“Burcuoğlu said she and her partner chose to have the birth in the U.S. to make their child’s life more comfortable. “I don’t want her to deal with visa issues – American citizenship has so many advantages.”

Birth tourism in US on the rise for Turkish parents

Friday, March 12, 2010
Işıl Eğrikavuk

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
With more Turkish parents wanting their child to be born in the US, tourism companies are starting to offer ‘birth tourism’ packages to US cities. Many women say giving birth in the US has benefits including cheaper education and fewer visa worries. Some Americans, however, want to restrict the practice, citing fears of illegal migration

If Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 hit “Born in the USA” were to become popular again, the title might now refer to thousands of Turkish children whose parents are increasingly traveling to the United States to give birth.

According to tourism expert Gürkan Boztepe and media sources, 12,000 Turkish children have been born in the U.S. since 2003.The numbers are significant enough to draw the attention of tourism companies and inspire them to pursue “birth tourism.”…

HERE

Mark Krikorian — National Review

After health care, immigration?

Reader Stephen T. worries: Do you have any thoughts about how failure/passage of healthcare bodes for “immigration reform,” AKA amnesty for illegal aliens? I have a bad feeling that failure of healthcare will impel Democrats to unite on amnesty in order to hand Obama *some* victory…

HERE

These are the people who are demanding amensty-again, citizenship and the right to vote in your children’s America.

Center for Immigration Studies

New Report: Immigration and the radical Southern Poverty Law Center

After the collapse of the Senate amnesty bill in 2007, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) joined with the National Council of La Raza and others to launch a campaign to smear the three largest mainstream groups making a case for tighter enforcement and lower immigration. At the center of this campaign was the designation of the Federation for American Immigration Reform as a “hate group”…

HERE

Jerry Griffin,Marietta Daily Journal

King wrong to attack ACCG on immigration
March 17, 2010

DEAR EDITORIAL:

Tuesday’s MDJ column by D.A. King, “ACCG, GMA lobbying against stronger law on aliens,” misrepresented the willingness that the Association County Commissioners of Georgia has demonstrated to work on immigration legislation. It also failed to recognize the efforts put forth by this association to increase compliance with programs developed by the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that illegal immigrants are not hired by or receive public benefits from government agencies.

ACCG is not actively opposing immigration legislation. The association supports public policy that promotes the employment of U.S. citizens and reduces the potential for government to hire or provide public benefits to illegal aliens. During the 2009 legislative session and again this year, ACCG has worked with the sponsors of immigration legislation to identify administrative concerns. ACCG seeks to develop a solution that not only will achieve their legislative goals, but also has clear definition and direction for local government and does not add additional administrative and financial burdens at a time when counties are also facing budget challenges.

The association also is committed to educating counties on federal and state laws through training, our Web site (www.accg.org) and other outreach efforts. In the last year, ACCG has increased awareness and participation in the federal SAVE and E-Verify programs among counties. For example, the number of Georgia counties enrolled in the SAVE program has grown from four in 2009 to over 100 with an active or pending status today. ACCG also has worked with the Department of Homeland Security to streamline the application process for SAVE to increase the time for approval which was taking at least six months. In addition, 97 percent of Georgia counties are in compliance with E-Verify.

The column also targeted the recent situation involving illegal immigrants working on the Cobb County Courthouse. In this situation, the county completed its due diligence through the E-Verify program in hiring the construction contactor. The hiring of the illegal immigrants occurred at the subcontractor level. Legislation proposed this year establishes a penalty on businesses that hire illegal immigrants that is not currently in place and should reduce the likelihood of this situation.

ACCG is committed to working on behalf of county governments and their communities by providing leadership training, cost effective services and public policy development and advocacy. Rather than focus on the development of a workable solution for local government on immigration reform, Mr. King chooses to attack an organization with a history of consensus building on legislative issues that is often sought out as a trusted voice by Georgia legislators who recognize ACCG’s understanding of the roles and responsibilities of local government.

Jerry R. Griffin
Executive Director
Association County Commissioners of Georgia.

HERE

The Hispanic Institute

Florida: Faith-Based Hispanics Push Immigration Reform

Rafael Vela on March 16, 2010

Esperanza, a Hispanic faith-based network, plans to launch a grassroots campaign in South Florida and other parts of the country on Tuesday to push for comprehensive immigration reform this year.

It starts with an announcement in the Capitol.

Participants will include Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican from Miami, who is running this year in a district that includes Broward County. Also on hand will be Jose Dugand, pastor of a 2,500-member church called Ekklesia Global in Miami.

Backers include Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform; and Senator Robert Menendez, a Cuban-American Democrat from New Jersey.

Read More

Dick Armey Stuns His Tea Partiers With Open-Borders Advocacy (see his immigration record here)

By Roy Beck, Monday, posted on NumbersUSA

For weeks, various grassroots leaders of tea parties have been asking NumbersUSA if there is anything to the rumors that former Congressman Dick Armey is soft on amnesty and the costs of illegal immigration. If he were, that would be an unsettling situation for the vast majority of people at tea party events who oppose both vehemently.

Well, today, Dick Armey settled the question. No need for rumors now.

Mr. Armey — labeled as the “uber-organizer of the tea party movement” by a reporter today — seems to have labeled as “goofy” most of the grassroots citizens attending tea party events.

Armey showed his disdain in a speech at the National Press Club for all those who oppose comprehensive amnesties for millions of illegal aliens and who oppose importing millions of foreign workers during a time of high unemployment.

But this is in keeping with his record in Congress. (See below for a thorough analysis.)

During his time in Congress (1985-2002), Mr. Armey’s positions on immigration almost always appeared to be much more shaped by the desires of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for low-wage labor subsidized by taxpayers than by the needs of the average taxpayer and worker.

Today, Mr. Armey showed that he disagrees with the majority of Republican Members of Congress who oppose amnesty and who call for enforcement to cause illegal aliens to go home: .

.. READ THE REST HERE!

Thanks to Mr. Dick Pettys for the information below:

Tuesday, March 16 in session for legislative day 25
Wednesday, March 17 in session for legislative day 26
Thursday, March 18 in session for legislative day 27
Friday, March 19 through Sunday, March 21 in adjournment
Monday, March 22 in session for legislative day 28
Tuesday, March 23 in session for legislative day 29

Wednesday, March 24. . . . . . . . . . in adjournment

Thursday, March 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in session for legislative day 30

Friday, March 26 through Sunday, March 28 in adjournment
Monday, March 29 in session for legislative day 31

D.A. King: ACCG, GMA lobbying against stronger law on aliens

by D.A. King

Guest columnist
March 16, 2010

The Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Authority are not exactly well-known, household names to the average Georgian. They should be.

They are two of the largest and most powerful lobbying groups in the Georgia Capitol. And neither of them seems to be on the same side of the illegal immigration/illegal employment fight as the citizen majority.

Including the ACLU, MALDEF and Jerry Gonzalez at the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, it would be difficult to find any organizations that are more effective in keeping meaningful punishments for violations out of the 2006 Georgia law that requires local governments and their contractors to use the federal E-Verify and SAVE systems.

Wait until you find out the source of their income. More on that further down.

A brief look at their respective Web sites provides some insight into each group. ACCG: “The Association County Commissioners of Georgia is a nonprofit instrumentality of Georgia’s county governments.” From the GMA Web site: “Our purpose is to anticipate and influence the forces shaping Georgia’s communities and to provide leadership, tools and services that assist local governments in becoming more innovative, effective and responsive.”

The recent discovery of the black-market construction labor working on the Cobb County Courthouse again illustrated the obvious flaw in Georgia’s law intended to ensure that tax dollars are not spent to employ black-market labor. There are virtually no punishments for ignoring the law.

That is not an accident. Let’s be crystal clear on this: the ACCG and GMA are directly and most responsible for the law being weak on enforcement tools.

The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act went into effect in 2007 and required that all local governments use the E-Verify system to be sure they were not paying illegal aliens with tax dollars and to use the federal SAVE system to verify the eligibility of applicants for public benefits.

Even now, there is not 100 percent compliance.

In the 2009 legislative session, House Bill 2 was introduced to amend the language of the original law so that it would have teeth. HB 2 was fought in every step of the long committee process by the ACLU, MALDEF, GALEO and both ACCG and GMA.

A much watered down version of HB 2 eventually passed, but still without any real punishment for violations, thanks to the dedicated and tireless “kill the bill” lobbying from the ACCG and GMA. The other groups’ opposition only creates more “yes” votes.

Currently there are several bills pending under the Gold Dome that would put substantial and effective sanctions into law for the local governments and their contractors who are now treating it as an option.

HB 1164 is a comprehensive fix for the loopholes in the 2006 law that all concerned have so industriously sought out on the original intention of denying Georgia’s taxpayer-funded jobs and benefits to illegal aliens.

“As we continue to deal with declining state revenues and increasing unemployment, we must ensure that every dollar we appropriate is spent on jobs, services, and benefits for Georgians who are eligible,” says Representative Rick Austin (R-Demorest) the bill’s sponsor.

Along with the ACLU, the GMA opposes the bill and will lobby against it in Tuesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing. Under pressure, on its legislative tracking Web page, the ACCG has recently changed its “oppose” position to “evaluating” – but is still working to weaken the bill.

Another bill, the Georgia Public Works and Contractor Protection Act (SB 460), authored by Cobb Republican state Sen. Judson Hill, is specifically designed to address the widespread violations of the law illustrated in the Cobb Courthouse construction scandal.

GMA opposes the bill.

I promised to let you know who is providing the funds to pay the salaries of the lobbyists at the ACCG and GMA who work against enforcement of our state law that says we must obey federal immigration and employment and benefits laws.

You are. I am. Both groups are funded by dues paid by member counties and cities. They get the money from taxes paid by the usual victims in illegal immigration – the American taxpayer.

For an example, according to county records, Cobb paid $30,615 to the ACCG in 2008. The city of Marietta paid $$17,023 to the GMA from July 2009 to July 2010.

I am guessing not many readers were aware that they are indirectly paying anti-enforcement lobbyists’ paychecks.

The ACCG can be reached at (404) 522-5022 and the GMA at (404) 688-0472.

Silence is consent.

King is president of the Dustin Inman Society and a 27-year Cobb resident.

HERE

Dick Pettys’ Insider Advantage Georgia – a subscription Website ( Note the below is reposted here with permission, we thank Mr. Dick Pettys for the space)

Insider Advantage Georgia HERE
Guest Column – D.A. King:

Illegal Immigration Still A Big Issue For Many Georgians
By D.A. King

(3/16/10) Unemployment figures remain dismal, the Georgia Legislature is still focused on finding ways to create jobs and cut the budget, and a recent report from the U.S. Census tells us that the population of people who escaped capture while illegally crossing our borders has doubled in Georgia since 2000. Respected demographers and the ethnic hustlers who make a living assisting the foreign fugitives tell us that the illegal aliens come for jobs.

For most Georgians, the solution here is not the head-scratcher that it seems to be for many people running our state government. A few observations and some news from someone who sincerely wishes he didn’t know anything about any of this.

After today, there are only four session days left before cross-over day. Since they seem to be regarded as a closely guarded secret by the same media that is quick to report on illegal aliens as victims, here is a summary of a few bills pending in the Georgia legislature that would actually put teeth into the state code intended to protect jobs and benefits in the Peach State.

HB 1164:

Revisits the 2006 ‘Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act (GSICA).’

This bill clarifies procedures for compliance and would provide meaningful penalties for public contractors and official agencies – including local governments – that are in violation of the 2006 Act. That law requires all public employers and their contractors to use the no-cost federal E-Verify program to insure that tax dollars are not going to pay black-market labor. Since the law went into effect in 2007, compliance can most politely be described as “partial.”

Also provides language to provide for annual federal training of state law enforcement officers to assist ICE in enforcing federal immigration laws using the super- successful 287(g) program. It removes the exemption for verification of eligibility (using citizenship and/or immigration status) for applicants for publicly funded post secondary education. HB 1164 also provides strong penalties for local governments and official agencies that are now in violation of GSICA which also requires use of the federal “SAVE” system to verify eligibility of applicants for public benefits – including business licenses. The majority of local governments and agencies have chosen to ignore this law.

Presently, there are no consequences for violation. Illegal aliens who escape capture at our borders are currently being rewarded with a license to open a business in most counties and municipalities in Georgia.

This is a carefully worded and comprehensive sure-fire fix for the ‘loopholes’ in the 2006 law that all concerned have so industriously sought out on the original intention of denying Georgia’s taxpayer funded jobs and benefits to people who will soon march in Washington (again) demanding “justice”, citizenship and the right to vote for an end to enforcement. Not only of American immigration laws, but also our borders.

HB 1259

‘The Georgia Employer and Worker Protection Act of 2010’

HB 1259 would require use of the no-cost federal E-Verify system as a condition of obtaining or renewing a business license/occupational tax certificate for all businesses with more than three employees. The goal being to protect jobs in Georgia by verifying work eligibility – using immigration status – of all newly hired employees as well as to protect Georgia employers from the increasingly frequent federal sanctions for hiring illegal labor.

Presently, Georgia is one of thirteen states with E-Verify laws. This bill would expand required use from public employers and their contractors to all businesses. Mississippi, South Carolina and Arizona have such laws in place.

Nearly 13,000 Georgia employers are already voluntarily using the E-Verify system.

Knowingly hiring an illegal alien is a federal crime.

Personal observation: Doing so – especially while we watch our countrymen struggle with the unemployment crisis – is also immoral. If E-Verify cuts the number of job thefts in half, it is a very valuable improvement and its universal use is a no-brainer.

SB 136

Would codify into law the current Board of Pardons and Paroles policy regarding use of the federal REPAT program by which illegal alien state prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes and who are eligible for parole can voluntarily apply for deportation in the last third of their sentence…resulting in reduced incarceration costs to Georgia taxpayers.

SB 385

Would reward local law enforcement that voluntarily utilize federal programs which identify illegal aliens who are arrested for additional crimes. This bill would increase funding to local law enforcement by 10% for use of the Homeland Security Department’s “Secure Communities” fingerprint sharing initiative and 20% for use of the 287(g) program. The 287(g) program is despised by the anti-enforcement lobby. Because of its proven effectiveness’, the ACLU has formed the ‘Georgia Detention Watch’ group with the stated mission of stopping all 287(g) usage in Georgia.

SB 460

‘The Georgia Public Works and Contractor Protection Act’
Clarifies and expands already required procedures for use of federal E-Verify system by public employers and contractors to protect jobs on public works projects. The bill provides clear and meaningful penalties for violation of law regarding E-Verify use created in the 2006 Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act.

These bills have all of the right – and usual – enemies.

Georgians are looking for a better life in their own country. There is nowhere for us to migrate.

——————————————————————————–

D.A. King is a nationally recognized authority on illegal immigration and president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society.

InsiderAdvantage, 4401 Northside Parkway, Suite 205, Atlanta, GA 30327 Phone: 404.233.3710, Fax: 404.393.3710
InsiderAdvantageGeorgia is published daily by InsiderAdvantage,
4401 Northside Parkway, Suite 205, Atlanta, GA 30327;
Phone: 404.233.3710, Fax: 404.393.3710
POSTMASTER: Mail address changes to InsiderAdvantage,
4401 Northside Parkway, Suite 205, Atlanta, GA 30327
Copyright © 2005-2010 InsiderAdvantage.com, Inc.
Photocopying or reproducing in any other form in whole or in part is a violation of federal copyright law and is strictly prohibited without the publisher’s consent.
Dick Pettys, EDITOR