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August 1, 2019
The below letter was received here this afternoon. Mr. Trent has been a welcomed source of support for years here.
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1 August 2019.
Dear D.A.,
We are following the absurd reaction to your helping with education on the life-saving 287(g) program in Gwinnett as best we can from here in coastal Georgia. I send this note to express my own appreciation and respect for the professional way you are handling the race-baiting name calling from the people who make it clear they want no immigration enforcement in Georgia or the U.S.
Having watched your work and dealt with you for the last six years I know you to be dedicated to an equal application of the law and praise your support for law enforcement officers, including ICE. I admire you work in the Georgia Capitol and I hope that you will continue to fight the fight to preserve the concept of American borders and honoring the legal immigrants who obey our laws.
Removing criminal aliens from our communities makes us safer. It appears your opponents fear you, because you expose their lies. I have never seen a reputable study showing immigrants won’t report crime because we enforce our immigration laws.
As you know, I have a professional lifetime dedicated to immigration enforcement and I do not take kindly to the intentional lies and character attacks on you I am seeing online. The ad hominem assaults on you and Sheriff Conway in Gwinnett County over the use of the 287(g) is in fact an assault on all law enforcement officers and serves to provide great insight into the lack of integrity of the desperate characters who hide behind cries of “racism” while they project their own anti-American hatred and anger in those baseless attacks.
If I can help you with any part of this with my own reflections on your work, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Robert Trent
Senior Special Agent, Ret.
U.S. Immigration Service
Saint Mary’s, GA
NOTE: Currently serving as the Secretary/Treasurer for the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO)
 George Chidi. Image, Twitter.
This petition, built on the usual hate-mongering lies from the discredited and disgraced SPLC shows that it was started by “Kirkland for Gwinnett.” Kirkland Carden is running as an anti-enforcement candidate for Gwinnett County Commissioner.
Chidi took the smear further with a Facebook post on which I have told him he is a coward and challenged him to debate 287(g) and immigration enforcement. He won’t do it. But tried to change the topic and is now lying about it.
Since the SPLC has lost the Morris Dees, maybe George Chidi should apply there?
Chidi lives in a bubble where skin color and race are both topic number one. He wants people to believe that I have declined to debate him, which is another lie. But he will not debate the topic on which he attacked me.
George Chidi seems to crave your attention. That’s George Chidi on Facebook and @neonglagon twitter.
July 30, 2019
 Drivers license issued to all aliens in Georgia. photo: DDS
States Take Lead in Boosting Immigrants
As Overhaul Drags in Congress, Legislatures Aid Undocumented Students, Drivers
Miriam JordanJan. 21, 2014 12:02 am ET
(PHOTO)
Moses Chege, born in Kenya, hopes the Washington State Legislature will approve college aid to undocumented immigrants such as himself. Matthew Ryan Williams for The Wall Street Journal
Jan. 21, 2014 12:02 am ET
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a bill last April to give in-state tuition rates to Colorado high school graduates in the country illegally. Associated Press
At the other side of the country last week, the House in Washington state passed a measure that would enable undocumented college students to qualify for state financial aid, a measure the state Senate is expected to back.
–> Colorado, Minnesota and Oregon also extended in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants last year. Meantime, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon and Vermont approved access to driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants, bringing to 13 the number of states that allow it.
“There is a move away from enforcement measures to measures that support immigrants, such as in-state tuition and driver’s licenses,” said Ann Morse, director of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ immigration policy project. The group will release a report Tuesday about the laws and resolutions passed by states in 2013.
Supporters of the immigrant-friendly bills say that educating youngsters will bolster state coffers as graduates earn good salaries and pay taxes, while issuing licenses to all motorists improves highway safety and fosters better relations between immigrants and law enforcement.
“Immigrant-inclusive laws are not only sound policy, they are also good politics,” said Tanya Broder, senior attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, an immigrant-rights group. “We expect this momentum to continue in the coming year.”
Opponents say giving undocumented immigrants any benefits rewards illegal behavior, encourages more illegal immigration and saps scarce resources from states.
Washington state Rep. Larry Haler, a Republican, voted against offering financial aid to undocumented immigrants. “We don’t have the money,” he said, adding that the state last year turned down college grants to a third of the 106,000 students who applied.
The growth in inclusive measures marks a shift from previous years, when several states, led by Arizona, passed anti-illegal-immigrant laws. It reflects concerns expressed by some GOP leaders about potential fallout at the polls if Hispanic voters feel antagonized by the party.
After Republican leaders refused to consider a Senate immigration bill last year, several Republicans in the House now are working on a piecemeal proposal to achieve an overhaul.
“Immigration has become a defining, mobilizing issue for Hispanic voters,” said Frank Sharry, founder of America’s Voice, a national immigrant-advocacy group.
The states’ softer approach follows a 2012 Supreme Court decision involving Arizona—whose laws had served as a template for other states—that curtails state authority over immigration enforcement. That year, the Obama administration unveiled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a policy that gives young undocumented immigrants a temporary reprieve from deportation and a work permit.
While much of the pro-immigrant legislation is originating in blue states, Mr. Christie’s support of in-state tuition and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s recent call for immigrants to play a central role in his state’s revitalization suggest more Republicans are recognizing the potential political and economic impact of immigrants.
The immigrant-friendly bills carry a cost. In California, where illegal immigrants can qualify for a driver’s license starting next year, Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, set aside $64.7 million in his proposed 2014-2015 budget to process an anticipated surge in applications that will require more Department of Motor Vehicles staff and offices.
Mr. Christie signed the bill extending in-state tuition to undocumented students only after the New Jersey legislature dropped a provision that would have enabled such students to receive state financial aid. In-state tuition is generally half to a third of the cost of that charged out-of-state students.
The U.S. is home to an estimated 2.1 million undocumented students of college age. In California, which offers both in-state tuition and financial assistance to this group, they represent less than 1% of enrollment at public colleges and universities.
Moses Chege of Tacoma, Wash., say the impact of such legislation could be life-changing. “I’m 18 years old and sound and look American,” said the undocumented Kenyan, who was brought to the U.S. when he was 3 years old.
Mr. Chege, who was a commanding officer in his junior ROTC unit before realizing his immigration status was a barrier to the military and college, has testified before lawmakers on the issue. “I had ticked all the boxes—doing well in school, running track, leading worship at church,” he said.
The son of parents who work as caretakers to the elderly and infirm, Mr. Chege hasn’t been able to afford tuition at any university. “It was almost as if the acceptance letters didn’t mean anything,” he said. Even at lower in-state rates, Mr. Chege said he can’t attend college unless he gets financial aid, which will happen only if the new Washington state measure passes.
Write to Miriam Jordan at miriam.jordan@wsj.com
July 25, 2019
Tennessee Star on HR1044:
“The FHSI, a long-sought legislative goal of the cheap labor wing of the US Chamber of Commerce and the globalist tech industry, is nothing but a green-card giveaway to 300,000 low-wage Indian contract-workers employed by U.S. companies. Passage of HR 1044 will mean cheaper workers for investors but lower wages for American STEM grads, especially those in computer science and engineering.” Here.
Dalton Daily Citizen News
Opinion
July 25, 2019
Readers who have a concern about diversity in immigration, outsourcing American jobs and importing temporary foreign workers to replace Americans in the tech industry should learn more about the recent “yea” vote by U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, to pass HR 1044 in Washington, D.C.
 GA Congressman Tom Graves. Image: GovTrack.com The bill, cleverly named “the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act” is not “fair” in any way. Having passed the Nancy Pelosi-controlled House of Representatives (yes, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, voted for it too) HR 1044 would reward companies that bring in large numbers of Indian workers on H-1B specialty occupation visas, who displace U.S.-born tech workers.
The lobbying groups for this legislation include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Microsoft, Facebook Inc., IBM and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
We should also take a second look at the lessons we were taught in school about “how a bill becomes law.” Remember that old process in which legislation sees public hearings, a process that allows changes and enough time for careful inspection of the ramifications for Americans if it passes? HR 1044 never saw a committee hearing.
Under current rules, citizens of India are getting about 25% of all the professional employment green cards each year. Graves voted for citizens of India to get more than 90% of the professional employment green cards for at least the next 10 years, according to Jessica Vaughan at the Center for Immigration Studies.
Big corporations and their lobbyists will often claim that there is a “shortage” of American tech workers that necessitates an ever-growing number of “high-skill” visas. This is not true. We live in a time when American tech workers are being forced to train their foreign replacements because the Americans are “too costly” while many of our politicians assist that process.
We hope somebody asks Graves whose side he is on. And we should all speak up to our U.S. senators, where similar legislation is now pending.
Immigration should benefit Americans.
D.A. King
Marietta
Here.
July 23, 2019
GA – Official Code of Georgia Annotated
TITLE 35. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND AGENCIES
CHAPTER 2. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 35-2-14. “Peace officer” defined; enforcement of immigration and custom laws
(a) As used in this Code section, the term “peace officer” means peace officer as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (8) of Code Section 35-8-2, as amended.
(b) The commissioner is authorized and directed to negotiate the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the State of Georgia and the United States Department of Justice or Department of Homeland Security concerning the enforcement of federal immigration and customs laws, detention and removals, and investigations in the State of Georgia.
(c) The memorandum of understanding negotiated pursuant to subsection (b) of this Code section shall be signed on behalf of the state by the commissioner and the Governor or as otherwise required by the appropriate federal agency.
(d) The commissioner shall annually designate no fewer than ten peace officers to apply to be trained pursuant to the memorandum of understanding provided for in subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section. Such training shall be funded pursuant to any federal Homeland Security Appropriation Act or any subsequent source of federal funding. The provisions of this subsection shall become effective upon such funding.
(e) A peace officer certified as trained in accordance with the memorandum of understanding as provided in this Code section is authorized to enforce federal immigration and customs laws while performing within the scope of his or her authorized duties.
July 22, 2019
 Image: DDS OnlineAthens
July 4, 2019
Group urges Athens commission to halt arrests of undocumented motorists
By Lee Shearer
Posted Jul 4, 2019 at 2:08 PMUpdated Jul 4, 2019 at 2:08 PM
Police shouldn’t arrest undocumented residents simply for not having a driver’s license, immigration rights activists recently told Athens-Clarke County officials.
A series of speakers waited through most of a three-hour meeting of the Athens-Clarke County Commission for a chance to urge commissioners to change police policy on the matter during a public comment period in which anyone is allowed to address commissioners and Mayor Kelly Girtz.
“That happens weekly in Athens,” said JoBeth Allen, speaking for a committee of Oconee Street United Methodist Church that works with undocumented immigrants.
But after Allen and several others asked the mayor and commission to change policy, Girtz said the practice, if not explicit policy, of Athens-Clarke police was not to arrest people only for driving without a license if they could produce another form of identification such as a passport and could get alternate transportation after being stopped by police.
“If we need to be more explicit and have some formal protocol that comes before the public, I think we are willing to do that,” said Girtz.
All it would take is to add one small phrase to the Athens-Clarke police policy book, as Cobb County and several other Georgia counties have done, Allen said.
That phrase would make it clear that police should arrest someone for not having a driver’s license “only when positive identification cannot be verified,” Allen explained.
Representatives of Dignidad Immigrante en Athens, an immigrant rights advocacy group, and Athens for Everyone, which promotes a progressive political agenda, also spoke in favor of the policy change.
Lack of transportation is one of the top obstacles for low-income people in Athens, and the main reason cited when Hispanic people have to cancel medical appointments, one said.
Unlike some states, Georgia does not allow undocumented people to get a driver’s license, and is unlikely to change that stance in the future, another speaker said. HERE
Bonus HERE.
Message from Dan Stein, President of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
On the Passing of Dr. John Tanton (July 17, 2019)
When I first met John Tanton nearly 40 years ago, he and his lovely wife MaryLou had come to Washington, D.C., to lobby Congress for important changes to U.S. immigration law.
Dr. Tanton had taken time off from his busy medical practice – as an eye surgeon he dramatically changed people’s lives for the better every day – in order to change the country’s future for the better ever after. The so-called Simpson-Mazzoli bill was up for congressional consideration.
That was Dr. Tanton (we’ll call him John), a selfless giver of his time and talents in the interests of a better tomorrow. This remarkable giant of a man that passed away this past Tuesday quietly in his home town of Petoskey, Michigan.
Those who knew him recognized a unique personality: A person with extraordinary persistence in promoting ideas based on a careful analysis of how today’s decisions affect the future. I have stated that John was a Renaissance man, and that was true. He was interested in so many different topics and areas that no one person could see the entire picture.
He was interested in history and the future, in population policy and its related ecological considerations; he was concerned about environmental preservation, and culture and family planning, and assimilation and the collective culture that makes a nation successful over time…the list goes on and on. And he made those ideas move with incredible success over time.
What made John the way he was is simple: Educating himself daily, he set out in the constant quest for powerful ideas. He sought to find these ideas through a process of trial and error. John persistently drafted papers, thoughts, ideas – they appeared every day on scraps of paper, torn sheets out of books, the backsides of business memos – in a never-ending stream of trial balloons. His papers show a busy intellect, a restless mind covering the full gamut of ideas that pertain to the human enterprise. He reached out to all manner of persons in the all sorts of fields to obtain feedback on his non-stop idea machine. This brought him into contact with many formidable public opinion leaders and figures of historic importance.
John was not a politician. He was not made for the public spotlight. He was a creative intellect who sought to develop ideas and send them up as trial balloons for feedback. He was stubborn and he was persistent. But simply because he wrote an argument down did not mean he agreed with it or even supported it; often it was merely the process of generating discussion around it. As he learned the hard way, promoting informal ideas – even where they were uniformly dismissed immediately by others – could cause unethical advocates who disagreed with you to ascribe to you policy positions that you yourself never adopted. This nasty sleight of hand was used repeatedly against John, especially in cases where he was floating an idea out as an intellectual exercise.
In so many ways, John exemplified what it means to be a citizen of a free country. The relentless need to inquire, to understand, to shape and guide – all in the service of the greater public good. He always used to say, “a good deal of life is trying to figure out what to do until the undertaker comes.”
Perhaps John never appreciated fully at the outset how public would be the recognition of his work, nor how unfairly those who feared him would seek to destroy his legacy. He was a victim of his unanticipated success. He never accepted these harsh statements about him – his mind wasn’t built to understand the unprincipled, the self-interested and the unethical.
Of course for John, the big reward was to see a number of the organizations he helped conceive grow into tall oaks – guiding and shaping the public discourse in history-changing ways. Looking back on John’s life today, I see a remarkable man whose legacy is barely recognizable in the social media battlegrounds that make up today’s public policy discussions.
John was a gentle soul who merely wanted to ensure we had the vital conversations that would allow future generations to judge that we acted properly at the time when it mattered most. He deserves an honest assessment by those seeking an honest history. He was a gift to the nation and he will be sorely missed.
July 20, 2019
Obituary for our friend, Dr. John Tanton
On July 16, 2019, John Hamilton Tanton passed from this life, a life fully lived with concern for the well-being of his family, community, country and the world. He passed peacefully at Villa at the Bay after a 16-year battle with Parkinson’s disease.
John was born on February 23, 1934 to John Fitzgerald “Jack” and Hannah (Koch) Tanton at Harper Hospital in Detroit,Michigan. At age 10, John moved with his family to his mother’s family farm in the Thumb of Michigan, where he workedalongside his father and grandfather, learning the importance of being a good steward of our earth and its inhabitants. John’schildhood on the family farm instilled an appreciation for nature’s fragility.
Upon graduation from High School in Sebewaing, Michigan, John moved to East Lansing to pursue his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Michigan State University. In 1956, he served as President of Delta Upsilon fraternity at MSU. Dr. Tanton earned his medical degree at the University of Michigan and interned at Denver General Hospital in Colorado. He completed his residency in ophthalmology at the University of Michigan.
John’s formal advocacy for nature started in 1958 when, as secretary of the Michigan Natural Areas Council, he organizedletter-writing campaigns and offered supportive testimony for the Wilderness Act. He filed the first suits under Michigan’sEnvironmental Protection Act to conserve land. In the late 1960s, Dr. Tanton joined Zero Population Growth (ZPG), eventually becoming its National Chair. In 1979, he launched the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), soon thereafter taking a one-year sabbatical in Washington, DC to guide its efforts.
Dr. Tanton always took the “long view”—thinking ahead to future generations and what could be done to protect our planet for them. From this perspective came the motivation to help create a myriad of charitable organizations, including Little Traverse Conservancy, Northern Michigan Planned Parenthood, Petoskey Regional Audubon Society, Recycle North, Top of Michigan Trails Council, ProEnglish (advancing understanding through the bond of a common language), as well as a Great Books discussion group.
Dr. Tanton’s family, friends and colleagues will remember him for his love of nature, his intimate familiarity with botany, biology, wildlife, beekeeping, gardening, stewardship, nature preserves, history, quotations and for the Mondays he consistently surrendered from his medical practice for charitable pursuits. His naturalist cohorts will recall backpacking and camping in North America, Europe, and Australia and climbing the Matterhorn, Mt. Rainer, and Grand Tetons. His patients will remember him for the excellent eye care he provided as an ophthalmologist at Burns Clinic in Petoskey, Michigan.
Dr. Tanton is survived by his wife and loyal companion of 61 years, Mary Lou, and their two daughters, Laura and Jane. Daughter Laura de Olazarra, married to John, resides in Florida with their son John Xavier; their daughter Olivia Jane is attending the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Daughter Jane Thomson, married to Hugh, resides in Ann Arbor. John is also survived by his sister Liz Faupel, sister-in-law Christine Crotty Brown, nieces and nephews Tom Faupel, Ron Faupel, Vern Brown, Elizabeth Brown Britz, Dwight Brown and their families. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Tom Tanton and brothers-in-law Ken Faupel and Keith Brown. John’s family is forever grateful for the care provided by thestaff of Angel Heart and Villa at the Bay, whose support and attention were tireless and constant.
A quote by Margaret Mead exemplifies the credo by which Dr. Tanton lived: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
A celebration of life is being planned for August 17, 2019. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Little Traverse Conservancy, 3264 Powell Road, Harbor Springs, MI 49740 (www.landtrust.org / 231-347-0991) and encourages all to explore the splendor of nature on the preserves and trails protected by the Conservancy.
July 18, 2019
*UPDATED
Response from DPS GSPPIO <gsppio@gsp.net>
July 18, 2019 1:29PM
We are in receipt of your request.
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To whom it may concern at GSP
I am writing a news item for submission to various news outlets including Breitbart News as well as Georgia news outlets and will post the final product on my own widely-read blogs at the DustinInmanSociety.org/blog and ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com .
To insure accuracy and balance I am hopeful that you will respond with an official comment on the apparent lack of an agreement/MOU/MOA with ICE for 287(g) authorization. DPS is not listed on July 2019 federal records that show participating entities for the 287(g) program.
I am aware of the requirement under state law that the department be 287(g) authorized and have officers trained each year and of the fact that the Obama administration terminated the original/previous MOU on December 31, 2012.
My write up will illustrate that the Trump administration issued an Executive Order and memorandum in January, 2017 that made it clear 287(g) was part of the “Enhancing Public Safety in the United States” inituative:
“To the greatest extent practicable, the Director of ICE and Commissionerof CBP shall expand the 287(g) Program to include all qualified law enforcement agencies that request to participate and meet all program requirements. In furtherance of this direction and the guidance memorandum, “Implementing the President’s Border Security and ImmigrationEnforcement Improvements Policies” (Feb. 20, 2017), the Commissioner of CBP is authorized, in addition to the Director ofICE, to accept State services and take other actions as appropriate tocarry out immigration enforcement pursuant to section 287(g) o f the INA.”
I have posted the Executive Order and the associated memorandum here for your convenience
It is my educated understanding that both the Jail Model and the Task Force Model for 287(g) are available for use by authorized agencies and that ICE is on standby to welcome applications.
Questions
Has the department attempted to reapply for 287(g) authority to ICE since the original MOU was rescinded by the Obama administration and the Trump administration made it clear that 287(g) was being expanded and funded?
If the answer is “no” – please explain reasoning?
If yes, please include the dates of any application to ICE for renewing the authority to be 287(g) authorized as is required by Georgia law?
I welcome any additional information or comments that will help readers understand the current absence of 287(g) – trained DPS officers.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I have great respect for the job your department does.
My deadline is Monday, noon. (July 22, 2019)
Thank you.
Very respectfully,
D.A. King
FYI – My recent column in the AJC on 287(g) here.
*Updated, July 22, 2019
–> Response from DPS: 11:33 AM , Monday, July 22, 2019
ORU# 22889-19
To: D.A. King
Good Morning,
Based on the information you have provided, we conducted a search within the Georgia Department of Public Safety; however, we were unable to locate any responsive records. In accordance with O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70(d) of the Open Records Act, we are hereby notifying you that no responsive records were located.
Thanks,
Felecia
Open Records Unit
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Received 1:31 PM today from DPS.
Your Open Records request has been received. We will respond within 3 business days, excluding state holidays and weekends.
Thank you,
Open Records Unit
—–Original Message—–
From: D.A. King [mailto:Dking—–]
Sent: Thursday, July 18, 2019 12:33 PM
To: Open Records
Subject: Open records request 287(g)
To whom it may concern at DPS,
Please send me a copy of any and all applications for any 287(g) MOA/MOU or agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)/U.S. Homeland Security that may have been created, completed or submitted from January 20, 2017 to today’s date (July 18, 2019).
I would be grateful for an electronic response and a description of any charge for research or copies.
I look forward to your response within the three day period prescribed by state law.
Please contact me with any questions.
Thank you to the entire staff and LEOs for the work that you do!
Very respectfully,
D.A. King
Marietta, Ga. 30066
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