The House will soon vote on a bill that targets illegal immigration in Georgia.
The legislation, which is sponsored by state Rep. Matt Ramsey, has passed out of the House Judiciary Non-Civil committee and will now move on to the House Rules committee, which will decide if and when it gets a full House vote. Ramsey believes that there will be a vote on it by next week and is hopeful that the bill will pass.
House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, an Atlanta Democrat, tried to table the bill in committee, claiming it had "several constitutional and substantive impediments" but her efforts were unsuccessful.
If the bill passes, all employers in Georgia with more than four employees will be required to verify the immigration status of new employees using a federal database called E-Verify. While similar bills have been presented, Ramsey’s legislation has a no-tolerance policy for employers who bring in foreign workers and no one is exempt.
"I continue to believe that the notion of picking one industry to be exempt from requirements of mandatory E-Verify is bad policy," said Ramsey.
A new provision that was added last week would make the act off presenting false immigration documents when applying for a job a felony, punishable by up to 15 years in jail.
The bill also originally called for police officers to check the status of those they stop for routine violations if they appeared “suspicious,” however, after a revision on Monday, the “reasonable suspicion” text was removed and the bill now states that officers "shall be authorized to seek to verify" a suspect's immigration status if the suspect is unable to provide an accepted form of identification.
An earlier version of the bill also called for penalties to those who harbor or transport illegal aliens, however, during a public testimony a few weeks ago, many people raised concerns that this section of the bill could penalize churches or charities. The revised version states that penalties will apply only if the person in question knowingly and willingly transports an illegal alien "for the purpose of furthering the illegal presence" of that person, while committing another criminal offense.
According to Ramsey, the penalties would still apply to church members or charities if they were stopped for another offense and happened to be transporting a person they were aware was an illegal alien.
Abrams, however, argues against the bill, explaining that it could negatively hurt the state’s reputation and economy, as well as promote racial profiling.
"I'm deeply concerned about the impact of this bill on the bottom line of the state at a time of economic downturn," she said.
Illegal immigration is a problem many states are dealing with. Any illegal alien is subject to be arrested and deported back to their home country at any minute. If you or someone you know is residing in the U.S. without legal status, speak to an immigration lawyer as soon as possible.
Since immigrants may not speak English or be fully aware of the process of acquiring legal status, having a knowledgeable immigration attorney working on their behalf is extremely beneficial. Immigration lawyers take care of all the legal paperwork as well as speak to immigration agencies to ensure that their clients’ issues are resolved promptly.
Call an immigration attorney today if you or a loved one need help with applying for a green card or employment visa, are dealing with criminal charges, would like assistance with reuniting family members or if you need help in finding a job.
