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Dalton Daily Citizen

Opinion

August 7, 2018

Letter: Abrams wrong on immigration

Stacey Abrams’ quote on immigration in the Daily Citizen-News story “Abrams: ‘Those who share Democratic values have not lifted their voice sufficiently in recent years” is indicative of the misdirection anti-enforcement liberals — including some Republicans — offer up on the issue.

Democrat Abrams told the editorial board “she believes immigration is a federal issue. We need strong, comprehensive, bipartisan legislation,” she said. “We cannot have 50 states with 50 different immigration laws.”

What the pols who attempt to pass this worn-out, mindless drivel off as a policy position hope is that voters will not realize that Congress has already passed comprehensive, bipartisan legislation into law on immigration.

The entire nation is supposed to be governed by the existing laws on borders and immigration. What Abrams means is that she doesn’t like the laws we have, she doesn’t want them enforced and that at least 11 million illegal aliens could be voting Democrat if Congress would just make them legal and reward them with U.S. citizenship — like Reagan did in 1986 with that “one time” immigration amnesty.

Abrams says we should ignore illegal employment. This allows black-market labor to continue to keep wages down for working Americans — including legal immigrants looking for a better life who trusted us to honor the pledge of an equal application of the law.

According to the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than Lawful Permanent Residents (“green card” holders).

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Pew Research Center, Georgia has more illegal aliens than Arizona.

Immigration is certainly a national problem, but the concept that every state and local government doesn’t have the responsibility to use the federal tools provided for enforcement is preposterous — and dangerous.

Georgia has multiple laws in place to attempt to safeguard jobs benefits and services from the crime of illegal immigration using programs offered by congress. As a legislator, Stacey Abrams voted against literally every one of them passed when she was in office under the Gold Dome. She also told the newspaper that she opposes Sheriff Scott Chitwood’s 287(g) agreement with the feds to help locate and report illegal aliens who land in his jail after being arrested for additional crimes.

It is difficult to cast Abrams as anything but anti-enforcement on immigration and it is chilling to imagine what laws she would ignore as governor.

D.A. King

Marietta

(King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society)