Georgia - Governments fail to follow law, verify their employees

By D.A. King

A December 2005 Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Zogby poll showed that about 80 percent of Georgia citizens were fed up with the illegal immigration and illegal employment crisis and wanted the state government to address the issue.

Happily for most Georgians, in April 2006, State Sen. Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, was successful in seeing his comprehensive reform bill, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act (Senate Bill 529) signed into law.

On July 1, 2007, the law went into effect.

No one - including Sen. Rogers and those who lobbied for the bill - imagined that the elected officials of nearly all of the state's local governments would fail to comply with the language of the law.

But that is exactly what is happening.

SB 529 requires local governments - municipalities and counties - to obtain a Memorandum of Understanding with the federal government to use a database called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system to screen applicants who have sworn that they are in the U.S. lawfully and are eligible for what the feds call "public benefits."

Of the 535 municipalities and 159 counties in the state, an April list provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security shows that a grand total of nine entities are either enrolled in SAVE or have applied for the system designed to verify that public benefits go to those who are eligible.

Gwinnett County and all of its cities are among the governments absent from the list.

While the term "public benefits" brings to mind welfare and social benefits, according to the law, they also include all "professional licenses, or commercial licenses provided by an agency of a State or local government or by appropriated funds of a State or local government" (8USC1621).

Each time a Georgia city or county issues or renews a business or commercial license without obtaining a sworn affidavit of citizenship or lawful presence in the U.S. from the applicant - and then verifying that status using the SAVE program - that local government is in clear violation of the law.

Sadly, violating laws aimed at illegal employment and illegal immigration is not a rarity these days.

In a war on terror and with brave border patrol agents risking their lives to apprehend illegal border crossers from all over the world, the concept that we would reward those who elude apprehension with a business license seems unproductive.

Not to mention illegal.

SB 529 also requires all public employers - the state itself and local governments are employers - to use the no-cost federal E-Verify database to be sure that newly hired employees have legal immigration status and are eligible to work in our nation.

On that, the local governments aren't doing so well, either.

Nearly half of Georgia's county governments have not obtained authority to use E-Verify.

When it comes to the Georgia municipalities, the numbers get even worse: The Atlanta Business Chronicle recently reported that "only about one-quarter of Georgia cities had signed up for the program."

Georgians should be asking how many illegals are being paid with taxpayer funds because of the non-compliance.

Some contractors doing business with government are also required to use E-Verify and on July 1, many more will come under the rule.

One can only imagine the howls were the same governments to refuse to enforce the laws that grant taxpayer-funded education and medical care to those who have no legal right to live or work in our nation.

While some who profit from continued non-compliance will likely vehemently come out against enforcing Sen. Rogers' law, most Americans should be asking why their own local governments are not obeying it.

After all, it is an election year.

D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society, which is opposed to illegal immigration and illegal employment.

Georgia residents who may be thinking the Governor's office and elected officials are giving a wink and a nod to employers...waiting for the election in November...they may want to post this in a local paper.

SEND IT TO YOUR MAYOR AND COUNTY CHAIR

Section 9 of the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act -

NOTE: ALL Business Licenses are public benefits - regardless of what you may be told by anyone involved.

SECTION 9. Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act of 2006

Title 50 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state government, is amended by adding a new chapter at the end thereof, to be designated Chapter 36, to read as follows:

"CHAPTER 36
50-36-1.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this Code section or where exempted by federal law, on or after July 1, 2007, every agency or a political subdivision of this state shall verify the lawful presence in the United States of any natural person 18 years of age or
older who has applied for state or local public benefits, as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section
1621, or for federal public benefits, as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1611, that is
administered by an agency or a political subdivision of this state.
(b) This Code section shall be enforced without regard to race, religion, gender, ethnicity,or national origin.
(c) Verification of lawful presence under this Code section shall not be required:
(1) For any purpose for which lawful presence in the United States is not required by law, ordinance, or regulation;
(2) For assistance for health care items and services that are necessary for the treatment of an emergency medical condition, as defined in 42 U.S.C. Section 1396b(v)(3), of the alien involved and are not related to an organ transplant procedure;06 SB529/AP

S. B. 529
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(3) For short-term, noncash, in-kind emergency disaster relief;
(4) For public health assistance for immunizations with respect to immunizable diseases and for testing and treatment of symptoms of communicable diseases whether or not such symptoms are caused by a communicable disease; or
(5) For programs, services, or assistance such as soup kitchens, crisis counseling and intervention, and short-term shelter specified by the United States Attorney General, in the United States Attorney General's sole and unreviewable discretion after consultation with appropriate federal agencies and departments, which:
(A) Deliver in-kind services at the community level, including through public or
private nonprofit agencies;
(B) Do not condition the provision of assistance, the amount of assistance provided, or the cost of assistance provided on the individual recipient's income or resources; and
(C) Are necessary for the protection of life or safety.
(6) For prenatal care; or
(7) For postsecondary education, whereby the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia or the State Board of Technical and Adult Education shall set forth, or cause to be set forth, policies regarding postsecondary benefits that comply with all federal law including but not limited to public benefits as described in 8 U.S.C.

Section 1611, 1621, or 1623.
(d) Verification of lawful presence in the United States by the agency or political
subdivision required to make such verification shall occur as follows:
(1) The applicant must execute an affidavit that he or she is a United States citizen or legal permanent resident 18 years of age or older; or
(2) The applicant must execute an affidavit that he or she is a qualified alien or nonimmigrant under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act 18 years of age or older lawfully present in the United States.
(e) For any applicant who has executed an affidavit that he or she is an alien lawfully present in the United States, eligibility for benefits shall be made through the Systematic Alien Verification of Entitlement (SAVE) program operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security or a successor program designated by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Until such eligibility verification is made, the affidavit may be presumed to be proof of lawful presence for the purposes of this Code section.
06 SB529/AP

S. B. 529
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(f) Any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement of representation in an affidavit executed pursuant to subsection (d) of this Code section shall be guilty of a violation of Code Section 16-10-20.
(g) Agencies or political subdivisions of this state may adopt variations to the requirements of this Code section to improve efficiency or reduce delay in the verification process or to provide for adjudication of unique individual circumstances where the verification procedures in this Code section would impose unusual hardship on a legal resident of Georgia.
(h) It shall be unlawful for any agency or a political subdivision of this state to provide any
state, local, or federal benefit, as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1621 or 8 U.S.C. Section

1611, in violation of this Code section. Each state agency or department which administers
any program of state or local public benefits shall provide an annual report with respect to
its compliance with this Code section.
(i) Any and all errors and significant delays by SAVE shall be reported to the United States Department of Security and to the Secretary of State which will monitor SAVE and its verification application errors and significant delays and report yearly on such errors and significant delays to ensure that the application of SAVE is not wrongfully denying benefits to legal residents of Georgia.
(j) Notwithstanding subsection (f) of this Code section any applicant for federal benefits as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1611 or state or local benefits as defined in 8 U.S.C. Section
1621 shall not be guilty of any crime for executing an affidavit attesting to lawful presence in the United States that contains a false statement if said affidavit is not required by this
Code section."
HERE

Well, like in AZ, the people of the state of Georgia have to let their elected officials KNOW how they stand, including their sheriffs offices, city councils, mayors, county councils, and state officials etc.  Funny how any of the above would throw the book at you for jaywalking, yet cherry pick the laws they want to enforce about illegals!  Start a recall campaign for those who are most blatant about ignoring the new law.

And again, remind them that illegals do NOT vote, you do (or at least they are not legally allowed to vote unless these same officials want to subvert the democratic function of this country).

It doesn't do any good to have these laws passed if the PEOPLE are not going to stand up and watch the watchers elected to enforce these laws!!

I was once told in an old high school civics class that the Congress watches the President (the old checks and balances), and the Supreme Court watches the congress, and who "watches the watchers"??? that be THE PEOPLE, THE VOTERS