal aliens from obtaining Public Benefits – including business licenses, using any reasoning – will be met with very vocal, very educational, very public and very large pointed rallies and protests.

Most Americans, the GOP base included, have “had enough” and are quite angry about watching their jobs, benefits and services decline while we ignore illegals.

D.A. King
Marietta
President, www.TheDustinInmanSociety.org