22 February 2016

Retired Border Patrol Agent Dave Stoddard was kind enough to send us the below copy of a letter he sent to the entire House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee under the Gold Dome. We are grateful for the heads up. And we note this letter is exactly why SB 320 was rushed through the state senate.

If you want to help stop it in the House, you can leave a message with state Rep Alan Powell, who is chairman of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee 404-463-3793

To whom it may concern,
Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee

Re Georgia Senate Bill 320

I am contacting you from here in Arizona, where I live as a retired Border Patrol Agent of 27 years in hopes that you will carefully consider SB 320 in your committee. I have lived on the border with Mexico for most of my 69 years. I currently live within 5 miles of the U.S. /Mexico border and I am a daily witness to lawlessness on the border. I have never quit trying to get the USA to secure its own borders. I can tell you that never before has our border been so open and the situation gets worse as states and municipalities get more and more illegal alien friendly.

I have read over the proposed law that this bill sets forth and want to warn all concerned that adding any “presumption of validity” of any foreign issued document, including a drivers license, is an invitation to increased fraud and abuse. SB 320 is just another illegal alien friendly bill that victimizes the legitimate citizens of Georgia by sanctioning the lawlessness of illegal residents of Georgia.

Charging local police officers with the job of interpreting the information on immigration documents and foreign passports is very unwise and potentially dangerous. The ease and frequency of document alteration and abuse is difficult to outline here, but I hope that saying even seasoned, qualified immigration enforcement agents can frequently be fooled by document venders offering their counterfeiting services to illegal aliens is sufficient to get your attention on this matter.

Speaking from a career of experience, I can tell you that careful training and constant continuing education is required to be effective in inspecting immigration documents, including foreign passports. I will be surprised if any local law enforcement officers possess even a beginner’s level of proficiency in this complex assignment and they should not be burdened by forcing their endorsement of criminally produced documents.

Even a cursory inspection of this legislation makes it apparent that law enforcement was not consulted. I cannot accept that any local law enforcement department head would give a favorable report on the contents of SB 320.

About half of the total number of illegal aliens currently hiding in plain sight in the USA did not come here illegally, they entered lawfully and then refused to leave. You must realize that “lawful entry” – even if it could be proven by a roadside inspection of a passport – is not a certain reflection of an alien’s legal presence.

This legislation has become known to retired immigration enforcement agents across the nation and I will be very surprised if this is the only letter you receive on SB 320. I urge you to stop this poorly vetted legislation from becoming law.

Thank you,
Dave Stoddard

Hereford, Arizona 85615