It is laughable that Lopez is being packaged as somehow being a “Republican,” as evidenced by the headline over a fawning August 3 Daily Report article: “As a Latino Republican, Federal Judge Nominee has Bipartisan Connections.” It’s time for a reality check. Just consider the radical positions of the illegal alien lobby group that Lopez has presided over since 2004 (positions opposed by most Republicans in Georgia, by the way). Note that, according to its website, GALEO:
* Supports amnesty for illegal aliens.
* Lobbied against Georgia sheriffs’ cooperation with federal immigration control officials and even commended the Fulton County sheriff for not cooperating with Immigration and Control Enforcement officials.
* Fought the state voter identification law.
* Denounces the state’s official English-in-government law.
* Supports in-state tuition for illegal aliens.
* Opposed passage of the 2011 Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act (which passed both houses of the General Assembly by large majorities).
This writer spoke with Lopez at a reception during his judgeship campaign in 2012. He was unapologetic for the group opposing the 2011 immigration control act. That was the same year that GALEO joined with the American Civil Liberties Union and other left-wing groups in a class action lawsuit to overturn the law. (How many taxpayer dollars did Lopez’s organization cost the state’s taxpayers in defending that law?)
When asked why he was a board member of an advocacy/lobbying group, he told me it was because he believed in its mission. That begs the question: Should any serving judge be a board member of an advocacy/lobbying group? Also, can Lopez be an “impartial” federal judge at a time when his benefactor Obama has been bypassing Congress with unconstitutional executive actions granting amnesty and “deferred status” to illegal immigrants?
Remember, too, that Lopez had a big patron during his 2012 election campaign. It was none other than last year’s failed Democratic gubernatorial nominee and son of former President Jimmy Carter. In a July 27, 2012 Tweet, Lopez said: “I cannot begin to thank my good friend and fellow DeKalb public servant Sen. Jason Carter for hosting a meet and greet for me at the home of his parents. I am humbled to have his support and endorsement.” Lopez was also endorsed in his campaign by former Democrat Gov. Roy Barnes and the homosexual lobby Georgia Equality.
Yes, Lopez was originally appointed to his DeKalb judgeship by GOP Gov. Sonny Perdue as part of a public relations-type “outreach to Hispanics.” But waving a magic wand and sprinkling pachyderm powder over Lopez didn’t automatically make him a “Republican,” no matter how many times dishonest media types make the claim.
Marietta attorney Robert Ingram, a member of U.S. Sen Johnny Isakson’s judicial nominating committee, babbled to the Daily Report that “both the committee and Senator Isakson enthusiastically support him.” However, that’s not what Isakson or his office say. They aren’t saying anything, for now. Georgia’s other U.S. senator, David Perdue, has not made up his mind as to whether he will confirm this Obama pick.
Lopez will undergo thorough questioning about his judicial philosophy when he comes before the U.S. Senate. And if Republicans in the GOP-controlled Senate are true to their word, and they oppose activist judges who support Obama’s unconstitutional overreaches, they will ultimately reject this presidential acolyte.
Phil Kent is the CEO of InsiderAdvantage and is also Gov. Nathan Deal’s appointee to the state Immigration Enforcement and Review Board.
Dax Lopez has resigned from GALEO! – Which does not make him suitable to be a federal judge. Keep pouring it on! More calls! More letters!
We understand that public pressure since his nomination has resulted in Dax Lopez’s resignation as a director on the board of GALEO. We also note that he did not resign when GALEO attacked and smeared Cobb Police, the Cobb Sheriff, the Gwinnett Sheriff and multiple state officials for the offense of merely trying to protect Georgians from the ravages of criminal illegal aliens.
We also note that Lopez did not resign from GALEO when they took and active role in opposing voter ID, passage of state laws aimed at preserving jobs and benefits for legal residents or joining the SPLC and the ACLU in a lawsuit against existing state law (HB 87- 2011) designed to encourage illegal aliens to migrate out of Georgia.
Dax Lopez has shown us his core values, including when he helped raise funds for GALEO’s mission of fighting against voter ID in our state.
* ACTION NEEDED! NOW!
PLEASE START CALLING THE OFFICES OF GEORGIA U.S. SENATORS JOHNNY ISAKSON AND DAVID PERDUE NOW! Contact info below
PAY ATTENTION! BARACK OBAMA HAS NOMINATED A FAR-LEFT, GEORGIA ANTI-ENFORCEMENT IMMIGRATION RADICAL – LONG-TIME GALEO BOARD MEMBER DAX LOPEZ – TO A LIFETIME FEDERAL JUDGESHIP!
U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue can and must stop the confirmation of Dax Lopez to the federal bench.
You can read the excited report from the AJC HERE. Note they forgot to include Lopez’s open affiliation with the race-baiting, illegal alien lobby group, GALEO.
PRO-AMNESTY GALEO, Founded in 2003 by former MALDEF board member and open borders bagman Sam Zamarippa, operated by anti-borders tribalist Jerry Gonzalez proudly boasts of Jane Fonda as a “Founding Friend” and is financed by corporate Georgia, including Coca Cola, Georgia Power, State Farm Insurance Co., a long list of immigration lawyers and Southwest Airlines.
A very short list of examples of Dax Lopez’s GALEO:
GALEO has organized and participated in marches in the streets of Atlanta demanding an end to any enforcement of American immigration laws. And they will again. Maybe with Federal Judge Dax Lopez!
GALEO angrily opposes voter ID. And often allows Socialist and Communist pamphlets and banners at anti-borders rallies.
GALEO is well known in the Georgia Capitol for lobbying against any state laws that inhibit the crimes of illegal immigration and illegal employment.
GALEO Executive Director Jerry Gonzalez had to be removed by local police at a Rome, Ga. event when he became abusive to a diminutive female Georgia legislator in 2011.
GALEO IS ACTIVELY OPPOSED TO ENGLISH AS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE FOR THE U.S.
Ifyou are not familiar with GALEO and Jerry Gonzalez, please take a look at this recent newspaper column outlining more of GALEO’s leftist antics.
DAX LOPEZ OF GALEO: UNSUITABLE FOR FEDERAL JUDGESHIP – EVEN IN OBAMA’S TRANSFORMED AMERICA!
Because of his radical and leftist views, Dax Lopez has openly supported and served GALEO as front man and on its Board of Directors – and as Treasurer – for years. He has no business anywhere near any type of judgeship, much less a lifetime seat as an Obama-appointed and Republican-confirmed Federal Judge.
Somebody ask Lopez if Americans who want borders should “go back to Europe!”
Please begin calling the Washington D.C. and Georgia offices of Senators Isakson and Perdue today! “NO, TO DAX LOPEZ AS FEDERAL JUDGE!.”
You never know – maybe this is enough to get Tea Party groups in Georgia involved!
We can and must stop the madness. Remember that the Republicans control the Senate and the confirmation process!
*PLEASE CALL NOW …AND OFTEN!
U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson:
*WASHINGTON D.C. OFFICE
United States Senate
131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Tel: (202) 224-3643
Fax: (202) 228-0724
*ATLANTA OFFICE
One Overton Park
3625 Cumberland Blvd, Suite 970
Atlanta, GA 30339 Tel: (770) 661-0999
Fax: (770) 661-0768
U.S. Senator David Perdue:
* 383 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-3521
Fax: (202) 228-1031
* STATE OFFICES
Atlanta, Georgia191 Peachtree Street NE
Suite 3250
Atlanta, GA 30303 Phone: 404-865-0087
Fax: 404-865-0311
“Gov. Brian Kemp announced four new Superior Court judgeships Friday – but the list was just as notable for a potential jurist who was passed over for a promotion.
That would be DeKalb State Court Judge Dax Lopez,a Latino Jewish Republican who was seeking a superior court seat.
Lopez was blocked by U.S. Sen. David Perdue from a federal judgeship after anti-illegal immigration activists in Georgia objected to his leadership in a group that opposed local government participation in 287(g) programs.
Some of those same forces oppose his bid for the new county post.
Kemp tappedanother state court judge, Shondeana C. Morris, for the post.
A former Fulton County prosecutor and assistant Atlanta solicitor, Kemp said she “offers the ideal set of legal expertise and leadership skills for this critically important position.”
The Dustin Inman Society worked very hard to organize resistance to GALEO’s Dax Lopez (now a state court judge) being appointed to superior court by Governor Kemp. The announcement that Lopez did not get the promotion came this morning. We are grateful to all who took time to write, call, email, and tweet Gov. Brian Kemp urging him to pass over GALEO’s anti-enforcement judge for advancement. Thank you, Gov. Kemp!
Letter to the editor today in the MDJ. I don’t subscribe and cannot read it through the pay wall, so thanks to Sue for sending it along.
Marietta Daily Journal
OPINION
May 31, 2019
DEAR EDITOR:
Kevin Foley giving Sheriff Warren advice on the subversive and race-baiting GALEO Corporation is another example of the uninformed leftist writer looking up and talking down. GALEO, led by the perpetually angry and professional-victim Jerry Gonzalez, is yet another corporate-funded anti-borders group that has a widely known reputation in political circles for smearing political enemies.
Maybe Foley was among the past crowds that GALEO has led in marches in the streets of Atlanta protesting any immigration enforcement. GALEO particularly hates 287(g) because it detects and reports illegal aliens already captured for other crimes.
Foley’s advice to the sheriff to “engage” rather than “condemn” illustrates that Foley writes from a jerking knee and not any basis in knowledge or experience.
Gonzalez, the boss face of GALEO since its creation in 2003, has accused Warren of bias and prejudice for simply carrying out his sworn duty to protect all Cobb residents. Gonzalez has also falsely smeared pro-immigration enforcement legislators for legislation that would reduce the effects of the illegal aliens GALEO is dependent on to keep the corporate donations flowing. Gonzalez was thrown out of a Rome, Georgia, event by police several years ago for chasing and verbally attacking the diminutive state Rep Katie Dempsey. There is a long history of GALEO radicalism including lobbying against official English, voter ID, and E-Verify — while transporting illegal aliens to the state Capitol.
GALEO lobbied against jails honoring ICE detainers for criminal illegals.
In short, GALEO is a typical subversive and radical but innocuously named anti-borders activist corporation. While that may be right up Foley’s alley, he should at least have the facts before he offers advice to Sheriff Warren.
State Court Judge Dax Lopez served as a board member for eleven years while Jerry Gonzalez led GALEO in the above described activities. He was as silent as mouse, except when he personally wrote Gov. Deal to veto a bill against illegal aliens driving with no license.
In 2016, Dax Lopez was denied a federal court seat because of the courage of Georgia’s Sen. David Perdue, who investigated the facts brought to him by D.A. King on GALEO directly from the GALEO website, much of which has now been deleted. A long list of very respected legislators and other officials including Sheriff Warren wrote to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advising against Dax Lopez.
Republican Lawyers Urge U.S. Senators to Back Lopez Nomination
R. Robin McDonald, Daily Report
October 19, 2015
Republican lawyers who have served in high positions in Georgia government and the state GOP have asked Georgia’s U.S. senators to support the confirmation of a DeKalb County State Court judge to the federal bench in Atlanta.
The letter to Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, both Republicans, seek their backing for Judge Dax Lopez to fill a final vacancy on the Northern District of Georgia bench.
The co-signers to the letter include Joshua Belinfante of Robbins Ross Alloy Belinfante Littlefield and Robert Highsmith of Holland & Knight, who were both executive counsel to Gov. Sonny Perdue, and Anne Lewis of Strickland Brockington Lewis, who is general counsel to the state Republican Party. Belinfante also is one of three lawyers advising Sen. Perdue—Gov. Perdue’s first cousin—on the selection of federal judges.
Other co-signers of the letter include Frank Strickland, Lewis’ senior partner and the state Republican Party’s former GC; GOP state treasurer R. Mansell McCord Jr.; and state Rep. BJay Pak, R-Lilburn, of Atlanta’s Chalmers, Pak & Burch; and state House Judiciary Committee Chairman Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs. Former state Rep. Edward Lindsey, of Goodman, McGuffey, Lindsey & Johnson, also signed the letter.
The signers also include Belinfante’s Robbins law partner, Jason Alloy, a former president of the Atlanta Lawyers Division of the Federalist Society; Kilpatrick Townsend Stockton chairman J. Henry Walker IV; and Bryan Cave partner William Custer, whose clients include the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Bankers Association. Many of the co-signers have served on the state Judicial Qualifications Commission or the Judicial Nominating Commission.
The Sept. 22 letter identified the signers as attorneys and conservatives who have met, appeared before, or practiced law with Lopez. Lopez worked at Holland & Knight before he was appointed to the DeKalb State Court bench by Gov. Perdue in 2010.
“As conservatives, we recognize that the constitutional obligation of a judge is to decide cases based on the text of the law and not policy preferences,” the letter says. “We know that Judge Lopez views the law the same way.”
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet scheduled Lopez’s confirmation hearing.
Lopez had already garnered public support for his confirmation from Marietta attorney Robert Ingram—who is a member of Isakson’s judicial selection committee.
Calling Lopez “an excellent nominee,” Ingram told the Daily Report in July that Lopez had the “enthusiastic support” of both Isakson and his two fellow selection committee members: Ronald Carlson, a law professor at the University of Georgia, and former state bar president Jimmy Franklin.
Ingram said that no one on either Isakson’s or Perdue’s selection committees had opposed Lopez’s nomination to the federal bench. Perdue’s committee includes Belinfante, retired King & Spalding partner Dwight Davis and Houston County lawyer Michael Long.
Last July, President Barack Obama nominated Lopez to fill a long-vacant slot on the federal trial bench in Atlanta. The post had originally been intended for Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Michael Boggs, who was recruited by then-Sen. Saxby Chambliss as part of a compromise with the Obama administration to fill vacant slots on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Northern District bench. But national controversy generated by Boggs’ conservative stances while a Georgia legislator led the White House to withdraw Boggs’ nomination last year.
Lopez was born in Puerto Rico and moved with his family to Augusta when he was 6. When he was appointed to the DeKalb bench in 2010, Lopez, who described himself as a Republican in a 2010 interview with the Daily Report, became only the second Latino trial court judge in Georgia. When Lopez campaigned in a nonpartisan race to retain his judicial post in 2012, he garnered support from Democrats… WE URGE YOU TO READ THE REST HERE – simple and free registration required
Readers may have heard by now that President Barack Obama has nominated a DeKalb County State Court Judge, Dax Lopez, for the lifetime position as a federal judge in the Northern District of Georgia.
Pro-enforcement conservatives among our Republican friends should pay close attention to this process. They might even want to speak up against confirming Lopez. But, warning: Dax Lopez says he is a Republican, so there is that whole GOP “eleventh commandment” silliness to consider. And he is also originally from Puerto Rico, which of course creates the element of “Hispanic outreach,” “big tent,” “we don’t want to be called names” to deal with for those who may consider forming a committee to discuss future public objection to his confirmation.
Obama’s first pick for the seat was a widely respected conservative south Georgia Democrat and former state legislator named Michael Boggs. It may serve as some encouragement to voicing objection to Lopez for loyal and obedient GOPers to know that the Democrats killed any chance of Boggs becoming a federal judge on the grounds that he was too conservative.
Boggs’ confirmation was blocked by fellow Democrats because of his views on homosexual marriage, the right-to-life battle and the Confederate battle flag.
“He’s a person who’s not, in my opinion, in the mainstream, and I don’t think he deserves to be a federal judge,” then U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said of Boggs last May.
Curious conservatives should also have this nugget of knowledge on how our government works from the liberal Talking Points Memo news website: “When a judge is nominated, the Judiciary Committee sends a ‘blue slip’ to home state senators seeking their approval. If they sign off, the committee moves forward with the nomination. If one or both of them disapproves or withholds the blue slip, the nomination tends to grind to a halt.”
For Obama-voter readers, this means that either or both of Georgia’s Republican U.S. Senators could end the consideration of pro-amnesty GALEO’s board member for federal judge tomorrow.
They could also remain silent on Lopez and his long-time, faithful affiliation with the open borders radicals led by Jerry Gonzalez, who boast of Jane Fonda being a “Founding Friend.” But wouldn’t it be refreshing to see Republicans actually take a stand and make it publicly clear that the time to stop anti-enforcement activist federal judges is before they are even considered for becoming federal judges?
We hope that readers — and U.S. Senators — still remember Kate Steinle, one of the thousands of Americans killed because of this exact anti-enforcement policy. And we remind all concerned that transporting illegal aliens — including in buses to Washington — is a federal crime.
Imagine for a moment — because sadly, it is possible — that GALEO’s Lopez, age 40, were to be confirmed as a federal judge in Georgia for the rest of his life.
Look down the road to the possibility of a case referred to Lopez’s court against enforcement of immigration laws similar to the lawsuit against Georgia’s 2011 HB 87 from the ACLU and the SPLC on which GALEO acted as a “friend” by filing an “amicus brief.” Does Federal Judge Lopez recuse himself because of his affiliation with the anti-enforcement plaintiffs?
Does he recuse himself for all immigration enforcement cases? Does he resign from the board of GALEO? If so, when — then, or now, or as a condition of his confirmation?
We made it clear that Lopez says he is a Republican. When he ran for election in 2012, he was supported and endorsed by Democrats Jason Carter and Roy Barnes. He should be described as “a Jerry Gonzalez, Jason Carter, Roy Barnes Republican.”
D.A. King is president of the Dustin Inman Society and has assisted state legislators with passage of many Georgia laws aimed at illegal immigration. Info on the Lopez nomination can be seen on King’s MDJ blog.
A federal judge has dismissed requests from a civil rights group to require Gwinnett County and the state to send absentee ballot applications in Spanish.
In a Monday order, Judge William M. Ray II dismissed the case, brought by the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials and other groups, saying that the secretary of state’s office and the Gwinnett elections board didn’t violate the federal Voting Rights Act, as the lawsuit claimed.
“Nonetheless, this Court recognizes that Plaintiffs’ end goal of ensuring that Spanish-speaking Gwinnett voters receive bilingual absentee ballot applications is a reasonable and desirable outcome,” Ray wrote.
He said, though, that GALEO and the other groups lacked the standing to make the case. Ray said in his order that the individuals who said they weren’t sent Spanish-language ballot applications were able to get them from the county, and did vote. He added that a Spanish-language ballot application was accessible on the county website.
Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO’s executive director, said he disagreed with the judge’s analysis…. Read more here.
Note: I have no idea why the text above is so screwy…
_
Beginner’s Guide to GALEO from the 2015/2016 Dustin Inman Society campaign to stop the conformation of former GALEO board member Dax Lopez for federal court here.
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Update: Dustin Inman Society board amber Everett Robinson just sent me the below letter to the AJC editor he sent in 2 weeks ago. Believe it or not, they ran part of it! Thanks Ev. Thanks, AJC!
Ev, our neighbor for 35 years and DIS board member addressing the room.
Dear AJC,
In a stunning abuse use of the term, the AJC recently referred to the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) as a “civil rights group” in a news report on their failed lawsuit against Gwinnett County involving foreign language voter ballots.
GALEO, funded by corporate-Georgia, is notorious for its long history of actively fighting against official English for government, voter ID and marching in the streets of Atlanta against immigration enforcement. GALEO has actually lobbied to convince local governments to refuse to honor ICE detainers when dangerous criminal illegal aliens are found to be in local jails and organized rallies against state laws to require public employers to use the federal E-Verify program aimed at insuring illegal labor does not take taxpayer-funded jobs.
As a proud, long-time board member of a citizen-funded group that advocates for an equal application of the law on immigration and for official English for government, this sixty-something, pro-enforcement Black conservative knows a civil rights group when he sees one.
Regarding GALEO: Being anti-official English and anti-enforcement on immigration does not a “civil rights” group make.
Republican Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan has endorsed a candidate for state senate who is a former board member of a leftist organization that lobbies against immigration enforcement, voter ID, ICE holds and official English for government.
State Senate District 31 hopeful Jason Anavitarte served on the board of directors of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) from 2006 to 2009. During that time, GALEO lobbied against passage of the nationally noted SB529, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act which established a requirement that public employers and their contractors sort out newly hired blackmarket labor with use of the federal employment verification system now known as E-Verify.
The legislation also required state use of the federal 287(g) program that allows local law enforcement to screen jail inmates for immigration status and report illegal alien prisoners to ICE for deportation proceedings. The bill, now law, that GALEO vehemently opposed also requires that local and county governments verify the legal status of people applying for local, state and federal public benefits.
GALEO Executive Director and former Democrat fundraiser, Jerry Gonzalez, drew much attention during the lobbying frenzy against the 2006 state immigration enforcement measure when he escorted self-described illegal aliens into the gold-domed state Capitol telling legislators they should regard the illegal aliens as “constituents.” Gonzalez described the illegals as merely “immigrants.” The staged and pre-announced GALEO transporting and encouragement of the illegals made a memorable note for pro-enforcement groups and news in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
A February Twitter post from Lt. Governor Duncan describes Anavitarte as a “proven conservative…”
Photo: @GeoffDuncanGA Twitter feed
The endorsement from Duncan has raised eyebrows in conservative quarters of the state’s Republican Party not only because GALEO is well known for its corporate-funded opposition to immigration enforcement, but because candidate Anavitarte, now running as a Republican,filed to run for state House in 2006 as a Democrat.
The Lt. Governor also serves as president of the state senate.
Jason Anavitarte. Photo: Rome-News Tribune
Perhaps the most jarring surprise for pro-enforcement voters in Duncan’s endorsement is the fact that in 2016, U.S. Senator David Perdue terminated the Judiciary Committee’s confirmation process of another former GALEO board member and State Court Judge, Dax Lopez, who was nominated for a federal judgeship by former President Barack Obama. Perdue made it clear that his office investigated the nominee’s ties to the controversial GALEO and ended the chances of confirmation because of that relationship.
“After a thorough review of the professional and judicial record of DeKalb County Judge Dax Lopez, I have become uncomfortable with his longstanding participation in a controversial organization including his service on its board of directors” Perdue wrote in his statement on the matter.
The obvious – and many say troubling – difference in judgment between Georgia’s Republican Lt. Governor and its senior U.S. Senator is not going un-noticed by grassroots GOP voters.
According to the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than green card holders.
Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, snared a primary endorsement from President Donald Trump in 2018 due in large part to Kemp’s tough talk and campaign promises on illegal immigration. Kemp has not mentioned immigration since the November, 2018 election.
Ballotpedia lists four Republican candidates for Georgia’s senate District 31.
Lt. Governor’s PAC reportedly kicks in $250,000 for narrow victory
Jason Anavitarte, controversial candidate for the Republican ballot in Georgia’s state senate District 31 primary contest has apparently squeaked past opponent Boyd Austin, a former mayor.
Austin has criticized Anavitarte as representing “outside interests” rather than the district; “…a breakdown of Anavitarte’s contributions from both his April 30th report as well as his latest one bear this out. In the April document 94 percent of Anavitarte’s contributions come from outside the district (with many from lobbyists). In the latest report, outside-the-district donations make up 97 percent of Anavitarte’s total. Only six individuals in the district gave a monetary contribution” according to a July note at Insider Advantage Georgia.
As of August 22, the Secretary of State website still shows results of the August 11TH primary contest as “Unofficial Results – Totals may not include all Absentee or Provisional Ballots” but watchers agree that Anavitarte will likely prevail in the final vote tally.
UPDATE: Final and official results show that Anavitarte won 10,574 to 10,348, a margin of 226 votes.
Anavitarte has drawn considerable attention since it was revealed that from 2006 -2009 he served on the board of the radical GALEO Inc. GALEO is well known as a corporate-fundedforce against immigration enforcement, ICE holds, 287(g), voter ID and official English. In 2006, the same year Anavitarte joined the board of directors, GALEO teamed with the ACLU, MALDEF, and the ADL in a protest rally against state immigration enforcement.
GALEO Director Jerry Gonzalez has illustrated the group’s mission with antics such as escorting admitted illegal aliens into the Georgia senate Chamber in an effort to stop passage of a 2006 bill, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act (SB529) – aimed at reducing Georgia’s attractiveness as a destination for illegal immigration. Gonzalez has also been criticized for badgering a diminutive female state Rep, Katie Dempsey, for her pro-enforcement position on E-Verify in a Rome, Ga. public forum.
GALEO’s Jerry Gonzalez. Photo: Dustin Inman Society
In early 2016, another former GALEO board member and state court judge, Dax Lopez, was passed over for confirmation after an Obama nomination for a lifetime seat on the federal bench due to his ties to GALEO. This writer was proudly credited with leading the opposition to the Lopez nomination with the research series ‘A Beginner’s Guide to GALEO’ posted on the Dustin Inman Society website in 2015 and 2016.
On its political blog, the Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported that a PAC, ‘Advance Georgia,’ founded by Georgia’s Republican Lt. Governor and president of the senate Geoff Duncan helped Anavitarte’s slim victory with a $250,000 infusion:
“Jason Anavitarte might owe Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan a thank-you note for his apparent narrow GOP runoff victory over Boyd Austin in the contest to replace state Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen. The lieutenant governor’s PAC pumped about $250,000 into Anavitarte’s bid. He’s currently up by about 200 votes – a 1% margin says the liberal AJC Political Insider blog.
Georgia’s Lt. Governor and President of the Senate, Geoff Duncan. Photo: AJC.
“Jason Anavitarte is a former member of the Paulding County School Board and candidate for Senate District 31 in the Georgia Legislature. Most recently, Jason served as Senior Adviser of Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan’s campaign and served on the state finance committee for Governor Brian Kemp during the 2018 election. Jason has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Latinos in Georgia” according to Anavitarte’s campaign website, Campaign website (August 19, 2020).
Anavitarte, who has described himself as an admirer and supporter of Senator Marco Rubio, is a former Doraville City Council member and in 2005 filed to run for the state House as a Democrat. In the recent primary he was endorsed by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and originally did not mention illegal immigration on his campaign site as an issue.
That changed after he drew the attention of pro-enforcement conservatives and the media. He now has stated policy positions on immigration that are curiously tailored to a candidate for federal office as opposed to a state senate seat, but has assured voters he is supports legal immigration without offering limits. From JasonAnavitarte.com:
“I support legal immigration and I want to see our current immigration laws upheld. I support the following reforms:
End chain migration. Stop the original immigrant from petitioning to bring their extended families into the USA.
Move to a merit-based skill categories system. This system would put an emphasis on education and skill as a basis for acceptance into the country.
Reform welfare. Deny welfare to anyone with a green card or visa.
NO AMNESTY! Enforcement of deportation will stop people from coming to our borders.
I support the use of e-verify by our businesses. We need to hire people that are legal to work here in Georgia.
No in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.”
Lt Governor Duncan’s PAC was the topic of AJC coverage in October, which included the observation: “the financial haul could also help Duncan exert more influence over a fractious Republican caucus that sporadically sparred during his first legislative session. Duncan said he preferred to view it as a “partnership” to support Republicans.”
According to the most recent estimates from DHS, Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than Arizona and enforcement of laws designed to deny jobs, benefits and services to illegals is routinely ignored by the Republicans who have run the state for *more than a decade nearly two decades.
Anavitarte and his committee and floor votes on illegal immigration-related matters will be the focus of much attention from conservative writers and voters when he becomes a state senator.
Immigration politics are shaping primary races for two state Senate seats in Georgia, allowing local voters to impose their priorities on their politicians until the polls close on June 9.
In State Senate District 54, GOP voters can choose between newcomer Dan McEntire or incumbent Sen. Chuck Payne, who voted with Democrats to block a law that would make it easier for people to recognize the illegal migrants who get state-approved drivers’ licenses.
In State Senate District 31, west of Atlanta, voters can pick between a local former mayor, Boyd Austin, and Jason Anavitarte, a “founding friend” of the Latino pressure group, GALEO, and a favorite of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
AnavitArte dismissed his member of the GALEO group, which has long opposed curbs on migration into Georgia. “As a Latino officeholder, I was once a member, but disagreed with them on many of the policy positions like outlined above and left that organization because of that,” he told Breitbart News.
But AnavitArte’s membership in GALEO is a problem, in part because it has opposed immigration updates pushed by reformers, including Sen. David Perdue. In 2016, Perdue blocked President Barack Obama’s appointment of another GALEO member, Dax Lopez, to a lifetime judgeship.
In May, Anavitarte did not mention illegal migration on his website. After responding to questions in late May from Breitbart News, however, he added a section, saying, “I believe in curbing illegal immigration through any and all means necessary.”
Anaviterte has endorsed several federal anti-migration proposals but has declined to identify any recent or new state-level measure that would curb migration into Georgia. He told Breitbart News:
I do not support open borders. I oppose amnesty and illegal immigration. I even believe there are serious loopholes in legal immigration that can be improved to strengthen the American workforce. Most of these are federal issues and we have limited options to remedy on a state level.
He told Breitbart News that he “would support that type of legislation if elected,” referring to the 2009 HB2 law.
That law was pushed by D.A. King, the founder of the Dustin Inman Society, which champions the enforcement of existing migration laws that help Americans to earn decent wages. “It is easy enough to say you support a bill after it has passed: The question is, will you support enforcement of the bills?” responded King responded to AnavitArte’s statement. “These laws are not being enforced,” he added.
“As a state legislator, we are very limited in the things we can do” about immigration, said rival Boyd Austin, a former mayor who is running for the open 31st district seat. So, he said, “one of the primary areas we should focus our attention on is sanctuary cities.” He explained:
“We’ve had several, large and small [sanctuary cities], in Georgia … [The legislature should] get rid of the magnets [for illegal aliens] and the ability for them to hide in plain sight, start taking away their state funding, and hit them in the pocketbook where it hurts.”
“I am not the establishment’s candidate,” Austin said. “The Georgia chamber [of commerce] has endorsed my opponent. He has powerful people who want to continue his [migration] process, with a lot of money coming from out of state,” said Austin, who is a former president of the Georgia Municipal Association. Read more here.
DIS educational poster from 2015/2016 during the Dax Lopez confirmation battle. Lopez was denied the confirmation by U.S. Senator David Perdue because of his association with the anti-enforcement GALEO Inc.
The below letter to Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan was forwarded here this morning by DIS friend Mr. Robert Trent. If I find time later, I will insert some informational links. (I found the time. Links added 1:00 PM)
I am a retired Senior Special Agent of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (USINS). I have served on metropolitan area drug, and organized crime task forces for many years and have supervised special agents assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force. In addition, I spent ten years as a uniformed border patrol agent assigned to both the northern and southern borders. My final assignment was as the Assistant Director, Enforcement Training, U.S. Immigration Officer Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA.
Because of a heads up from my friend D.A. King at the Dustin Inman Society, I have personally researched Anavitarte and can see that he was deeply involved with a leftist group known as ‘GALEO’ that is dedicated to working against immigration enforcement both here and in Washington D.C. Anavitarte is listed on the GALEO website as a ‘Founding Friend’ – along with that all-American luminary, Jane Fonda.
A personal endorsement of a candidate who was part of the GALEO effort to fight not only immigration enforcement but also voter ID, official English legislation and lobbied directly in the Gold Dome against legislation that required the use of the E-Verify system to protect public jobs for a legal workforce is stunning in it’s lack of logic or conservative values.
The AJC reported that in 2006, Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO’s executive director actually took admitted illegal aliens into the state Capitol and then into the senate chamber in an effort to kill then pending SB529, a bill aimed at our illegal immigration crisis that became law. Anavitarte continued his association with GALEO for another three years.
D.A. King has done a stellar job over the years documenting the anti-enforcement activities of GALEO Inc. He provided his detailed research to Senator David Perdue in 2015 during the confirmation process of an Obama nominee for federal court, Dax Lopez, who was also a former GALEO board member. Senator Perdue terminated that confirmation process citing his concern with the GALEO connection.
Part of the statement Sen. Perdue released in early 2016 announcing his disapproval of the candidate for a federal judge seat: “After a thorough review of the professional and judicial record of DeKalb County Judge Dax Lopez, I have become uncomfortable with his longstanding participation in a controversial organization including his service on its board of directors.”
I urge you to read the entire statement and I urge you to reconsider your support of Jason Anavitarte for membership in the state senate where legislation will hopefully address the fact that Georgia has a serious and illegal immigration problem
Jobs and wages are going to illegal aliens in our state and American families are being damaged and sometimes permanently separated because we are not doing enough to make Georgia inhospitable to illegal aliens and the illegal employment that acts as a magnet to draw them into Georgia.
Your decision to endorse anyone with ties to GALEO shows poor judgment and has damaged my own opinion of you as Lt. Governor and President of the Senate. Anavitarte’s decision to serve on the GALEO board shows his own lack of good judgment and creates great doubt about his dedication to conservative ideals, including immigration enforcement a cause to which I have dedicated most of my life.
