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AJC

July 30, 2018

Lawyer: State’s immigration board members serving on expired terms

By Chris Joyner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Decatur city attorney has asked the Attorney General’s office to look into whether members of the Georgia Immigration Enforcement Review Board have overstayed their term in office and should be removed.

In his letter, Brian Downs said five of the seven members have served since the board’s creation in 2011, despite a state law that limits members to two terms of two years each.

“If these board members are not supposed to be serving under the law, then they need to step aside,” Downs said in an interview Monday.

It is the latest development in the city’s fight against Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s accusation that Decatur is violating state laws outlawing “sanctuary” cities.

The letter singles out Chairman Shawn Hanley and board member Phil Kent, both outspoken activists for tighter immigration controls, for replacement. Hanley and Kent were appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal.

But Downs also notes Cagle appointees Boyd Austin and Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager, along with Moultrie farmer Terry Clark, who was appointed by House Speaker David Ralston, have also served since 2011 without ever being reappointed.

“Expedited action on this situation is critical,” Downs said. “The IERB has multiple pending cases in which each of these individuals have no legal right to participate.”

Cagle filed a complaint against Decatur in November claiming that by prohibiting police from holding suspected illegal immigrants solely on a request from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement the city broke a state law forbidding “sanctuary cities.” Cagle filed the complaint from the lieutenant governor’s office, but it came amid his campaign against Secretary of State Brian Kemp for the Republican nomination for governor.

Both Cagle and Kemp sparred over who could be toughest on immigration, among other issues. Kemp defeated Cagle in a primary runoff July 24.

Decatur has denied its policy violates the state law. Downs has repeatedly said Decatur is not a sanctuary city in sometimes heated exchanges with immigration board members…. More here.

Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway – CSPAN

Statement received here today from Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway regarding cooperation with federal immigration authorities and recent criticism that doing so is too costly, has an adverse effect on public safety and is bad for children.

“I gladly take advantage of every available tool, including the 287 (g) program, to serve and protect our community. I’m grateful for the support of the federal government that has allowed our office to participate in this life-saving, crime-reducing 287(g) program under two different White House administrations.

It’s important to understand that the illegal alien population in our jail has been reduced as a direct result of the 287(g) program. I’m confident that we have saved tax dollars in many ways and reduced crime by participating in this program.

In regard to the cost of locating and reporting illegal aliens in our jail who have committed additional crimes, we point to the results of the original 2009 trial “surge” in the preparation for our 287(g) agreement. That process resulted in federal immigration enforcement officials identifying 914 foreign-born inmates in the Gwinnett County jail for deportation. This was conducted over a 26-day period.

As previously reported, 489 of the 914 inmates identified as illegal aliens had previous arrests. Some had been arrested and booked numerous times in our jail alone. Charges for these foreign inmates included, but are not limited to:

Murder 13                                           Felony drug offense 154

Rape 15                                              Theft of motor vehicle 7

Child molestation 23                                DUI 48

Aggravated assault 38                              Felony probation violation 42

Armed robbery 28                                   Hit and run 6

Kidnapping 11                                       Homicide by vehicle 1

Family violence battery 12                          Other felony offenses 45

Burglary 17                                           Misdemeanor probation violation 55

Felony theft 34                                      No driver’s license 226

*** Please note that only the most serious charges are listed for inmates with multiple charges.

I have no doubt that Gwinnett County is safer today because of the 287(g) program. There are dramatically lower numbers of foreign born individuals committing crimes in our county since the program began in November 2009.

During that year, our jail processed 14,730 foreign born arrestees.

That number dropped to 10,847 in 2010 and has consistently dropped since, ranging from 6,350 to 6,604 between 2011 and 2016. In July of 2009, our jail held 914 inmates with ICE holds. Yesterday there were 229 inmates with ICE holds. Additionally, our jail population has decreased while our county population has increased.

The concept that I should stop a program that deports illegal aliens who have committed crimes in our community defies logic. Our efforts have established Gwinnett County as an undesirable refuge for criminal illegal aliens and we want it to remain that way. I can’t help but wonder what the critics of such enforcement would say to the families of crime victims who were seriously injured or killed by illegal aliens.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Georgia hosts more illegal aliens than Arizona. We know that enforcement works as a tool to make our state and county less attractive to more illegal immigration and we know that we are saving lives with 287(g) while honoring ICE detainers. I’m proud to do so.

I welcome people of all nationalities that come to America and obey our laws, but will continue my efforts to rid our community of those who do not.”

The 3- foot tall lettered chalk message on the side walk at the bottom of the GoldDome steps reads “STOP SB452 NOW” I took these photos about 3:30 PM on Day 40 of the 2018 General Assembly session.

 

“Authentic news coverage would present both sides, and trust that viewers could make up their own minds. During the past 18 months, the networks’ coverage of immigration has not been news, but rather obvious advocacy — heroes vs. villains, good guys vs. bad guys — with the administration clearly wearing the black hats.”

MRC Newsbusters

Study: TV’s War Against Trump’s Immigration Enforcement Agenda

By Rich Noyes and Bill D’Agostino | July 24, 2018

On the other side, these newscasts aired 83 soundbites from law enforcement, 13 soundbites from U.S. citizens identified as border residents (three of whom were opposed to Trump’s policies), and five soundbites from friends and family members of those who died because of crimes committed by illegal immigrants. There were only four soundbites from activists associated with groups committed to enforcement of immigration laws.

There weren’t any soundbites from pro-administration protesters to balance out the 163 from anti-Trump protesters, but 15 stories included heard audible chants at Trump rallies favoring a border wall and/or Mexico paying for the wall.

Lopsided as it is, the networks’ preference for soundbites from Trump’s victims doesn’t fully account for the 92% negative news on this topic. Reporters and anchors themselves amplified the messages of “fear,” “dread,” and even “terror” among those barred from entering the U.S. or facing deportation.

On the February 11, 2017 NBC Nightly News, as the lax Obama-era policies were replaced, correspondent Gabe Gutierrez said: “families of undocumented immigrants say they’re now living in fear….An immigration attorney in Atlanta, says there is a sense of panic among her clients.” On March 3, then-CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley warned: “There is a growing sense of dread among immigrants in America.”

On September 5, 2017, when President Trump announced an end to Obama’s DACA policy, ABC’s White House correspondent Cecilia Vega highlighted how “DREAMers like Jesus Contreras are terrified,” before running a clip from Contreras: “I am disappointed that the President, as a man of God and as a man of faith, did not keep his word….It’s saddening. It’s terrible.”

On NBC that same night, correspondent Jacob Soboroff profiled a DREAMer named Pablo Garcia, who fretted the decision was “heartbreaking” and “shocking.” Over on CBS, anchor Anthony Mason mourned that “a promise kept by President Trump is a dream lost for thousands of undocumented immigrants.” Read the rest here.

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From NRO

WikiMedia Commons

Where’s E-Verify?

Mark Krikorian

July 24, 2018

Illegal immigration isn’t just about criminals and the border — but that’s almost all we’ve been hearing about, whether at the national level or in the states, as has been the case leading up to today’s Georgia Republican-primary runoff.

Criminal deportations are essential, of course, and need to be increased. Sanctuary cities, shielding such criminals, have to be reined in. And the routine abuse of asylum, especially using children as a ticket into the U.S., has to be quashed.

But most illegal aliens are neither drunk-driving, dope-dealing rapists, nor bogus asylum seekers coached by immigration lawyers on how to game the system. They’re ordinary working stiffs, half of them arriving legally and then never leaving. They’re mainly coming to work, and that’s why weakening the magnet of jobs that attracts is essential both to the practice and the rhetoric of immigration control.

The president must have uttered/tweeted the words “E-Verify” at some point over the past three years, but no instance comes immediately to mind, certainly not a recent one. Even just a tweet or two would help keep the issue in the public discussion, providing for a more balanced immigration message and giving traction to ongoing efforts such as that of House Judiciary chairman Bob Goodlatte to get an E-Verify mandate passed.

The same holds true in today’s primary vote in Georgia. Both candidates — Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp — check a lot of the right boxes on immigration and don’t have any really obvious red flags. But, as Georgia’s steadfast immigration activist D.A. King has noted, the two candidates:

have mostly kept their immigration focus away from topics that may offend the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and narrowed to “sanctuary cities” and on illegal aliens who have already committed additional crimes in the United States — or “criminal illegal aliens.”

The main driver of illegal immigration is illegal employment, which was not mentioned in either campaign.

This matters because E-Verify is a state issue as well as a federal one. Georgia, one of the nation’s leading illegal-immigration states, does have an E-Verify mandate, but it could be further strengthened and in any case needs consistent oversight and audit….read the rest here.

TOMORROW’S GEORGIA REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY RUN-OFF

GOP VOTERS SILENT AS RIVALS IGNORE HOT-BUTTON, POLL-TESTED IMMIGRATION ISSUES – SOROS DONATES $1 MILLION TO DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE

Lt. Governor Casey Cagle (left) and Secretary of State Brian Kemp – Photo courtesy Dawson News

D.A. KING

While the liberal media ignores the fact, both candidates in the bruising two-month Georgia Republican gubernatorial primary race have avoided immigration issues where the eventual governor can make the biggest difference.

With run-off day looming tomorrow, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp have mostly kept their immigration focus away from topics that may offend the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and narrowed to “sanctuary cities” and on illegal aliens who have already committed additional crimes in the United States – or “criminal illegal aliens.”

The main driver of illegal immigration is illegal employment, which was not mentioned in either campaign.

In addition to black market labor, they are also both dodging obvious and voter-popular immigration issues where a governor can play a central role, including drivers licenses to illegal aliens and official English for government.

No mention of protecting jobs for American workers

Silence on allowing voters to decide on constitutional official English

Nearly 86% of Republicans – and 76% of all voters polled – answered “yes” when asked “would you support an amendment to the Georgia constitution that makes English the official language of government?” in the same poll conducted by Atlanta-based Rosetta Stone Communications

Despite the objections of the business lobby and with a unanimous party-line vote, in 2016, the Republican-controlled Georgia state senate passed a Resolution that would have allowed all Georgia voters to answer a ballot question that year on English as the state’s constitutional official government language.

But the legislation quietly died with Democrat “no” votes when Republican House leadership instructed Republicans to stay away from a sub-committee hearing which killed the bill.

Official English is not a voluntary campaign topic for either of the Republican candidates for Georgia governor. This despite one metro-Atlanta school district boast that 140 foreign languages are spoken by its students.

While it is not widely understood by voters, currently, the state of ten million offers the written road rules portion of the drivers license exam in eleven foreign languages.

Drivers licenses for illegal aliens – not a campaign issue

The same statewide poll that asked about official constitutional official English showed that 80% of Republicans and 63% of all Georgians also want to end the practice of giving any drivers license to any illegal aliens.

Many voters are unaware of the fact that Republican Georgia has issued more than 20,000 drivers licenses and official state photo ID Cards to individuals who the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services classifies as lacking lawful immigration status – but who have been given work permits by both the Obama and Trump administrations.

This group of aliens includes recipients of the Obama DACA deferred action on deportation amnesty, aliens who have been granted deferred action outside of the DACA amnesty and aliens who have already been ordered to be deported by federal officials.

Work permits, officially known as Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) are issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services which is an agency in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The 2005 REAL ID Act implemented after the horror of 9/11 says that illegal aliens who have been granted deferred action on deportation or who have been ordered deported but then apply for permanent residence can use that temporary condition as “evidence of lawful status” for the purpose of obtaining a federally approved drivers license or state ID card. Nothing in the REAL ID Act says any state must issue drivers licenses to any illegal aliens.

• In a direct contradiction, USCIS says “Current law does not grant any legal status for the class of individuals who are current recipients of DACA. Recipients of DACA are currently unlawfully present in the U.S. with their removal deferred.”
• Through an official spokesperson, USCIS has provided a breakdown of the classification codes contained on the work permits that illustrate the immigration status of the bearer.
• USCIS also operates the SAVE verification system for official agencies to determine immigration status of applicants for public benefits. Drivers licenses and ID cards are public benefits in Georgia.
• Appointed by current governor Nathan Deal, Georgia’s Attorney General, Chris Carr, has told an Atlanta NPR affiliate that “We have continuously and clearly taken the position in ongoing legal cases that DACA does not confer legal status.” (July 17, 2017 WABE News).

Georgia is among the states that issues the identical drivers license to legal immigrants with ‘green cards’ and foreigners who entered the US lawfully on temporary visas – including Mercedes Benz executives – as are issued to the aliens the state Attorney General and USCIS says lack legal status. The defacto national ID, these credentials are used as valid ID to enter military bases, federal buildings and board airliners in America’s airports.

Drivers license issued to all non-citizens in Georgia, legal status or illegal status. Photo: DDS

Sponsored by conservative state Senator Josh McKoon, in 2016, legislation passed the Georgia Senate by a two-thirds majority – with every Republican vote except one – that would have clearly marked driving and ID credentials to note the illegal immigration status of the bearer. That measure was allowed to expire without a hearing in the GOP House, controlled by business-oriented Speaker David Ralston. McKoon also sponsored the official English Resolution.

Most Georgians do not realize that under state law the same aliens USCIS says have no lawful status but have been issued a work permit are eligible for state unemployment benefits.

The jobs-for Americans, drivers license/illegal alien/unemployment benefits issue are not topics in either Republican candidate’s campaign for the Republican nomination for Georgia governor.

Georgians deserve to know where the candidates stand.

The powerful Georgia business lobby has long worked against protecting jobs and wages for legal workers, use of E-Verify, immigration enforcement and official English. Georgia ranks ahead of Arizona in its population of illegal aliens, according to estimates from DHS and the Pew Research Center. One estimate is that the crime of illegal immigration costs Georgia taxpayers $2.4 billion annually.

The current governor, two-term, business-first Republican Nathan Deal, has avoided the illegal immigration issue since his first year in office. But, Deal boasts that Georgia is named number-one state in which to do business by Site Selection magazine.

The influx of migrants and the anti-enforcement power of the business lobby will eventually result in a Democrat in the Georgia governor’s office. This year’s far-left, anti-enforcement candidate for the office, Stacey Abrams, has a real chance of winning and has recently received a one million-dollar donation from Georgia Soros.

Updated 4:13 PM

Updated 10:05 PM