Immigration Politics Georgia

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GOP Rep. Biggs Predicts 10 Million Illegal Aliens Will Have Entered U.S. by End of Biden Admin

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Justthenews.com

Sept. 24, 2023

Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs on Thursday backed former President Donald Trump’s calls to conduct a mass deportation of illegal immigrants over the age of 14.

Addressing supporters in Iowa at a recent rally, Trump vowed to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to enable the widespread deportation effort.

“[I]t’s actually gonna have to be necessary,” he said on the “Just the News, No Noise” television show. “Because by the time Trump gets back in office, you will have had over 10 million, in my opinion, over 10 million illegal aliens cross our border and come into the country, under the Biden regime.”

More than 6 million people have illegally entered the United States since President Joe Biden took office in January of 2021. Immigration remains one of Biden’s worst issues in terms of public opinion, with 33.6% of Americans approving of his performance in the RealClearPolitics polling average. By contrast, 62.8% disapprove of his efforts. Should Trump win the 2024 presidential election, he would take office in January of 2025.

“And so when you start deporting people, and removing them from this country, what that does is that disincentivizes the tens of thousands of people who are coming,” he went on. “And by the way, everyday down in Darién Gap, which is in Panama… over 5,000 people a day… here.

In-state tuition for illegal immigrants is a major problem for our society

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“First, it provides another incentive for illegal migration to the United States: American schools are better than the universities in most migrants’ home countries, and the opportunity for discounted tuition is attractive.”

CampusReform.org

August 29, 2023

I’ve lived in Houston for 15 years. I know that rising college tuition and illegal immigration are two problems that Texas must address if it is going to remain one of the most desirable states to live in.

Adam Ellwanger is a professor of English at the University of Houston – Downtown. His primary areas of expertise are rhetoric and critical theory. He writes political and cultural commentary for outlets like Human Events, Quillette, American Greatness, The American Conservative, New Discourses, Minding the Campus, and many more.

 

As a university professor who has lived and taught in Houston for 15 years, I know that rising college tuition and illegal immigration are two major problems that Texas will soon need to address if it is going to remain one of the most desirable states to live in.

As college tuition rises around the nation, many states are creating new laws to accommodate the rapidly-increasing number of undocumented residents. One example is policies that make it easier and cheaper for illegal immigrants to attend university – policies not only increase competition for citizens seeking college admission, but ones that can ensure that some American students pay more for school than non-citizens.

Campus Reform correspondent Emily Fowler recently reported that the University of North Texas has adopted a policy that allows illegal immigrants living in Texas to pay the in-state tuition rate, a move that means most American citizens would pay more to attend the school than people who committed a crime by entering the country.

This is a major problem for our society, and it is more common than many people suppose. It is tempting to place all the blame on the woke universities who give discounted tuition to non-citizens. But in the case of Texas, schools are simply following the lead established by the state government.

[RELATED: PROF ELLWANGER: New ‘victim studies’ is a fake discipline]

The federal government allows any American to apply for student loans by filling out the FAFSA– the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. In Texas, though, students may also fill out the TASFA – the Texas Application for State Financial Aid, which offers loans, scholarships, and grants. The website of the University of Texas at Arlington announces that Texas “grants resident status for tuition purposes to certain non-resident students.” The criteria that determine who can apply for state aid say that the applicant must be a “US citizen or eligible non-citizen.”

Please read the entire column from Campus reform here.

Huzzah! Savannah Rep Jesse Petrea: ‘Amend the state constitution – “NO!” to foreign cops in GA!’

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Rep Jesse Petrea (R- Savannah)

Despite media hype, work permits do not confer legal immigration status – DACA itself  is illegal

 

Kudos, many thanks, and huzzah to Republican state Rep Jesse Petrea! The Savannah House member announced last week that he intends to create the opportunity for Georgia voters to decide on a ballot question next year aimed at putting into the state constitution the current state law that says all Georgia law enforcement officers must be Americans.

 Petrea’s (Jesse’s name is ‘Pea-tree’) announcement that he will introduce a House Resolution to propose a ballot question for the 2024 election asking if the Georgia Constitution will be amended is a response to a law recently put in place in Illinois by the Democrats. He wrote an August 10 column for the prestigious “James Magazine Online” (formerly ‘Insider Advantage’) outlining his intention.

Joining the states of California and Colorado and other locales, recent news reports from Illinois explain that Democrats there passed a law that allows foreigners to be certified as law enforcement officers. Yes, you heard that right. As of last week, it is not necessary to be an American to be a cop in Illinois”

wrote Petrea.

He correctly noted that “it gets much worse. This new law also allows foreigners who are in the U.S. illegally to enforce American laws.”

Rep Petrea also explains that as usual, the agenda-driven liberal media is working overtime to hide the facts on this lunacy:

“In an apparent attempt to confuse the issue, media reports are quick to inform us that the Illinois law conditions eligibility on work authorization by the federal government. The hoped-for effect is that trusting Americans will assume that illegal aliens would not be eligible to be cops in Illinois. You are supposed to believe that a federally issued Employment Authorization Document known as an “EAD” (a work permit) somehow grants legal immigration status.

It doesn’t. It is imperative that all Georgians understand this.

For example, virtually all recipients of former President Barack Obama’s DACA program have been awarded a work permit. But, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) DACA recipients do not have legal status. And in March of 2019 the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit found that illegal aliens with DACA status are nevertheless illegal aliens. From the opinion: “As DACA recipients, they simply were given a reprieve from potential removal; that does not mean they are in any way ‘lawfully present’ under the (Immigration and Nationality) Act.”

There is much more information in Rep Petrea’s well-written and informative James Magazine Online column, and I don’t want to give it all away here. The CEO and publisher at ‘JMO’, my friend Phil Kent, has graciously waived the usual paywall access on that subscription only site so you can read the entire piece at no cost at the James Magazine Online.

I’ll have more to say soon on the media’s participation in hiding the facts around the Democrat effort to put foreigners, including illegal aliens, in a position of power over Americans in America. For now, let me respectfully urge readers to extract firm responses from your own state Reps on their position on signing on to Rep Petrea’s Resolution as cosponsors.

  • Related: Contact Rep Petrea’s Capitol office and leave a hearty “Thank you” here.

Resolutions to allow a citizen vote on amending the constitution must pass both chambers (House and Senate) by a two-thirds majority which means this needs Democrat votes to pass.

I predict massive, bipartisan support by a majority of Georgia voters for this commonsense idea. Any Georgia lawmaker who won’t allow us to vote on Petrea’s ballot question is effectively saying foreigners – including some illegal aliens – should someday have the power to enforce American laws in Georgia.

A version of this column was published in the August 14, 2023 edition of  The Islander in Glynn County, GA.

Letter in the Brunswick (GA) News from retired immigration officer Bob Trent: ‘Florida reminds us enforcement works’

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Letters

July 14, 2023

Florida reminds us enforcement works

 

The uber-liberal NPR put out a news story recently with a quote from Florida state Rep. Rick Roth lamenting the fact that illegal aliens are migrating out of his state because of the new illegal immigration law. A primary destination? Brian Kemp’s GOP-ruled Georgia, according to the Republican lawmaker. The now-panicked Roth is a farmer who apparently has a business model that includes use of black-market labor instead of using the more costly legal foreign workers the little-publicized H2A visa provides.

Rep. Rick Roth

To nobody’s surprise, Florida’s “undocumented” are informed enough to know that it is safer to move to where enforcement of state laws aimed at illegal immigration is clearly not a concern than to remain in one where it could happen.

While it is obviously unintentional, as a group, Roth, the illegal aliens and Kemp are providing a clear lesson on solving the critical issue of our time: Enforcement works, and when defiant leaders like “I-got-a-big -truck” Kemp betray us on their pro-enforcement campaign promises, more illegal immigration ensues.

GA Gov. Brian Kemp

Conservative voters should remember all this when Kemp runs for U.S. Senate. I will.

Robert Trent

St. Marys

Here.

______

Note from D.A.: I added a few links and photos to the above letter to educate the reader. Bob Trent’s professional bio below.

Robert Trent: Immigration enforcement career as follows:
* Graduated from the U.S. Border Patrol Academy 10/1978
* Patrol Agent, El Centro, CA 10/78 – 11/1984
* Patrol Agent, Beecher Falls, VT 11/1984-6/1988
* Special Agent, Washington District Office, 6/1988 (Assignments: Anti-Smuggling Unit; and Asian Organized Crime Task Force.
* Senior Special Agent, Washington District Office, 1993 (Assigned to the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force “OCDETF”)
* Assistant Director, US Immigration Officer Academy, 2001, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA (in charge of all enforcement training programs)
* Detailed to the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of State to co-direct the investigative operations regarding corruption in U.S. Consulates.

 

GA senate: “Yes” to Adult Education for illegal aliens #SB112

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Sen Jason Anavitarte (R- Dallas) sponsor, SB 112.

 

“More than three months after the bill passed the senate you can evidently still read it before senate leadership does.”

  • It is a violation of state law (OCGA 50-36-1) to reward illegals with Adult Education

 

By Inger Eberhart

My colleague D.A. King’s recent Insider Advantage column (‘GOP senators and another ‘Americans last’ tuition bill’) shined some much needed light on troubling Gold Dome legislation. But there is more.

Inger Eberhart

D.A. quoted from an article I wrote for IA last year on the same topic (‘Vote on HB 932 putting refugees ahead of Americans’) in which I sarcastically urged House leaders to put a near duplicate bill on the floor so voters could see “who’s who” in a recorded vote. Happily for “America First” Georgians and thanks to House Higher Education Committee Chairman Chuck Martin, the bill expired without a committee vote.

I will not be offering the state Senate the same challenge because there is no reason to think such a special interest – propelled measure would not quickly receive a “yes” vote from the Republican senators.

Less informed voters should know that when it comes to immigration-related bills blindly passed in the senate as a result of the endless “we need more workers” howls from corporate lobbyists, the current senate is an amazingly obedient body that approaches ‘rubber stamp’ territory.

As an illustration, I offer the substance of another senate bill now pending in the House, SB 112 sponsored by Republican Sen Jason Anavitarte and a lengthy list of GOP cosponsors.

Apparently a “two-fer,” this one was presented as the “WorkforceEXCELerationAct” while Anavitarte explained that it would result in “more jobs and more workers!”

Flier promoting Sen Anavitarte’s SB 112 after it passed the GOP-led state senate.

Aimed at creating “Pilot Program” to create a new and apparently additional system of taxpayer-financed Adult Education, SB 112 would send adults without one to the Technical College System of Georgia to obtain a high school diploma. The wording on eligibility (line 46): “…individuals residing in this state who are 21 years of age or older and who have not attained a high school diploma…”

  • The bill says existing state law that prohibit this goal may be waived – federal laws too.

There was no language that would exclude the tens of thousands of illegal aliens matching that description who call Georgia home from the new state benefit. And yes, it is still a violation of federal law to hire illegal aliens.

But in a move we don’t see every day, Anavitarte’s bill does include a memorable mention of federal law – an intention to “waive” it. Lines 55-57: … “the state board and the State Board of Education shall be authorized to seek waivers or variances of federal laws, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures that may be reasonably necessary to meet the goals of the pilot program.”

The bill also put in place language to waive state laws (lines 51-55).

It is a violation of state law (OCGA 50-36-1) to reward illegals with Adult Education.

Nevertheless, Sen Anavitarte’s “more jobs and workers” bill passed the senate (Senate Vote 54) on February 16, 2023 with only one Republican voting against it (Freshman Colton Moore of Trenton). To be fair, only three Democrats voted “nay.”

The language as passed by the senate is here. More than three months after the bill passed the senate you can evidently still read it before senate leadership does.

Voters concerned about the fact that Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than Arizona while the GOP-led legislature offers encouragement for more to come and the looming budget crunch may want to mention all of this to their own state legislators.

Anavitarte’s bizarrely written SB 112 is alive in the House Higher Education Committee but has been cleaned up by attentive leadership there. Illegal aliens are no longer included in the proposed new benefit. We think the problem now is that nobody can offer a lucid explanation of why we need an additional Adult Education program.

An independent voter, Inger Eberhart is the communications director at the Dustin Inman Society and a founding member of its board of advisors.

 

 

 

The liberal AJC vs the liberal AJC on un-American tuition bill

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AJC senior editors

The Atlanta Journal Constitution should run a correction

My column posted here (and here) last week (GOP senators and another ‘Americans last’ tuition bill) concerned several Republican state senators cosponsoring a Democrat bill (SB 264) aimed at amending state law on in-state tuition. I didn’t get to the fact that the left-wing Atlanta Journal Constitution is unapologetically pushing the bill in its opinion posts with agenda-driven misinformation.

In a May 24, 2023 post AJC ‘Get Schooled’ blog writer Maureen Downey leads readers to believe that refugees are unable to access instate tuition. She introduced a guest column from an Afghan woman, Husnia Jamal, who apparently entered the U.S. as a refugee. “In a guest column, Jamal urges Georgia to embrace legislation that would allow refugees to qualify for in-state tuition. Several related measures stalled, including two bipartisan bills that would provide in-state tuition for refugees,” wrote Downey.

In that article (“Opinion: Afghan women refugees like me want a future in Georgia”) guest writer Jamal tells readers “But I, like so many other displaced people living in Georgia, found out that I could not access in-state tuition here — no matter how long I live, work, or pay state taxes — because of my immigration status. This makes it harder for us to rebuild our lives.”

“Bipartisan bills introduced in the Georgia state House and Senate this year would have changed that. The bills did not succeed” wrote Jamal.

It would nice to know exactly what visa she used to enter the U.S. but it is safe to assume that if she is not a refugee, Jamal is likely a beneficiary of the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole or is in the category of  “special immigrant.” Otherwise inadmissible aliens in that status are known as “Special Visa Immigrants”, or SIVs.

The reality is that state law (OCGA 20-3-66) as well as Regent’s policy (4.3.2.3) says new residents (even Afghans) must live here for a year before they can be eligible for the instate tuition rate. After that, foreign nationals with legal status – including refugees – can access the lower instate rate. Just like Americans.

  • Related: Atlanta Journal Constitution (newsroom) ethics code

Note to AJC opinion editors: That fact is reflected in at least two AJC news reports on last year’s version of the bills Downey wrote about.

“Currently, refugees must wait one year after settling in Georgia to establish residency to qualify for the lower in-state tuition rates, which are roughly three times smaller than their out-of-state counterparts” says the AJC in a Feb 24, 2022 news report (Georgia lawmakers favor tuition bill for refugee college students).

And in a one-sided January 2002 news report (Lawmakers introduce bill to help refugees attend Georgia colleges) “House Bill 932 seeks to extend in-state tuition rates to refugee students at the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia as soon as they settle in the state. Under U.S. law, refugees are people who must relocate from their home country because of humanitarian concerns.”

The ‘Report for America’ immigration team reporter at the Atlanta paper went on with “currently they must abide by a one-year waiting period after settling in Georgia to establish residency and qualify for the lower in-state tuition rates, which are roughly three times smaller than their out-of-state counterparts” – again.

The AJC sub headline then was “legislation would help refugees qualify for more affordable in-state tuition rates as soon as they settle in the state.

As I wrote, while excluding Americans, SB 264 is written to change state law so that a list of foreigners can obtain the instate tuition rate “immediately upon settlement in Georgia.” All concerned – including state lawmakers and AJC opinion staff– should read lines 22 and 23 in the bill.

Copying senior AJC editors and the new publisher, Andrew Morse, I sent a letter for publication to the newspaper pointing out the inaccuracy in Downey’s work asking for a correction. Soon after I received a “reply all” answer from opinion editor Andre Jackson who told me that in his opinion “no correction’s warranted to the Op-Ed.”

Oh.

We think it’s worth knowing what’s really going on.

Senator Mike Dugan and SB 264

The story around SB 264 continues to expand. A version of my original IA column was later published in the Star News in exurban Carroll County which is in Republican state Senator Mike Dugan’s district (Dugan is the number two signer on the Democrat bill). The Star News editor ran a response from Dugan in the same edition that contains some remarkable inaccuracies, including his assurance to his constituents that the bill never had a hearing and is now somehow dead. The fact is that there was a hearing on SB 264 and it is very much alive under the Gold Dome for 2024. Interested readers can see a video archive of that hearing and a well-sourced fact check at ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com.

King is head of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society and proprietor of ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com.

A version of the above column was posted on the subscription outlet Insider Advantage Georgia on June 14, 2023

‘Americans last’ tuition bill: Sen. Mike Dugan’s response to my Star News column on SB 264 and a fact check

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Last week Insider Advantage posted my column on the pending instate tuition bill, SB 264 and its Republican cosponsors. A version of the column was later published in the June 11, 2023 edition of the (Carroll County) Star News (there is another version here. Also a post on the bill with more information here). The Star News editor also published a reply from SB 264 cosponsor Sen. Mike Dugan below my column in which he makes some astoundingly inaccurate claims in defense of his support for the legislation. As there is not yet a dedicated link to Senator Dugan’s Star News response, I post a screen shot of his reply below.

June 11, 2023 edition Carrol County Star News, page 17.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My fact-check reply to Sen Dugan’s response:

  • Senator Dugan writes that “the bill never even got a committee hearing.”

The reality is that the Senate Higher Education Committee held a hearing on the bill on March 16, 2023. I watched it. The link to archived video, transcript, and a photo from that meeting is here.

  • Senator Dugan: “…the language in SB 264 already exists in Georgia law with the exception of the term “Special Immigrants.”

We ask that Sen. Dugan cite that language in Georgia law.

Senate Bill 264 amends state law to read that “…refugees, special immigrants and humanitarian parolees shall be classified as in-state for tuition purposes immediately upon settlement in Georgia;” This would remove the existing 12 month residency requirement for that group of foreign nationals. It would not do the same for Americans. Please see lines 17 – 23. This language is not in existing state law.

We advise all concerned to read the explanation of the bill from its originators when it was numbered HB 932 in 2022. That attempt failed when the House Higher Education Committee chairman declined to advance the bill.

Sen Dugan is correct that the measure would add the term “special immigrants” (known as “SIVs”) to the code, but SIVs already have Lawful Permanent Residence status. And OCGA 20-3-66  (3) (e) –  (and Board of Regents policy 4.3.2.3) – already grants individuals with LPR status “the same consideration as citizens of the United States in determining whether they qualify for in-state classification.”

  • Senator Dugan in his reply column: “What defines Special Immigrants is listed under 8 USC 1157.”

Reality: 8 U.S. Code § 1157  deals with refugees as is made clear in the law’s caption: “Annual admission of refugees and admission of emergency situation refugees.” Refugees are not SIVs. “Refugee” is defined in multiple links throughout the federal law as posted here.

SIVs are defined and created in federal laws cited in the language of the bill (lines 18-22).

 More on special immigrants (SIVs) here

  • Sen Dugan writes that that the term “Special Immigrants” includes “…those who were forced to flee the Russian aggression in the Ukraine.”

 Actually, some Ukrainians are allowed to enter the U.S. under Humanitarian Parole status (a good explanation here) and some have received Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS is not SIV. Neither is Humanitarian Parole.

  • Senator Dugan: “I think that it is fair that those who fought beside us be able to become contributing persons while living in our nation.”

Fine. Very noble. But the Democrat legislation Sen Dugan has put his name on and is pushing creates a benefit and significant monetary savings for foreign nationals that is not available to Americans in their own country. And he is wildly inaccurate in his defense of that decision.

     Related: Refugee Resettlement Fraud in the Program for U.S.-Affiliated Iraqis – A repeat scenario with Afghan nationals?

  • On SB 264 Sen Dugan writes: “This is what SB 264 would have done if passed. Realistically we will never know because SB 264 did not advance in the House or the Senate.”

This is another head-shaker. It is difficult to understand this statement. SB 264 was dropped in the Senate hopper on February 27, 2023. While it had a hearing (without a vote) after Crossover Day, it can still easily advance. Because the Georgia General Assembly operates on a biennial system, legislation that didn’t pass will be carried over to the second half of the biennial General Assembly starting January 8 2024. Realistically the legislation is quite viable for the 2024 session.

________

Notes.

From information on the University of West Georgia website we see that the instate tuition rate at UWG is $2186.00 (12 credit hours) vs the out-of-state cost of $7712.00 per semester.

 Ga. Code § 20-3-66

Section 20-3-66 – Determination of in-state resident status of students for tuition or fees

(b)(1)

“An independent student who has established and maintained a domicile in the State of Georgia for a period of at least 12 consecutive months immediately preceding the first day of classes for the term shall be classified as in-state for tuition purposes.”

A quick look at the Board of Regents webpage on instate tuition eligibility illustrates the same truth: ”…lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or other eligible noncitizens may be extended the same consideration as citizens of the United States in determining whether they qualify for in-state classification.” Because they have LPR status, this already includes SIV recipients.

SB 195 dismantles state law on illegal aliens accessing occupational licenses: It passed senate with zero “no” votes

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Update: SB 195 saw significant change (improvement) in the House and passed that body on March 27, 2023. See House vote 319 here.

SB 195 is yet another Republican bill under the Gold Dome apparently aimed at dismantling law we worked to put in place making life more difficult for illegal aliens. It passed the senate on March 6 without any member voting against it (vote record on the bottom).

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce goal is to allow a member of the U.S. military and their spouses to see a fast track to obtaining a professional or occupational license. According to the bill, generally, if a spouse of a member of the military moves to Georgia and already “holds a current and valid license to practice a profession, business, or trade issued by another state for an occupation with a similar scope of practice in this state” the Georgia licensing process will be “expedited.”

Professional and occupational licenses are “public benefits” under state law.

Bills we worked to see passed in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013 deal with a verification system in which applicants for occupational and professional licenses must swear on an affidavit they are eligible for the public benefit because of U.S. citizenship of are have “lawful presence.” That system is set up in OCGA 50-36-1. That existing verification system should not be waived for anyone, including a spouse of a member of the military who could be in the U.S. illegally.

Sen. Larry Walker (R- Perry) lead sponsor of SB 195. Other sponsors here.

The bill is easily fixed with the addition of this sentence: “Nothing contained in this Code section shall be construed to permit the issuance of a license without verification under Code Section 50-36-1.”

Please contact your own state Rep and point this out? We doubt this is the only such bill.

Also please contact the chairman of the House Regulated Industries committee, Rep Alan Powell at his Gold Dome office 404-463-3793 – alan.powell@house.ga.gov . just leave a polite message on voice mail or with the staffer who answers the phone: We are watching SB 195 and want to be sure you add ‘belt and suspenders’ language to keep illegal aliens out of our occupational and professional licensing process.”

 

Nine Republican states have filed in federal court to shut down the illegal DACA program – GA not participating #BrianKemp #ChrisCarr

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GA Gov Brian Kemp (R), GA AG Chris Carr.
Photo: The GA. Virtue

 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on filed a new motion in the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court late last month asking the court to rule the latest version of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals unconstitutional and to end it all together. Eight other Republican controlled state joined the effort.

Georgia is not listed on the lawsuit.

The states that joined Texas’ bid to terminate DACA were Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kansas and Mississippi. They have argued that DACA is an illegal overreach of executive power, and that only Congress has the authority to grant unauthorized immigrants federal benefits

DACA has repeatedly been ruled illegal but allowed it to remain in place for existing DACA recipients.  

According to a 2019 11th circuit appellate court decision, DACA does not change the illegal status of recipients except to delay deportation proceedings. Both sides of the debate expect the DACA program to be euthanized altogether by the Supreme Court after another loss for supporters in an October 5, 2022, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals finding. The court upheld an earlier ruling in Texas that DACA is not a lawful program. 

  • Related: Twenty GOP states are challenging Biden’s illegal border parole hustle in a Texas federal court – GA is not one of them
  • Related: GOP-Led States Ask SCOTUS to Restore Prohibition on Encouraging Illegal Immigration – GA Stands Back, Again

Gov Kemp’s office phone number at the state Capitol is 404-656-1776.