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#Georgiafornia: Another letter to the editor on Gov. Brian Kemp’s defiance on criminal aliens – Marietta Daily Journal

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Candidate Brian Kemp in his big truck – in case he rounds up criminal illegals. Image: The Hill, 2018

Marietta Daily Journal

OPINION

Letters to the editor

Kemp’s broken campaign promise

There is a reason we quit the Georgia Republican Party — and it is centered around the fact that in a state with more illegal aliens than green card holders, illegal immigration has become a forbidden topic in an effort to court the fabled “suburban moderates” and Hispanics. This insulting and dangerous treachery is not going to drive conservative independent voters to the polls in November. Including us.

January 7, 2020

DEAR EDITOR:

In November a male foreign national with an ICE detainer was arrested in Marietta for sexually molesting two teenage boys for years starting when the boys were ages 8 and 9. Just after Christmas another alien with an ICE hold, Juan Antonio Gonzalez, was arrested by Cobb police and booked into the county jail facing six felonies including murder, aggravated assault, fleeing police and possessing a gun during the commission of a crime. We know this because the MDJ reported it. Thank you.

While Gov. Kemp is endlessly boasting of his business-first approach to governing Georgia and the “No. 1 for business” ranking from some magazine, what the MDJ and the rest of the state media are not reporting is that these two examples of vicious crimes by illegal aliens illustrate part of a broken campaign promise from Kemp.

Readers who can remember back to 2018 may recall “Brian Kemp’s Track and Deport Plan” which was a particularly detailed campaign pledge to voters aimed at illegal aliens who commit additional crimes. It went like this: “As governor, conservative businessman Brian Kemp will create a comprehensive database to track criminal aliens in Georgia. He will also update Georgia law to streamline deportations from our jails and prisons.”

We have no hope of Kemp going after the employers who draw the “undocumented” cheap labor into our state. That would upset the business donors. But at our house we have been waiting to see Kemp follow through on his tough talk on illegal alien crime. Including the two examples above, we challenge anyone to find any mention from Kemp — or the Georgia media — of the campaign promise, new laws, tracking criminal aliens or illegal alien databases.

There is a reason we quit the Georgia Republican Party — and it is centered around the fact that in a state with more illegal aliens than green card holders, illegal immigration has become a forbidden topicin an effort to court the fabled “suburban moderates” and Hispanics. This insulting and dangerous treachery is not going to drive conservative independent voters to the polls in November. Including us.

Bill Buckler

Kennesaw

Here.

Marietta, Georgia – Alien now with an ICE detainer charged with molesting at least two boys for years #CriminalAlien #BrianKemp #BigTruck

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Luis Alonso Lopez. Image: Marietta Daily Journal

Cobb County, Georgia

Marietta Daily Journal

November 6, 2019

A Marietta man is in jail facing seven counts of child molestation.

Police say Luis Alonso Lopez, 48, molested at least two boys over a period of at least six years.

According to arrest warrants, a 19-year-old told police he was abused by Lopez from the time he was 8 years old until he was about 14. A 13-year-old boy said Lopez abused him when he was 8 or 9.

The abuse is alleged to have taken place at a residential address off Veterans Memorial Highway in Mableton, not far from the Chattahoochee Technical College’s Austell campus.

You can read the entire story from the Marietta Daily Journal here.

 

Two llegal aliens charged with separate child molestations in Marietta, Georgia in less than a week

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Cesar Chavez – Images, MDJonline.com

From the Marietta Daily Journal

July 10, 2019

“On July 3, police arrested 17-year-old Baudilio Salomon Diaz Ambrocio, who faces three felony charges of rape, aggravated child molestation and aggravated sexual battery in relation to an incident at his Hedges Street home around 5 p.m. on July 1.”

“A young girl was followed and molested outside her Marietta house on July 4 after watching fireworks at Ron Francis Park with her family, police say.

The 12-year-old has spoken publicly about the ordeal, telling media her attacker repeatedly tried to grab and kiss her until her 10-year-old brother scared the man off…” More here.

Baudilio Salomon Diaz Ambrocio MDJonline.com

Governor Kemp breaks silence on illegal immigration

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Image: Dustin inman Society

 

Despite campaign promises, Kemp is mostly mum

 

 In a twenty-minute press conference in his office Wednesday morning, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp formally announced his pick to replace retiring Senator Johnny Isakson. It is notable that in his introduction speech for businesswoman and political trainee Kelly Loeffler, Kemp broached the topic of border security and illegal immigration.

As far as we can tell, this is Kemp’s first public remark related to illegal immigration since the 2018 election. We offer a no-cost, hand car wash to anyone who can accurately cite a quote or remark from Kemp on the issue since then.

“Senator Loeffler will fight to strengthen our immigration laws and finish the Border Wall so we can stop Mexican drug cartels from flooding our streets – here in Georgia – with drugs, weapons, violence, and fear” said Kemp.

According to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than green card holders. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security ranks the Peach State ahead of Arizona in its population of “undocumented workers.”

Kemp’s silence and blatant disregard for the issue is in defiance of his detailed campaign outline for a state “track and deport plan” in which he pledged to “create a comprehensive database to track criminal aliens in Georgia.” “He will also update Georgia law to streamline deportations from our jails and prisons” and to create a criminal alien database” went the promise.

Still shocked by his inaction on illegal immigration in his first year, pro-enforcement political insiders paying attention to legislation in the Georgia Capitol are carefully watching to see if Kemp will put the power of his office – and begin to honor his campaign promises – by pushing for a simple bill that was held up in the Republican-ruled House in the 2019 session. HB 202 from Rep Jesse Petrea would require the state Department of Corrections to post a quarterly, public report citing the number of foreigners in the prison system, their immigration status, home nation and crimes for which they are serving time.

The measure was stopped in the House Rules Committee and must now begin the hearing process from the beginning, according to the House Clerk’s office.

While it does not begin to approach the tough-talk promises of action on criminal aliens from candidate Kemp, the end result of the Petrea’s HB 202 becoming law would be that Georgia taxpayers would have access to hard, official, indisputable data on at least one part of the cost of illegal immigration – which is one reason the bill was smothered last year by business-first Republican leadership.

A simple one-pager, HB 202 is still alive and has the votes to pass. As this writer noted elsewhere, Kemp could have ordered the DOC to begin the data sharing last year. But he didn’t.

Image: Brian Kemp -National Review/Reuters

 Illegal immigration is still an issue for Georgians

We make the same no-cost car wash offer to anyone who can cite any comment from Governor Kemp on any of the above examples.

“I got a big truck”

Perhaps most obvious to voters who can remember back to last year is candidate Kemp’s “yep, I just said that…” campaign ad shtick that involved his “I got a big truck” (video) and the possibility of his personally rounding up “criminal illegals.”

Asking about the current whereabouts of the truck seems a fair question for Governor Kemp from the faithful GOP voters.

From here, we will begin to produce regular updates on Governor Kemp’s campaign promises, his silence – or any actions – on the illegal immigration crisis in Georgia

Stay tuned.

*Note: Here is a link to Gov. Brian Kemp’s contact page, but unless my vision is worse than usual, it seems he has removed the phone number from the page. If so, here it is: 404-656-1776

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corporate-funded anti-borders radical in Georgia: Verification of hiring records and ID is a “white nationalist agenda”

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Jerry Gonzalez. Image: Dustin Inman Society

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GALEO’s Jerry Gonzalez opposes IMAGE certification for city governments

Just when the Average Joe might think the anti-borders mob has hit peak crazy, GALEO’s Angry Jerry Gonzalez explains to a Georgia newspaper that verifying ID used in the hiring process and use of E-Verify along with voluntary audits of HR records equates to… wait for it… a “white nationalist agenda.”

Jerry Gonzalez is Executive Director of the corporate-funded (Coca Cola, Georgia Power, State Farm Insurance, Southwest airlines, Cox Enterprises, Western Union…) Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials in Atlanta. GALEO marches in the streets protesting any immigration enforcement, lobbies in the Georgia Capitol against any legislation designed to make life difficult for illegal aliens – while referring to them as “immigrants” – against official English and photo voter ID,  – you know the drill.

We have a long history of fighting the GALEO machine here.

Angry Jerry’s comments came in a news report in the Marietta Daily Journal on the upcoming vote to renew the city of Marietta’s IMAGE certification. For a quick idea of what the IMAGE program is, think of it as E-Verify on steroids. Here is a excerpt from the official IMAGE website:

“Undocumented workers secure jobs through fraudulent means such as presenting false documents, completing fraudulent benefit applications and stealing someone’s identity. To combat unlawful employment and reduce vulnerabilities that help illegal aliens gain such employment, ICE announced the Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) program in July 2006. This program assists employers to develop a more secure and stable workforce. It also enhances fraudulent document awareness through education and training.”

Note: Since the IMAGE audits are intended to catch illegal aliens using fake and stolen ID documents to get hired, we think the use of the goofy “undocumented worker” term on the ICE/IMAGE site is a leftover from the nightmare Obama years. The victims of borders have plenty of (illegal) documents.

In 2012, this pro-enforcement writer worked long and hard to see IMAGE certification for the county HR department in my home of Cobb County and in the two cities in the county that also are IMAGE certified. Jerry doesn’t like that.

Never let a massacre by a lunatic go to waste

Gonzalez, who is known to scream at and chase down pro-enforcement advocates – even if they are diminuative women, told the MDJ the (IMAGE certification) renewal is likely to further strain the relationship between Latinos and elected officials because it comes at an especially bad time. After the horrific killings in El Paso. And actual enforcement in Mississippi.

“Two days after a white nationalist committed a domestic terrorist attack against Mexicans and people of Mexican descent in El Paso, there were massive immigration raids in this country as well, with the president pushing a white nationalist agenda,” Gonzalez said. “That’s the kind of alliance the City Council will be allying with. … I don’t think the city of Marietta needs to be pushing a white nationalist agenda like the president is pushing.”

How will we know when they hit peak crazy – and disgusting?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The AJC strikes again – inaccurately uses “anti-immigration” description (again) corrects, then reverses correction…in less than 48 hours: Responding to the smears *UPDATED WITH AJC CORRECTION

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Image: AJC

 **UPDATED WITH AJC CORRECTION

Note, this piece was originally posted on the Dustin Inman Society blog.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution strikes again. Twice. In less than forty-eight hours.

After constantly correcting them – for sixteen years – on the fact that being pro-enforcement on immigration doesn’t qualify anyone, including me, as “anti-immigrant” or “anti-immigration” – and that I am neither – they have again labeled me as “anti-immigrant” And “anti-immigration.” Did I mention it was twice in less than forty-eight hours?

Oh, and BTW: They seem to not approve of the concept of nationalism. 

The morning after my late-night phone call/voice mail to an AJC reporter twenty minutes after his story on a Gwinnett County 287(g) panel discussion in which I participated hit the internet, the AJC changed their “anti-immigrant” description of me in the online version of the story to “anti-undocumented immigrant…” Then, in the same story for the next day’s print version ran a photo of me with the caption describing me as “a controversial anti-immigration activist.”

Without exaggeration, by phone, email and letters, I have told these people about fifty times that I fight for enforcement of immigration and employment laws and for sanity in immigration levels. That my adopted sister is an immigrant.  As are many donors and some members of the board of the Dustin Inman Society, which I founded in 2005.

The most recent example is a letter to the editor that was sent – and published – last June in response to another inaccurate and libelous depiction of yours truly as “anti-immigration” that was also changed after I complained:

“A recent column by the AJC’s Bill Torpy on the front of the Metro section falsely referred to me as an “anti-immigration activist.” The widely known truth is that for the last 15 years I have proudly fought for sanity in immigration and enforcement of American immigration laws. That effort is easily and succinctly described as “pro-enforcement.”

For the record – yet again – I am not “anti-immigration” any more than the folks at Mothers Against Drunk Driving are “anti-driving.” Neither is my adopted sister, who is an immigrant.

In today’s media, the angry leftists who scream in American streets waving placards that literally demand an end of immigration enforcement are usually described as “civil rights” or “immigrant rights” groups. Never the obvious “anti-enforcement” groups.

A majority of Americans – including millions of immigrants – support honoring our rich tradition of immigration with the unapologetic enforcement of our very liberal immigration laws. The fact that media writers intentionally and deceptively depict us as being “anti-immigration” is an illustration of the inherent liberal bias and eagerness to smear honest Americans on the most critical issue of our time.

AJC writer Torpy seems to be “anti-accuracy.”

D.A. KING, MARIETTA, PRESIDENT, THE DUSTIN INMAN SOCIETY Here.

Note: I have no idea why some of the text above is larger font and I cannot make it go away...

Either these very liberal editors and reporters don’t read their own newspaper, are unable to retain information longer than an hour – or they are driven by an agenda to dishonestly marginalize anyone who does not adopt the “immigration enforcement is extreme/racist” position. To be clear. I firmly believe it is the latter.

In the AJC world, corporate-funded, screaming  anti-enforcement activists are described as ….”immigrant advocates.” Sometimes “civil rights activists.”

The reporters and leadership of the Georgia’s largest newspaper should be regarded as an organ of, and for, the illegal alien lobby from here on. I have asked for another correction and retraction.

The editor of the AJC is Kevin Riley. Despite the fact that the shrinking AJC has no public editor, neither he or most of his editors respond to my emails or phone calls. *Notable exception: Editorial Editor Andre Jackson, who I believe to be an honorable journalist in every sense of the word. Andre Jackson is the only employee I know at the AJC that I trust.

The story is too long to tell at one time here, so only a little expansion for now.

On a panel discussion in Gwinnett County focused on 287(g) an AJC reporter filed this story late on the same night as the event ( again, they don’t seem to like the self-description of “proud American nationalist” at all). The 1996 federal tool, 287(g) is designed to locate illegal aliens who land in local jails. Note that the anti-287(g) participants (some who dropped out) are referred to as “immigrant advocate groups.”

In the first try, I am described in this paragraph with

“King spoke first and audience members opposed to 287(g) greeted him with signs filled with his previous anti-immigrant rhetoric. His opening statement riled them further.”

After my phone call complaint, it was changed to:

“King spoke first and audience members opposed to 287(g) greeted him with signs filled with his past comments regarding undocumented immigrants. His opening statement riled them further.”

In the print version (that is also sent out electronically) of the same story that ran on August 2, the AJC editors reversed the reporter’s previous correction and inserted a photo of me with the caption:

“D.A. King, a controversial anti-immigration activist, represented the sheriff’s office on a panel discussion of the 287(g) program.” —  All italic emphasis mine.

Image: AJC

Not only is the “anti-immigration” activist description wrong. but the AJC has invented out of thin air the notion that I was somehow representing the sheriff’s office. I would have been very proud to do that, but I was asked to speak on 287(g) as president of the Dustin Inman Society.

So, questions for the AJC team – if I was supposedly representing the sheriff, who were the three anti-enforcement characters representing? How did it happen that only D.A. King was supposedly representing somebody else in your story?

–>*Update: Too funny: On Wednesday, August 7 on page 2. the AJC corrected the whole cloth fabrication that I was somehow on the panel as a representative of the Sheriff, here. But the “credible”, “compelling”, “complete” coverage AJC editor Kevin Riley constantly tries to sell on radio ads never corrected the fake news that I am an “anti-immigration activist” – while they portrayed the anti-enforcement mob as “immigrant advocates.”

Note to the propagandists at the AJC: Even the New York Times has made that correction on my motivation.

 

Image – AJC

Image: AJC

The young AJC reporter asked me one or two questions – and that was clearly an after-thought formality on his way out the door. His lead query to me?

“Do you think you inflamed this event? …by being here, I mean.”

Contact info for the AJC leadership here. The columns the AJC editorial page team has published from me listed here. Did they inflame anyone by printing them?

I have sent them a letter to the editor about the fact they use the disgraced SPLC as an arbiter of “hate…” I will post it tomorrow if they don’t run it.

*Update: An edited and shortened version of my letter finally ran. Many thanks to Mr. Andre Jackson.

Pee-uuuu.

 

 

A family in need: In memory of Billy Inman – great report from the Cherokee Tribune

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The Inman family of Woodstock, Georgia. Circa 2000

“Meanwhile,… family members have made arrangements for Kathy Inman’s continued care through a home care provider, though they worry about the expense. Nationally known immigration activist Mary Ann Mendoza, who came to Cherokee County for the funeral and to visit Kathy Inman has set up a fundraising account that can assist in Inman’s care: DONATE HERE.

Friends, family remember immigration activist Billy Inman

Staff

 

Friends and loved ones said goodbye Thursday to Billy Inman, a Woodstock man who became a determined foe of illegal immigration when his son was killed in a crash in 2000 in which the other driver was in the country illegally.

Inman died June 7, of an apparent heart attack, according to family members.

Billy and Kathy Inman, along with their 16-year-old son, Dustin were traveling together on June 16, 2000 when Gonzalo Harrell-Gonzalez, who was said to be traveling more than 60 mph, struck the family’s stopped vehicle at a traffic light in Ellijay. After being treated for his injuries at the hospital, Harrell-Gonzalez, a Mexican national who had been living in the U.S. illegally, reportedly fled to Mexico.

 

In 2000 neither Billy nor Kathy Inman were able to attend Dustin’s Inman’s funeral because they were recovering from severe injury. But Kathy Inman was able to attend her husband’s funeral last week.

“She is a strong woman who has been through literal hell. She is out of the hospital and was able to attend and speak at her husband’s funeral. In her tearful remarks, she said ‘I feel like God is mad at me…'” officials with Marietta-based The Dustin Inman Society said in a written message Monday.

“I lost my child and my husband because of this man,” Kathy Inman said in an interview Monday.

Following the crash, Inman became primary caregiver to his wife, who suffered a brain injury and other permanent effects from the crash. He also became a dogged advocate for justice for Dustin and immigration law reform.

For nearly two decades, Inman had been reaching out to politicians to urge them to do something about the issue. The Dustin Inman Society, led by D.A. King, was named in honor of the young man and works to secure the American border.

Billy Inman found supporters for the cause in Georgia and in Washington, D.C.

When the White House established its Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office in April 2018, the Inmans were among the special guests. The following month, U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cartersville, shared their story on the House floor.

“I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Billy Inman. Since meeting Billy and Kathy a few years ago, my team and I have gotten to know them well,” Loudermilk said. “Although Billy has gone on to a better place, we will continue our work to bring justice for Dustin and the family.”

Kathy Inman’s sister said Monday she has long admired her brother-in-law and his devotion to his wife.

While Billy Inman’s sudden death was painful, Kelley said she has faith he has been reunited with Dustin in heaven. “This is the first time in 19 years he got to spend Father’s Day with Dustin and that makes me happy,” she said.

Meanwhile, Kelley, family members have made arrangements for Kathy Inman’s continued care through a home care provider, though they worry about the expense. Nationally known immigration activist Mary Ann Mendoza, who came to Cherokee County for the funeral and to visit Kathy Inman has set up a fundraising account that can assist in Inman’s care: https://www.gofundme.com/kayckb-a-family-in-need

The entire news item can be read here.

Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk – (R) says he and many of his colleagues support amnesty and U.S. citizenship for some illegal aliens – does not reply to questions @RepLoudermilk

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Maybe voters who live in the Georgia 11th District can get some answers from Congressman Barry Loudermilk. We get silence. Contact info here.

Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk. Image: GovTrack.us

The below email was sent to Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk’s Washington D.C. office (Brandon Cockerham press staffer Brandon.Cockerham@mail.house.gov)on March 13, 2019. It was sent again the next day and I posted a Tweet to the congressman alerting his office to the email.

No response has been received.

My email is below. I have added some links to educate the reader.

__

March 13, 2019

Brandon,

I write for several news outlets, including Breitbart News, Insider Advantage Georgia  many Georgia newspapers and on my own website, Immigration Politics Georgia (ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com). I am doing a report on Rep Loudermilk’s position on immigration, illegal immigration, DACA and the current effort in congress to legalize a group of illegal aliens with DACA, TPS and DED. Below I include some background and a few questions to help insure accuracy and balance in my reports. I will be grateful for your response. My deadline is Friday, 4:00 PM. I expect my piece to appear in multiple outlets and to be distributed at the Georgia state Republican Convention.
—
I notice that on the congressman’s “issues” page he has detailed an explanation of the DACA executive amnesty and apparently says that no federal law clearly addresses visa overstays. Also that “we need to consider a system to allow the DACA individuals to apply for renewable contingent nonimmigrant legal (CNS) status, which would allow them to stay in the country, but would not automatically grant them U.S. citizenship.” 
 
Congressman Loudermilk recently spoke to the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and has been quoted by several people in attendance as saying (about DACA recipients) that he and many of his colleagues “want them to stay and apply for citizenship.” 
Screen shot of a post on Twitter feed of FWDus State Director for Georgia, Sam Aguilar
 
On the issues page of his official website, Congressman Loudermilk refers to “the vagueness of our laws” while saying “they not be given blanket amnesty” in reference to DACA recipients.
 
 
DACA

“Issue: There are currently about 1.8 million on, or eligible for, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in the U.S. Those identified as DACA/DACA eligible were minors when they were brought to the U.S. by their parents. While some of the parents came across the border illegally, some of the parents came legally on visas, but remained after their visas expired. This is a unique problem that current law does not clearly address.

Solution: We must change the law to clearly address the DACA situation, otherwise the courts will ultimately make the decision. We need to consider a system to allow the DACA individuals to apply for renewable contingent nonimmigrant legal (CNS) status, which would allow them to stay in the country, but would not automatically grant them U.S. citizenship. 

DACA Fines/Fees

Issue: Although DACA recipients are technically considered to be legally in the country – due to the vagueness of our laws, they should not be given blanket amnesty

Solution: Any program that addresses DACA must require all applicants to pay a fine/fee to apply. And, these fees should go to funding enhanced border security.”
_______
 
QUESTIONS:
 
Q: Is the congressman aware that 8 USC 1227 provides for removal of aliens who remain in the U.S. longer than authorized and who are inadmissable? Can you please explain the position that the laws on visa overstays/unlawful presence are “vague?” 
 
Q: Will you please cite or explain the “contingent nonimmigrant legal status” (CNS)” – which would allow them to stay in the country, but would not automatically grant them U.S. citizenship.” Is this a federal immigration status of which I am not aware? Is this a legalization/amnesty proposal from the congressman that he has dubbed “CNS?”
 
Q: USCIS has long explained that DACA does not provide legal status or lawful presence. The 11th District appellate court has also ruled with the same findings; and that DACA recipients are “inadmissible and thus removable under federal law.”  
Can you please explain the statement that “DACA recipients are technically considered to be legally in the country?”
 
Q: Does the congressman’s reported remarks to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce audience in Atlanta confirm his support for legalization and a path to U.S. citizenship for the current DACA recipients? If so, does he foresee the same support for the future legalization and path to U.S. citizenship of the tens of thousands of illegal alien children whose parents have overstayed temporary visas and who have been illegally brought over our borders in the years since 2012, today and next week? 
 
Thank you in advance, please feel free to contact me with any questions or clarification.
 
D.A. King
Marietta

Georgia’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board: ‘An Example of What Not to Do’: Where Immigration Law Is Enforced – Usually Not Enforced – by Political Appointees Granted the Power of Courts

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Image: Bensbiltong.com
Originally published in Pew’s Stateline, the below is from the influential Governing Magazine” From our eight years of personal experience with the IERB, we will have plenty to add soon, but a “parody of a Kangaroo Court” is a good start.

An Example of What Not to Do’: The State Where Immigration Law Is Enforced by Political Appointees Granted the Power of Courts

BY | JANUARY 4, 2019 AT 7:14 AM

Over the past few years, statehouses around the country have tried to rein in cities deemed too friendly to undocumented immigrants. But Georgia is the only state that’s created an independent board with one specific mission: Punishing cities that aren’t doing enough to crack down on illegal immigration.

Typically, that responsibility falls to state attorneys general. But in Georgia, residents can file a complaint against any city or county they judge to be breaking state immigration law.

Until a recent case against the small liberal town of Decatur, though, all but one of the complaints had come from one private citizen, an avowed anti-illegal immigration activist who’s made this his life’s calling.

Then the lieutenant governor, Republican Casey Cagle, filed a complaint accusing Decatur of violating state immigration law last year as he was running for governor. And on Facebook, he threatened to yank its state funding.

“Liberal politicians in the City of Decatur are trying to put the interests of criminal illegal aliens ahead of our safety — and I will not allow it!” Cagle wrote. (He did not respond to repeated requests from Stateline for comment.)

Few locals have heard of it, but Georgia’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board was created seven years ago, when the state passed one of the nation’s strictest immigration laws. Trying to keep track of the legal comings and goings of the IERB, as the board is known, can be dizzying.

Most of its members are not attorneys or immigration experts. All are volunteers — and all are political appointees, which in this red state, makes it a majority Republican board.

And while technically not a court, the board has been given many of the powers of a court: It investigates alleged wrongdoing, subpoenas witnesses and hears testimony.

The board has the power to recommend sanctions against municipalities found to be in the wrong — and ultimately, withhold millions in state funding from them as punishment.

So far, though, it has levied just one lasting fine, for $1,000 against Atlanta. A handful of small cities, though, have been forced to spend time and money defending themselves against accusations.

Two of the immigration board members refused to step down years after their terms ended, and did so only in 2018, when they were sued by a Decatur resident and accused of violating Georgia law.

“The Georgia board is an example of what not to do, rather than a model for something effective,” said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies, a national research and advocacy group that favors limited immigration to the United States.

“It’s troubling,” Vaughan said, “to have that authority go to a politically appointed group that lacks expertise in the subject matter.”

The city of Decatur has filed two lawsuits against the board, saying it has violated public meetings and public records laws; the Georgia First Amendment Foundation and the Southern Poverty Law Center joined one of the suits in December. (Under James Balli’s tenure as chair, he has made efforts to make the board more transparent, including releasing records to a reporter.)

Balli, said it is just complying with state immigration law in its work, and until that law is changed, it’ll continue with its charge.

The 2011 law the board is focused on, HB 87, permits law enforcement officers to stop anyone they deem to be “suspicious” and ask for their papers. The law also requires cities and counties, and many businesses, to use E-Verify to ensure workers are in the country legally; and punishes those who use fake identification to get work.

“The goal is compliance, not punishment,” Balli said.

“We’re not anti-immigration,” Balli said, adding that his grandmother was an immigrant from Mexico. “We don’t want that to be the picture of this board.”

Atlanta’s Hippie Cousin

Decatur’s been described as a speck of blue in a sea of red, and that is true — up to a point. There have always been specks of blue in Georgia, and the state is increasingly trending purple. In November, Democrat Stacey Abrams narrowly lost to Republican Brian Kemp in the race for governor.

But Decatur, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution puts it, is “renowned as a bastion of Southern liberalism.” It’s Atlanta’s hippie cousin — population 23,800 — 4 square miles of bungalows, yoga studios and farm-to-table fare. In 2016, 86 percent of voters here cast their lot with Hillary Clinton.

Both Decatur and its next-door neighbor Atlanta issued directives in 2017 ordering local police not to detain immigrants, barring a court order. Decatur doesn’t even have a jail — and has few immigrants.

But for the past year, it is Decatur, not Atlanta, that has been in battle with the state, fighting accusations that it is a sanctuary city.

And even though the IERB has yet to yank state funding in any of the cases it’s heard, Decatur officials say they worry the city could lose millions in funding if the board tried to take action.

‘Kangaroo Court’

Many critics of the board, who fall on both sides of the immigration battle, have said it should be disbanded.

“It’s a court that operates in very strange, mostly nontransparent ways and yet has a tremendous amount of power,” said Naomi Tsu, who oversees the legal and advocacy work on behalf of immigrants in the Deep South for the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center. The center has profiled the IERB on its “Hatewatch” blog.

Then there’s Marietta, Georgia, resident D.A. King, who’s filed 20 of the 22 complaints that have come before the board. He called the IERB a “parody of a kangaroo court.”

King, a Detroit native, describes himself as a nationalist “along the lines of a George Washington,” but says that he’s not a white supremacist. Nor is he against legal immigration. “My adopted sister is from Korea,” he said.

“I’m trying to educate people about immigration. It’s about the law and what’s good for America and Americans.” Read the rest of the report here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

D.A. King, Jorge Ramos 2013. Image, Univision.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

D.A. King, who describes himself as “pro-enforcement on sustainable immigration” is a former U.S. Marine and a nationally recognized authority on immigration-related matters who has been to the Southwest border many times and has been a reluctant denizen of the Georgia State Capitol for the last fifteen years. He has organized more than twenty rallies against a repeat of the 1986 amnesty of illegal aliens, both in the Atlanta area and in Washington DC.

D.A. is president and founder of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society. In addition to appearing on countless TV and radio and networks, since 2003 when he put aside his own insurance business and became active on immigration enforcement, his columns on immigration and legislative capers have been published in many newspapers – including a thirteen-year stint in the Marietta Daily Journal – as well as Breitbart News and the subscription website, Insider Advantage Georgia.

King has been profiled by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Associated Press, on the front page of the New York Times and has been interviewed by Univision’s open borders advocate, Jorge Ramos. He is hated by the discredited SPLC and the corporate-funded anti-enforcement lobby and has been blacklisted by the liberal establishment media in Atlanta for several years. With thanks to Georgia Senator David Perdue, King led the successful effort that concluded in January 2016 to keep GALEO’s Dax Lopez off the federal bench. D.A. advises politicians to heed congressional testimony of the late Barbara Jordan on immigration and enforcement.

King is a supporter of English as the official language of the United States, the federal 287(g) enforcement tool and the E-Verify system and  has assisted legislators with the creation of illegal immigration-related state bills including SB529 in 2006 and HB87 in 2011. He is currently active in an effort to see actual enforcement of state laws passed to protect Georgian’s jobs benefits and services from the crimes of illegal employment and illegal immigration.

King advocates for the abolition of Georgia’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board (IERB), which he says is a “travesty of a mockery of a sham of a Kangaroo Court.”

ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com was created in late 2018 with personal funds in an effort to provide news and opinion now mostly muffled and hidden by the MSM in Georgia. Married to the love of his life, Sue, since 1982, D.A. King has operated on personal savings and donations from patriotic Americans since 2003. He is not a member of any political party and also describes himself as a proud American Nationalist.

D.A. King- organized rally against amnesty at the White House, April, 2007. Image: Dustin Inman Society