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WABE– NPR in Atlanta

Lawmakers Hear Testimony on Arizona-style Immigration Law
Michelle Wirth (2010-11-18)

ATLANTA, GA (WABE) – A committee of Republican lawmakers that’s charged with immigration reform heard testimony this week on an Arizona-style immigration law for the state.

Jerry Gonzalez with the Georgia Association of Latino Elected officials told the committee that passage of an Arizona-style immigration law would devastate the state’s agricultural industry.

“We cannot afford to enforce the rule of law, because are agriculture industry, along with other industries, desperately need immigrant labor in order to be successful. Without that labor, even more jobs would be lost.”

Georgia labor officials say there are more than 20,000 agricultural workers in the state, but the department is not sure how many are illegal immigrants.

Experts estimate that nationally between 50% to 70% of all agricultural workers are undocumented.

Gonzalez says if lawmakers truly wanted to crack down on illegal immigrants, they should focus on the businesses who employ them.

“Yet despite all of the chest thumping, nothing has been to target employers. Why?”

But Gonzalez says that’s not something he is in favor of because it would wreak havoc on the state’s economy. However, D.A. King with the Dustin Inman Society says that fears expressed by Gonzalez about the agricultural industry are unfounded. He says a worker visa program called H-2A is a legal solution to the problem.

“In a nutshell, H-2A allows any foreign worker to come into this country to do agricultural work for which an American citizen cannot be found. It is unlimited. We can bring in as many workers lawfully as we need to.”

King encourages state lawmakers to hold all employers feet to the fire about the legality of their workforce.

“I urge the legislature, and will be very active in creating legislation that requires every employer in Georgia to use the E-verify system as a condition of obtaining or retaining a business license.”

E-verify is an Internet-based system that is supposed to help employers verify the immigration status of workers. Currently, public employers and contractors with the state are required to use the system. Committee members plan to use testimony gathered in a series of meetings to draft legislation for the upcoming legislative session.
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