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The below open records request was sent via email on August 18, 2020 at 11:26 AM. The initial response is posted here.

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Mr. Mitchell,

Please regard this email as my official request for copies of Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) documents and records under state public records law.

I note that GDOL has an entry on its website (FAQs) informing readers that GDOL uses the Georgia Department of Drivers Services (DDS) to verify the lawful presence required by state law (OCGA 50-36-1) for aliens to qualify for public benefits.

“What is the Applicant Status Affidavit?

Georgia law requires that all applicants for UI benefits who are 18 years of age or older attest they are:

• a United States citizen, or
• a legal permanent resident, or
• a non-citizen legally present in the United States.

The GDOL performs electronic verification of your lawful presence in the United States with the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS). The DDS validates the identity of individuals who indicate they have a Georgia-issued driver’s license or identification card.”

State law (OCGA 50-36-1) passed in 2006 and amended in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 mandates that this verification process for lawful presence be done using the federal SAVE program operated by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

1) Please send me a copy of any authorization or replacement law that would alter the GDOL requirement for SAVE verification and/or change verification source to DDS – including bill number, year passed into law and code section.

2) Please send me copies of any and all GDOL documents, emails, memorandums or policy files that pertain to or mention GDOL requesting or discussing a change in state law regarding GDOL’s direct use of the SAVE program and transferring the lawful presence verification to DDS with a time frame of from 1 January 2013 to 15 August 2020.

3) Please send me a copy of any agreement, MOU/MOA between USCIS and GDOL authorizing GDOL to use the SAVE program including original agreement and all renewals from July 1, 2006 to 15 August, 2020.

4) Please send me a copy of any official agreement between GDOL and DDS pertaining to DDS being the source and authority of verification of lawful presence of non-citizen applicants who apply for public benefits at GDOL – including any email, memorandums or proposals for GDOL to use DDS to verify lawful presence of GDOL applicants for public benefits.

5) Please send me a copy of any document that may illustrate the most recent date of a GDOL query to the SAVE program for verification of lawful presence of an applicant for the public benefit of unemployment insurance or other public benefit administered by GDOL.

6) Please send me copies of any/all internal GDOL email or memorandums or policy discussions that mention ‘Permanent Residence Under Color of Law’ (PRUCOL) including GDOL policy on PRUCOL creating eligibility for lawful presence or unemployment insurance and any correspondence between GDOL and DDS pertaining to PRUCOL.

7) Please send me a copies of any document or electronic form that serves as a transmittal of information from GDOL to DDS of information gathered from GDOL collected applications for unemployment insurance benefits.

8) Please send me copies of any and all internal email, memorandums, policy statement or records or correspondence pertaining to or mentioning federal deferred action on deportation or the Obama-invented DACA program for illegal aliens with a time frame of 1 July, 2012 to 15 August, 2020.

9) Please send me copies of any emails, memorandums or inquiries that ask for information on GDOL administering and or issuing unemployment insurance benefits for illegal aliens who have DACA status or other deferred action on deportation status.

10) Please send me copies of any/all GDOL emails, memorandums or internal correspondence pertaining to or mentioning the March 6, 2019 Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals finding that DACA recipients do not have lawful presence or legal status and are inadmissible and removable under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). For clarity, I link to that finding here.

11) Please send me any record or document that shows the response code received from the SAVE program to a query from GDOL on immigration status of an applicant with DACA status for unemployment insurance.

12) Please send any document, record, table or index that shows all possible responses and codes used by the SAVE program to answer GDOL queries on immigration status for applicants for public benefits including unemployment insurance benefits.

Please contact me at any time with questions on my request. Please expect this request to be one of several with a goal of gaining a clear and accurate understanding of GDOL policy and operations on administering public benefits/unemployment insurance.

Thank you for a timely reply. I look forward to your itemized estimate of research costs for my request.

Respectfully,

D.A. King

Marietta, GA.