“There’s nobody I’d like to thank more than Jerry Gonzalez, his organization, GALEO, the ACLU and the rest of the open-borders race baiters for their rallies with thousands of screaming illegals chanting in a foreign language in front of the Georgia Capitol, which served to propel our legislation through the process,” King said.

Cobb Republicans helped pass illegal immigration bill

by Jon Gillooly

The Marietta Daily Journal

April 19, 2011 12:00

SMYRNA – State Rep. Rich Golick (R-Smyrna), a co-sponsor of the controversial new immigration bill awaiting Gov. Nathan Deal’s signature, said the measure represents a giant step forward in enforcing the laws against illegal immigrants.

The most significant provision in the bill is the requirement that private business use the federal E-Verify system to confirm the legal status of employees, he said.

Specifically, businesses with 10 or more employees must sign an affidavit swearing to use E-Verify to obtain or renew a business license/occupational tax certificate. Until now, only public employers such as the City of Marietta and their contractors were required to use E-Verify on newly hired employees.

The bill also clarifies the authority of local law enforcement by allowing them to inquire into a suspect’s immigration status when that suspect is under investigation for another crime.

Golick said under no circumstance would police be able to simply inquire about someone’s immigration status at the officer’s discretion. Rather, only when an officer has probable cause to believe the individual has committed another crime, and the individual is unable to produce proper identification can the officer attempt to establish the immigration status of the individual. Golick said that provision is a significant and strengthening distinction from the Arizona law.

“Georgia has more illegal aliens than the state of Arizona, and my understanding is that recently released Census figures indicate that the state with the fastest rate of growth of illegal aliens over the past decade was Georgia,” Golick said. “This has had a draining effect on our dwindling resources, especially given the economic recession.”

State Rep. David Wilkerson (D-Austell) said his primary reason for voting against the bill is that immigration is a federal issue. Then there is the point that similar legislation in Arizona is caught up in the court system.

“Until the Arizona case makes its way through the court, I think we’re just opening ourselves up to some huge legal bills,” Wilkerson said.

To Wilkerson’s first point, Golick said the federal government has consistently failed on the issue of immigration reform, making it inevitable that states would step in.

Like Wilkerson, Golick expects there to be lawsuits.

“To be sure, there will be litigation, but we have worked with our friend, Attorney General Sam Olens, on this issue every step of the way, and we are confident of our position,” Golick said.

Wilkerson said another concern is that Georgia’s economy relies on agriculture, which will be hit by the law when police begin demanding to see immigration papers of workers in that field.

“Police officers are expected to basically question anyone they think might be here illegally,” Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson said that’s not only going to chill the migrant worker population, but he expects it will impact the hospitality industry as various groups boycott the state.

“We might have moved down a few notches as far as attraction. Too many groups feel like it’s not something that should be done,” Wilkerson said.

But anti-illegal immigration activist D.A. King said there’s no excuse for allowing illegal immigration.

“Taxpayer-subsidized, black market labor is only cheap for employers. It’s a huge expense for the nation,” King said. Moreover, to threaten a state boycott for simply enforcing the law is extortion, he said.

Golick said the radical left sought to demonize him and the bill’s supporters at every turn as they worked to pass the bill.

“They continue to be oblivious to the fact that law-abiding citizens bitterly resent those who break our laws to get here, and then have the nerve to demand public benefits as if they’re entitled to them – and then call us racists and everything else under the sun when we choose to live under the rule of law,” Golick said.

Both Golick and King said the tactics of the opposition only reinforced the resolve to pass the bill.

“There’s nobody I’d like to thank more than Jerry Gonzalez, his organization, GALEO, the ACLU and the rest of the open-borders race baiters for their rallies with thousands of screaming illegals chanting in a foreign language in front of the Georgia Capitol, which served to propel our legislation through the process,” King said.

Of Cobb’s 19-member delegation, all of the Republicans except Bobby Franklin, of east Cobb, voted for House Bill 87, known as the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011. All of the Democrats except Terry Johnson, of Marietta, voted against the bill.

Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal – Cobb Republicans helped pass illegal immigration bill