Image: SavannahNow.com

Savannah Morning News

March 7, 2019

Letters to the Editor

Time running short for immigration bill

House Bill 202 from Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-District 166) is simple and long overdue — it requires the Georgia Department of Corrections to publish a public, quarterly report on the number of non-citizens in the state prison system. The report would also note the number of that group who already are suspected to be here illegally, the home nations and crimes committed along with the percentage of the entire prison population these aliens represent.

Many Capitol observers understand Democrats hope taxpayers don’t ever see any official hard data on any part of the cost of illegal immigration. Now, with crossover day looming, the House Rules Committee — with Rep. Jay Powell (R-Camilla) as chairman — seems poised to prove that it’s not only the Democrats who take that view.

Rules Chairman Jay Powell
Image: Georgia House

Today is Crossover Day, the last day by which legislation must be passed by either the House or the Senate to have a chance to become law.

Powell’s powerful House Rules Committee serves as the filter on what legislation that has already been vetted and passed by the public committee system goes to the full House for a vote on final passage.

Many conservatives were shocked last week when Powell joined the Democrats and expressed his objection to HB 202. He cynically asked Petrea why the bill to shed public light on the number of non-citizens in the prison system and their immigration status was even needed.

The most commonly offered response from conservative voters to Powell’s remarkable question has been, to paraphrase, it is our tax dollars being used to pay for the incarceration of the foreigners, we have a right to know and because it is our state. That’s why.

Right now Georgians who want official information on the cost of locking up criminal aliens are contacting Rep. Powell’s office at 404-656-5141 and emailing him at jay.powell@house.ga.gov to urge him to allow a vote on HB 202. And a lot of others are calling his office to tell him to hold back the bill.

Readers can show Powell which outcome they favor by calling or emailing him. There is still time to change his mind.

D.A. King, Marietta

Here.

Image: Dustin Inman Society

Camilla Enterprise

Opinion

March 6, 2019

Inside the State Capitol: Immigration

HB 202 imperiled in Atlanta

Republican Rep Jay Powell joins Democrats in holding back bill on cost of incarceration of illegal immigrants

D.A. King

HB 202 from Rep Jesse Petrea (R- Savannah) is a simple and long-overdue one-page state bill that would require the Georgia Department of Corrections to publish a public, quarterly report on the number of non-citizens in the state prison system, the number of that group who already are suspected to be here illegally, the home nations and crimes committed along with the percentage of the entire prison population these aliens represent.

For many Capitol observers it has long been understood that Georgia Democrats hope taxpayers don’t ever see any official hard data on any part of the cost of illegal immigration. Now, with crossover day looming, the House Rules Committee – with Camilla’s Republican Rep Jay Powell as chairman – seems poised to prove that it’s not only the Democrats who take that view.

Crossover Day is the last day by which legislation must be passed by either the House or the Senate to have a chance to become law in the state legislature. This year, Crossover Day is tomorrow, Thursday, March 7.

Powell’s House Rules Committee serves as the filter on what legislation that has already been vetted and passed by the public committee system goes to the full House for a vote on final passage. As chairman, Rep Powell has landed one of the most powerful positions under the state Capitol’s famous Gold Dome.

Rules Chairman Jay Powell (R- Camilla)
Image: Georgia House

Rep Jay Powell – photo: Georgia House

Including many members of the Republican House, conservatives were shocked last week when Powell joined the Democrats on the Rules Committee and expressed his objection to HB 202. Rep Powell has final say on what bills are passed out of the committee to see a vote in the House. As can be seen on House video archives, he sarcastically asked the bill’s sponsor why the bill to shed public light on the number of non-citizens in the prison system and their immigration status was even needed.

The most commonly offered response from conservative voters to Powell’s remarkable question is that “it is our tax dollars being used to pay for the incarceration of the foreigners, we have a right to know and because it is our state, that’s why.”

It should be noted for readers here that the U. S. Department of Homeland Security reports that Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than is Arizona. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute notes that our state has more illegals than “green card” holders.

The bill – and Powell’s refusal to allow the House to vote on it – has drawn national news coverage. Among other outlets, Breitbart News has run a March 1 story entitled “Georgia Establishment Legislators Try to Hide Migrant Crime from Voters.”

Right now Georgians who want official information on the cost of locking up criminal aliens are calling Rep Powell’s office in Atlanta at 404-656-5141 and emailing (jay.powell@house.ga.gov) to urge him to allow a vote on HB 202. And a lot of far-left Democrat voters are calling his office to tell him to hold back the bill.

Readers here can show which outcome they favor by calling or emailing Rep Jay Powell with either message. There is still time to change Rep Powell’s mind.

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A former Gold Dome lobbyist, King is proprietor of the ‘Immigration Politics Georgia’ website and a nationally recognized authority on immigration. He is not a member of any political party.

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BuzzFeed

Breitbart: Washington Post: Border Rush May Hit 100,000 Migrants in March

The cross-border migrant inflow may reach 100,000 people in March, according to the Washington Post.

“The number of migrants taken into custody last year jumped 39 percent from February to March, and a similar increase this month would push levels to 100,000 detentions or more,” the Washington Post reported March 4. The paper continued:

U.S. court restrictions on the government’s ability to keep children in immigration jails — and the sheer volume of people arriving — have left Homeland Security agencies [on the border] defaulting increasingly to the overflow model Trump deplores as “catch-and-release.” Here

photo TimesofIndia.com

A RESOLUTION
Expressing the will of this body to direct the General Assembly and the Governor to make public quarterly information illustrating the number of non-citizens in the Georgia Department of Corrections prison system and to reveal these alien’s immigration status and the crimes for which they have been convicted.

WHEREAS, The crime of illegal immigration is a proven threat to Georgia’s public safety; and
WHEREAS, Reports from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security show that Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than the state of Arizona; and
WHEREAS, According to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute in 2018, the state of Georgia is also home to more illegal aliens than Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders); and
WHEREAS, Violent criminal acts by illegal aliens have permanently separated American families in Georgia and created unnecessary and fully avoidable fear and misery; and
WHEREAS, The human cost of criminal acts by illegal aliens should be measured against the profits they illegally provide for illegal employers;
WHEREAS, Georgia taxpayers have a right to understand the monetary costs of incarcerating criminal aliens;
WHEREAS, The voters in Georgia have reached the end of their patience for and tolerance of the refusal of elected officials to pursue remedies for the crisi illegal immigration has created in Georgia; and
WHEREAS, It is impossible to gauge change or improvement in an issue that is not measured and publicly reported; and
WHEREAS Our grandfathers could not foresee the current effort to dilute American traditions, values and unity or the attacks on the American culture and public safety created by massive illegal immigration; and
WHEREAS. With ongoing use of the federal Secure Communities program and access to the federal 287(g) database the Department of Corrections already processes the tools to discover the immigration status of all non-citizen inmates; and

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the _________ County/District convention of the Georgia Republican Party that in the strongest of terms we urge the Governor of Georgia and the state legislature to order the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections to implement a quarterly public reporting system informing the proud citizens of Georgia of the number of non-citizens in the Department’s system, their immigration status, home nations, crimes and what percentage of the prison population is represented by foreigners;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of the ________ *County/District convention* is hereby authorized and directed to transfer a copy of this Resolution to the Republican House and Senate Delegations, The Honorable Geoff Duncan, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Georgia, The Honorable Brian Kemp, Governor of the State of Georgia and the Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.

Respectfully Submitted:
By: ________________________________________
Name:
Title: Secretary, _________***Republican Party

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dak

photo: DIS

ACTION NEEDED AGAIN IN GEORGIA.

Republican House Rules Committee Chairman, Jay Powell, keeping HB 202 from a floor vote.

404.656.5141 – Office phone
jay.powell@house.ga.gov office email

*Breaking: Breitbart coverage of HB202 here

My IAG column on HB202 here.

Rules Chairman Jay Powell
Image: Georgia House

This is the legislator who is keeping HB 202 from a House vote. He needs to see and hear polite emails and voice mails from conservatives.

If the Republicans do not move HB 202 out of Rules Committee and pass it in the full House by end of business Thursday, March 7, it will be as dead as Poncho Villa.
Please share!

Message: “Let the House vote on HB 202. We are Georgia conservatives at our house and we want to know how many criminal aliens are in our prisons. Why do we need this? It’s our money and our state —  that’s why. Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than green card holders.”

*Rep Jay Powell
R – Camilla
District 171
Title: Chairman – Rules Committee
Capitol Address

404.656.5141 – Office phone
jay.powell@house.ga.gov office email

WikiMedia Commons

We received the copy of the below emailed note and attached letter from retired ICE Senior Special Agent Robert Trent which was sent to Speaker David Ralston. The letter is a copy of the one Mr. Trent sent to Rep Petrea earlier this week. We thank Mr. Trent for the copy and the engagement.

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March 1, 2019

Dear Speaker Ralston,

I have spent the majority of my adult life enforcing federal immigration laws. I have been a Border Patrol Agent on both of our international land borders. I have also served as a Special Agent, assigned to inner city drug enforcement task forces for many years. One thing I have learned is that state and local governments have to participate in providing safety and security for all Americans. It is vitally important that we all send a message to intending illegal immigrants that we will not provide safe harbor. This should be especially true when it comes to aliens that commit crimes in Georgia.

T(h)e HB 202 Bill tells illegal alien criminals they are not welcome, and they will not receive a safe haven from U.S. Immigration Court proceedings. This should also hold true for those that may have legally entered our country, then committed crimes that make them deportable. The Georgia Department of Corrections (GDOC) already has the tools to identify these aliens under the partnership with ICE under Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Please let’s bring these criminal aliens out from the shadows, and allow ICE to do their job. We need to see to it that we send them back home, after they complete their prison sentences.

Sincerely,

Robert M. Trent, Senior Special Agent (Ret.)
Saint Mary’s, Georgia

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February 27, 2019

 

Dear Representative Petrea,

I have been made aware of your HB 202 by my friend, Mr. D.A. King and want to thank you for your determination to allow the public to understand a small part of the consequences and costs of illegal immigration. I think you will agree with me that these are both needless monetary and human costs.

I have seen the most recent version of your bill and I hope that you will accept some unsolicited input from a retired Senior Special Agent, ICE (formerly the U.S. Immigration Service). My last duty station was at the Immigration Officer Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA. I was the Assistant Director, Enforcement Training.

The Department of Corrections is required to use the federal‘Secure Communities’program which uses a federal information-sharing partnership between DHS and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that helps to identify in-custody aliens without imposing new or additional requirements on state and local law enforcement.

Also, records showthat DOC is  one of the agencies in Georgia that is authorized to participate in the federal Immigration and Nationality Act Section 287(g)program. If you are not yet familiar with crime fighting tool I am sure D.A. will offer some insight. I ran the 287(g) training program prior to my retirement.

For the purposes of your legislation you should know that DOC should have no problem at all in identifying not only illegal aliens who have not yet come to the attention of ICE and who have not yet had a detainer issued, but DOC can also see and report aliens who have a green card who may be deportable. From the 287(g) website: “By working together, local and federal officers can better identify and remove criminal aliens – a tremendous benefit to public safety. One of the biggest benefits to our 287(g) partners is that they are able to better identify individuals in custody.”

Use of these tools gives the DOC great insight as to who they have in custody. I am puzzled as to why DOC has not made this info available to you if that has not been done.

Once these criminal aliens have been identified, and brought to the attention of ICE, ICE can begin the process for their eventual removal from our country. This can all be accomplished during their period of incarceration, including a final order of removal from the immigration court.

As a Georgia taxpayer, I would be very interested in seeing a quarterly public report on the details of non-citizens in our prison system. I hope that this information helps you consider expanding your bill to make it as comprehensive in scope as possible.

A good rule of thumb is to consider the motivation of any lobbying entity would want to limit the reports you seek to only aliens who have already had detainers issued for them. This severely limits your effort.

Please feel free to contact me any time if you have any questions.

 

Robert Trent

Saint Mary’s, GA 31558

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Insider Advantage Georgia

March 1, 2019

House Rules Committee holding incarceration-cost transparency bill prisoner

For many watchers it has long been assumed that the Republicans who run the Gold Dome would rather taxpayers not have any official hard data on any part of the cost of illegal immigration. Now, with crossover day looming, the House Rules Committee with South Georgia Rep. Jay Powell (R-Camilla) as chairman seems poised to prove that assumption.

Rules Chairman Jay Powell
Image: Georgia House

In a red-ish state that is home to more illegal aliens than green card holders, we may never be allowed to know the cost of state incarceration of the illegal aliens.

HB 202 from Rep Jesse Petrea (R- Savannah) is a simple and long-overdue one-pager that would require the Georgia Department of Corrections to publish a public, quarterly report on the number of non-citizens in the prison system, the number of that group who already are subjects of ICE detainers, the home nations and crimes committed along with the percentage of the entire prison population these aliens represent.

All concerned should note that ICE detainers could only be issued if federal authorities have already had contact with illegal aliens who are serving state time. The current version of the bill is a step back from original language that would have required immigration status, if known, of all aliens in the system. The data the now weakened legislation produced would not be an indicator of the entire cost of incarcerating all illegal aliens in the state. But it is apparently still too much information for the House Rules Committee.

A letter of endorsement to Rep Petrea from Mr. Robert Trent, a now retired Senior ICE enforcement agent in Brunswick, notes that because the DOC is using the federal 287 (g) program in addition to the Secure Communities system to collect fingerprints from prisoners, they have more than enough tools to gather information on the immigration status for all prisoners. These databases can also alert ICE to legal immigrants who may be deportable.

This writer testified in support of the bill in the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee earlier this week and watched with pleasant surprise to see that there were more pro-enforcement Americans – including several immigrants – signed up to speak in favor of Petrea’s legislation than there were corporate-funded leftists opposed to the bill.

Here is a picture of the committee sign-up sheet.

Image: DIS

Few of the conservative present could have imagined that the Republican House Rules Committee would favor the anti-enforcement lobby. But they have not been watching the Capitol workings on illegal immigration for sixteen-years as has this writer.

Race baiting by the Democrats

It should also be noted that several Democrats in yesterday’s Rules Committee hearing made it clear that data on the number and cost of any part of the illegal alien population in our prisons could “…start a race war…” Committee video here starts at 19:10.

We also note that none of the Rules Committee members asked “what would Barbara Jordan do?”

HB 220 has now captured national attention with pro-passage, activist alerts from the influential NumbersUSA in Washington DC as well as several pro-enforcement groups in Georgia, including the Dustin Inman Society….Read the rest here.