Image: Email from SPLC Action

SPLC Action Fund lobbyist Isabel Otero speaks against HB1083 in GA Capitol, Mar 4, 2010. Judiciary non-civil committee.

Audio: (2 minutes)

Transcription (Rev.com)

Isabelle Otero, SPLC Action:
Hi, good afternoon. Thank you. Uh, my name is Isabelle Otero. I am the Policy Associate for the SPLC Action Fund. Uh, we urge you to oppose at HB 1083. Uh, the SPLC Ac- Ac- uh, the SPLC Action Fund has seen these bills across the country. They are a result of an aggressive agenda by anti-immigrant hate groups, like the Federation for Immigration Reform. These types of unconstitutional bills become law- laws that serve as a tool for discrimination, because they- that is what- what’s their intended purpose.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is currently litigating against the SB 168 in Florida. And we are making our equal protection, uh, claims, and we are not done with the litigation yet. Um, these laws violate and individuals equal protection rights under the law, by disproportionally affecting black and brown people, and any other Georgian perceived to be foreign-born. Therefore, this is an unconstitutional and unfunded mandate, and you must allow-

… our law enforcement officials to continue to have discretion and authority that they need to do their jobs as they see fit, and not as the federal government sees fit.

The authors of this bill would like for us to believe that our law enforcement officials should just receive an administrative warrant from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency, not a judicial- judicial warrant, with oversight in the courts. And that’s enough to determine a persons status. That is not what an immigration detainer says. An immigration detainer is simply signaling that the federal government has more questions, and more- more adjudication to do for someone’s immigration status.

This bill, basically, opens up our law enforcement, uh, to all kinds of liability if they enforce this administrative warrant. This bill takes away their discretion, and may violate a lot of folks Fourth Amendment rights. Uh, in Florida, we have a case against the Monroe County, uh, Sheriff’s Department. They violated the Fourth Amendment rights of Mr. [Peter Brown 00:02:21]. He was illegally detained in Florida’s Monroe County Jail for deportation, despite his repeated pleas to authorities that he was a US citizen.

Speaker 1: (Chairman)
Ms. Otero, your time has expired.

Isabelle Otero:
Thank you.