Red circles are “NO” voters on pro-American public safety bill.

Dalton Daily Citizen

Sunday, February 26, 2018
Opinion
Letters

I write from Marietta to sadly commiserate with other conservatives in the Dalton area. My own state Republican state senator, Kay Kirkpatrick, recently joined Dalton’s Sen. Chuck Payne in voting with the Democrats to kill a Republican bill aimed at reforming the system by which Georgia issues driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.

Astonished or doubtful readers can watch a video archive on the General Assembly website of the Feb. 21 Senate Public Safety Committee hearing on SB 417 and watch as Payne raises his hand to vote “no” with the Dems while the illegal aliens who opposed the bill can be heard literally applauding in the back of the room. ( Here is a link to the official video archive. SB417 presentation begins around 55:20 and the vote begins around 123:20. Use the red button slide on the bottom of the screen. You need to put your cursor near it to see it.)

The state legislation, offered by conservative stalwart Sen. Josh McKoon of Columbus was designed to end the practice of giving a common driver’s license to legal immigrants and illegal aliens, many of whom have been convicted of crimes in the USA and have already been ordered deported. The bill took advantage of the fact that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) uses a code on the work permits they issue to denote the unlawful immigration status of aliens who have been awarded the permit, in large part, by the Obama administration.

McKoon’s bill would have taken advantage of the in-place USCIS system and changed the illegals’ driver’s licenses so that they were easily recognizable and could not be used as ID to board airliners — as a legal immigrant’s ID is.

Payne is now explaining his join-the-Dems vote by saying he was concerned about the cost of enforcement of the legislation if it became law. Here is where Dalton voters should remember that all laws have a cost of enforcement. And that Georgia has more illegal aliens than Arizona. And that even if the well-known but little understood DACA program ended tomorrow, we will still have illegal aliens in Georgia with the same drivers and ID credentials as legal immigrants. Blurring that line is an insult and a needless public safety risk. What “cost” is too high for Payne?

GOP readers should imagine a primary campaign speech at a Whitfield County Republican meeting in which candidate Payne assures voters that if he is sent back to the Gold Dome he will vote with the Democrats against a Republican public safety bill on driver’s licenses for illegal aliens.

Would you still vote for him?

D.A. King

Marietta

King is president of the Georgia based Dustin Inman Society. He is not a member of any political party.

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Sen. Payne responds:

Sadly, Mr. King illustrates the ever-present obstacle in politics, the driving venture of “want.” For it doesn’t matter if Democrats want or Republicans want. If our efforts are only a pursuit of our want then eventually our want will cripple us all. Maybe it’s time that we seek to set want aside and commit to do the work to achieve responsible and sound legislation that would stand the tests of time. I do strive to maintain a measure of responsibility in discernment, but I’ve learned that the result of want unfulfilled can sometimes bring misguided anger to those who only want. The reason I wasn’t able to join my friend, Sen. Josh McKoon, as he proposed SB 417, was simply due to my understanding in reading through the bill that it would create more government and without any qualifying results to show for it.

In 2012, the Department of Driver Services began printing “LIMITED-TERM” on Georgia driver’s licenses and identification cards issued to those who are not U.S. citizens. In my view, SB 417 would create a whole new arm of state government in the creation of a new method of issuing driving permits to those who are not U.S. citizens. SB 417 establishes that beyond the issuing of Georgia diver’s licenses, the state would take on new enforcement policies for these new “driver safety cards” for those who are not citizens. It is my understanding that the cost and creation of a whole new bureaucracy to enforce these new provisions would come without any warranted difference from what we currently have. SB 417 requires that a person be fined if caught using these new driver safety cards for personal identification, but the costs associated with the enforcement would have to be appropriated later with additional legislation.

Recently, the Legislature moved forward on HB 918, as for the first time in our lifetimes the state will reduce tax rates for individuals and businesses from 6 percent to 5.75 percent, and includes provision to further reduce the tax rate to 5.5 percent in 2020. The question I asked in the consideration of my vote over SB 417 was, “Are we seeking to reduce the size, costs and excesses of state government, or are we creating more government and laws that could be deemed as unenforceable in the end?” As I had promised, I have kept my word that I would read the legislation with an eye of meaningful critique. I simply disagreed with the costs of implementing SB 417 and questioned if this bill would offer any measurable result.

Drivers license issued to all aliens in Georgia. photo: DDS

DDS – “A Georgia DL/ID is not proof of lawful status in the U.S. so it is important to note that an expired LIMITED-TERM card does not mean the person is in the country illegally.” Here.

Republican state senator Chuck Payne VOTED WITH THE DEMS AND THE ILLEGAL ALIEN LOBBY

Republican state senator Kay Kirkpatrick VOTED WITH THE DEMS AND THE ILLEGAL ALIEN LOBBY

Why do you think we call it “Georgiafornia?“

Legislation to alter the drivers license Republican-ruled Georgia is giving to illegal aliens with a delay on deportation dies in committee today.

Here is the language of the bill.

Republican-controlled committee kills the bill 5-4 vote. It’s all on video. Archive will be ready tomorrow AM.

**UPDATE: Here is a link to the official video archive. SB417 presentation begins around 55:20 and the vote begins around 123:20. Use the red button slide on the bottom of the screen. You need to put your cursor near it to see it.

When you watch it, you will be able to hear the applause of delight from the illegal aliens in the back of the room.

Republican state senators Chuck Payne and Dr. Kay Kirkpatrick vote with the Democrats to kill public safety bill on illegal aliens drivers licenses. Another, Senator Ben Watson walks out of hearing before the vote. Pro-enforcement bill info here.

Senator John Albers, Chairman. Members here.

Georgia state Senator Josh McKoon watched as two Republican senators voted to kill his legislation that would have insured that illegal aliens do not receive the same drivers license as legal immigrants.

SB 417 was a do-over of a very similar bill that passed the senate in 2016 – by a vote of 37-17 in 2016. The measure did not stop the aliens that USCIS says lack lawful status from driving, it merely changed the design of the card and would not have allowed for federal use, as in boarding airliners or entering federal buildings.

The Chairman could have voted to break a tie, but these two Republicans gave the Democrats and the illegal alien lobby the needed margin.

More later, but expect solicitation for donations to finance qualifying fees for primary opponents for Republican senators Kay Kirkpatrick and Chuck Payne.

Photo of the NO voters as they voted:Red  circles are “NO” voters on pro-American public safety drivers license reform  bill.

NPR

February 13, 2018

How Metro Atlanta Became A ‘Pioneer’ Of Immigration Enforcement

Arrests by federal immigration agents are way up.

Local law enforcement agencies are eager to help.

And judges rarely side with immigrants fighting deportation.

This is metro Atlanta. By almost any measure, it’s one of the toughest places in America to be undocumented.

A Father, A Husband, An Immigrant: Detained And Facing Deportation
NATIONAL
A Father, A Husband, An Immigrant: Detained And Facing Deportation
“I hope it’s true,” said Phil Kent, a member of the Georgia Immigration Enforcement Review Board. “I would hope that Atlanta is one of the tougher places.”

Georgia has some of the strictest immigration laws in the country. Driving without a license, for instance, is a jailable offense here. So undocumented immigrants who get behind the wheel in this sprawling state risk arrest.

“We were a pioneer state … almost every year in our legislature trying to tighten up with regard to immigration enforcement,” said Kent, whose board is charged with ensuring that the state laws are enforced. More here.

Front Page

Front Page

ANTIFA THUGS TARGET ICE
Mathew Vadum
The Left interferes in immigration law enforcement — and plans to escalate its lawlessness.

February 19, 2018

The anarchist thugs of Antifa are branching out into obstructing immigration law enforcement, apparently no longer content with shutting down conservative speakers and beating up those they promiscuously label “fascists.”

A case in point was last Thursday, Feb. 15, when about 70 activists surrounded a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) van that was attempting to enter the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles. The anarchists chanted “no more deportations,” “Trump and Pence must go,” “f–k ICE,” as well as slogans in the Spanish language.

Although the two ICE agents in the van at the time were unharmed and there were no arrests, the action was viewed by anarchists as a successful test of the tactic. Antifa intends to expand its use of the approach. Given Antifa’s ugly track record, this could mean violent, terroristic attacks on law enforcement.

The nighttime action was leftist retaliation for ICE officers doing their jobs by enforcing the law. ICE reportedly detained more than 200 illegal aliens in Los Angeles during a recent five-day enforcement sweep.

Radical leftist Rabbi Aryeh Cohen bitterly complained to the Los Angeles Times about ICE doing what it is supposed to do.

“The original goal was to really loudly proclaim that we’re not going to stand for ICE destroying families … on Valentine’s Day of all days,” said Cohen, who is on the board of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, which helped to publicize the action…. More here

This is a don’t miss from James O’Keefe

From Twitter: “Looks like thousands of Twitter users committed the thought crime of tweeting about “God,” “the American flag,” and “guns,” and were taken off the platform. Our undercover reporting into Twitter showed those terms indicate to engineers you are “for sure a bot.” #TwitterLockOut”

Looks like thousands of Twitter users committed the thought crime of tweeting about “God,” “the American flag,” and “guns,” and were taken off the platform. Our undercover reporting into Twitter showed those terms indicate to engineers you are “for sure a bot.” #TwitterLockOut pic.twitter.com/hI88iUEcCD

— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 21, 2018

Georgia drivers license currently issued to both legal and illegal immigrants photo: DDS

“People who enter the United States without our permission are illegal aliens, and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who entered the United States legally.”

New York Senator Chuck Schumer, 2009. Here.”

**UPDATE: The Republican committee killed the bill. See here.

Legislation to create new drivers licenses for illegals with deferred deportation to be considered under the Gold Dome today

REAL ID Act allows for alternate documents

D.A. King

Driver’s licenses and the illegal aliens who get them are an issue under the Gold Dome again. We expect to see consideration of at least two bills before crossover day. One of them, SB 417 from Senator Josh McKoon, should see a senate hearing today in the Public Safety Committee. A similar bill from McKoon passed the senate by a huge majority in 2016.

Another, HB 484 from Rep Jeff Jones, is pending in the House Motor Vehicles Committee.

The bills are aimed at creating a second tier of driving and ID credentials so as to end the current policy of giving the illegals who have a reprieve on deportation the same driving and ID credentials issued to legal immigrants and Mercedes Benz executives.

A point of contention will likely be that fact that Georgia’s Department of Drivers Services insists they are “not issuing to illegal or undocumented immigrants.” The Associated Press and the AJC say they are.

The federal REAL ID Act of 2005 says “deferred action (on deportation) is evidence (of ) lawful status.” The United States Immigration and Citizenship Services (USCIS), the federal agency that issues the work permits, reports something different.

It isn’t as complicated as many people think. Most aliens require a work permit to legally gain employment. Officially known as ‘Employment Authorization Documents’, these EADs contain coded information on the status of the bearer. Some illegals have been given a work permit on a temporary basis, which is the basis of how they obtain a drivers license.

For this Telegraph report, and as an educational service to readers, this writer contacted USCIS for an official statement on the status of the non-citizens (aliens) who have either already ordered deported or who have been granted a deferral in their deportation proceedings and who have been issued Georgia drivers license.

We asked USCIS for a breakdown of the EAD category codes that denote unlawful status of the temporary work permit holders and received a list of codes that indicate unlawful status.

The relevant USCIS Response:

“Individuals in the following categories do not have lawful status. They have either been granted temporary relief from removal, or cannot be removed due to the refusal of all countries designated to receive the alien, or because the removal of the alien is otherwise impracticable or contrary to the public interest:

(a)(10) Aliens granted withholding of deportation or removal
(a)(11) Aliens granted deferred enforced departure
(a)(13)/(14) Aliens granted a stay of removal under the Family Unity Program
(c)(14)/(33) Aliens in a period of deferred action
(c)(18) Aliens granted deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, and aliens under a final order of removal who are on an order of supervision because they cannot be immediately removed

Finally, in some cases, abused spouses of certain nonimmigrants who are eligible for an EAD under (c)(27)-(c)(30) may not be in status.”

DDS has issued drivers licenses and/or ID Cards to applicants in all or most of these categories.

If Georgia is going to continue to give people with debatable immigration status drivers licenses and ID Cards, we think the legislative goal of creating special, easily recognized documents that cannot be confused with credentials issued to legal immigrants is a commonsense homerun.

According to language in the legislation, these new documents will be of “unique design and color” and oriented vertically, which DDS already does on under age twenty-one drivers licenses and ID Cards issued to Americans.

Georgia drivers license issued to drivers who are under age twenty-one

At least two states, California and Michigan already have a multi-tired drivers license system in place

Both bills follow instructions contained in the REAL ID Act language that makes the new documents fully valid for driving privileges, but not for the federal acceptance that REAL ID Act regulates.

Plainly put, while they can still legally drive, the non-citizens who have unlawful status codes on their work permits will no longer be able to use their Georgia-issued drivers cards or ID Cards as ID to enter federal buildings or board airliners in the U.S. And it will be far less confusing in our voting process.

All this would be much easier to explain if we were discussing Mexico – where no illegal aliens can obtain any drivers license.
dak

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer. photo: U.S. Senate

“People who enter the United States without our permission are illegal aliens, and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who entered the United States legally.”

New York Senator Chuck Schumer, 2009. Here.

photo: DIS

A recent email survey sent out by the Cobb County Republican Party should turn some conservative heads. Party leadership is looking for ways to improve the traditional monthly Saturday breakfast meetings and asks about possible new food choices and types of future speakers.

The email also lists choices of topics that respondents can pick as one they are “most interested” in. Forget that it was the issue with which President Trump beat Hillary – the red-hot topic of immigration and amnesty didn’t make the cut as a possible choice.

We note that far too many  Republican pols would rather have a root canal while sitting in a chair of broken glass than talk about immigration, even in a state with more illegal aliens than Arizona. Too much discussion highlights the wide gap between the ever-loyal grass roots voters and the GOP establishment. Cobb County is often cited as being number four in the state as far as its population of illegal aliens.

4. What types of speakers are you most interested in? Check all that apply.

The entire questionnaire here.

The liberal AJC allows response to the inaccurate “English only” label for SR 587 – wouldn’t it be great if Lawmakers did too?

Typo : Note, the letter below has the incorrect number on the legislation. It is SR 587, not 577

READERS WRITE

Valid reasons for English as official language

AJC
February 18, 2018

Senate Resolution 577, a constitutional amendment designating English as the official language of government operations, is not— as claimed in a Feb. 11 editorial— “English only” or somehow anti-business.

There are common-sense exceptions for the state and its political subdivisions. They include the teaching of languages other than English, the promotion of diplomacy, trade, commerce and tourism with other languages and protection of the rights of crime victims and criminal defendants if other language usage is required.

By the way, Georgia has an official English-in-government statute, but it contains loopholes that would be closed with this amendment. For one example, the state Department of Driver Services administers the permanent resident driver’s license test in 11 foreign languages. This undermines public safety, since all road signage is in English — and it must end.

This amendment, subject to ratification by a statewide referendum if passed by the legislature, would enhance better communication and save significant taxpayer money by reducing burdensome translation costs. That’s a main reason why Gov. Nathan Deal, when he served in Congress, supported legislation stipulating English as the official language of government. And who dares to accuse him of being anti-business?

STEPHEN GUSCHOV, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PRO ENGLISH, WASHINGTON, D.C.