HB 444 needs work 

*Updated: 2:12 PM Feb. 3, 2020

 

More attention should be paid to Georgia’s “dual enrollment” program, related legislation and the very real possibility that illegal aliens in high school are taking seats in the university system while avoiding the verification process for “lawful presence” through which the rest of the college applicants are supposed to be screened.

If we understand it correctly, high school students are taking state-funded college seats – with no cost to the student.

The SAVE program is the default federal tool in state law (OCGA 50-36-1) used to verify eligibility of foreign nationals for a host of Public Benefits. Post-secondary education is exempted from the verification mandate but USG implemented policy to verify “lawful presence” and the use of the SAVE program in 2010.

Covering legislation dealing with proposed changes to the system, in a recent “What to know about Georgia’s dual enrollment bill” the AJC reports that “supporters of the bill say the program’s costs have skyrocketed in recent years and changes are necessary to make it sustainable. About 52,000 students are currently enrolled in the program.”

Line 52 of the pending HB 444 defines an “eligible student” for dual enrollment but we don’t see any language that would exclude illegal aliens or that requires any verification process. *UPDATE: We don’t see any on the paper dual enrollment funding application either.

Before final action is taken on the bill, more questions should be asked.

Where in the law and the legislation does the dual enrollment system exclude illegal aliens from the very costly program? Where is language that requires USG to use their in-place verification system for dual enrollment students?

Maybe it is already policy, but putting a verification requirement into dual enrollment law should be considered the belt to go with any USG policy suspenders. Maybe the AJC will do an “everything you need to know” expansion piece on this.

If these students are indeed “undocumented” how can USG verify “lawful presence”?

USG provides answers on how not to verify “lawful presence”

USG (correctly) does not accept the Department of Driver’s Services ‘LIMITED TERM’ driver’s license as verification of lawful presence for purposes of admission and/or determining eligibility for instate tuition.

For the unaware, because the feds have issued work permits (EADs) and SSNs to them, Georgia issues the exact same ID and driving credentials to illegal aliens with deferred action on deportation (and several other “you can stay for awhile” categories of illegal aliens) that is issued to real immigrants (green card holders) and temporary visas holders who did obey federal immigration law. Repeat: the identical credential.

Because they are REAL ID Act compliant, these credentials are used to board airliners, purchase explosives and as admittance to federal buildings.

Several other states including Michigan, South Carolina and even California have systems in place that create a separate non-REAL ID Act compliant credential. The Republican-ruled Georgia state senate passed legislation in 2016 that mandated a new and additional, separate design. That bill never saw a hearing in the Republican House.

It should be noted that the REAL ID Act – Section 202, (2)(B) – dictates that deferred action on deportation is “evidence of legal status” – for purposes of driver’s licenses/ID issuance only. The REAL ID Act does not require states to issue credentials to anyone.

The below from page 17 of the University System of Georgia Manual for Determining Tuition Classification And Awarding Out-of-State Tuition Waivers.

“SYSTEMATIC ALIEN VERIFICATION FOR ENTITLEMENTS (SAVE) PROGRAM

In some cases, it will not be possible to verify the lawful presence of a non-citizen student using the typical options provided on the USG Verification of Lawful Presence Chart, such as verifying using a U.S. birth certificate, Georgia driver’s license (not limited term), U.S. citizenship paperwork, or based on the student’s confirmed eligibility for federal student aid. In those cases, it may be necessary to use a program provided by the Department of Homeland Security called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, or SAVE…” Bold emphasis mine.

USG is admitting that the ‘LIMITED TERM’ driver’s licenses issued by DDS are not reliable indicator of who is and who isn’t an illegal alien.

It’s time to reform the dual enrollment program and the system for issuing driving and ID credentials in Georgia.

**PUBLIC SERVICE INFO: CONTACT YOUR GEORGIA STATE REP HERE.

D.A. King is president of the 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?

 

 

 

 

 

 

State law requires DPS agreement with ICE and ten officers to be trained annually

Dear reader,

Please try to imagine the screaming, bold-font, front page headlines, top of the news broadcast frenzy and the endless, angry wailing from the corporate-funded anti-enforcement lobby if Georgia had a law in place banning 287(g) agreements (as does Democrat Illinois) while any Georgia law enforcement agency ignored that law and obtained such an agreement with ICE.

There is a lot of information in the embedded links.

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Updated in 2011, Georgia law requires the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to negotiate an agreement with ICE to be 287(g) authorized and to designate no fewer than ten peace officers to be trained for the program – every year.

For the unaware, 287(g) is a federal program that allows certain local or state law enforcement officers to act as immigration agents on a limited basis.

Despite the law (HB87) passed by the General Assembly and signed by then Governor Nathan Deal, DPS is not on the list of law enforcement agencies that are 287(g) “Participating Entities” with ICE. “As of July 2019, ICE has 287(g)… agreements with 79 law enforcement agencies in 21 states,” we are told – but not with DPS.

DPS did have an ICE agreement (MOA) but it was canceled when the re-elected Obama administration scaled back the program at the end of 2012. But, DPS could easily have reapplied after Obama left office. See the letter response from DPS the commissioner to a curious then state senator here.

ICE is open for business on 287(g) now and has been since January 2017

As one of his first acts after being sworn in to office, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled ‘Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States’ in which he made it clear that the 287(g) program was high on his priority list to attack the nation’s illegal immigration crisis.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), and in order to ensure the public safety of the American people in communities across the United States as well as to ensure that our Nation’s immigration laws are faithfully executed, I hereby declare the policy of the executive branch to be, and order, as follows:… “The purpose of this order is to direct executive departments and agencies (agencies) to employ all lawful means to enforce the immigration laws of the United States.

The president’s Executive Order had 17 sections. Because the Nathan Deal administration ignored it, people in the current executive branch of Georgia state government may want to pay extra attention to Section 8, which reads in part:

Federal-State Agreements. It is the policy of the executive branch to empower State and local law enforcement agencies across the country to perform the functions of an immigration officer in the interior of the United States to the maximum extent permitted by law.

In furtherance of this policy, the Secretary shall immediately take appropriate action to engage with the Governors of the States, as well as local officials, for the purpose of preparing to enter into agreements under section 287(g) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1357(g))….”

The Executive Order can be read in its entirety here and the accompanying memorandum signed by then DHS Secretary John Kelly that implements the Trump EO can be read here.

The 287(g) program has different ‘models’ – one for use inside jails, (the Jail Enforcement Model) another more narrow arrangement called “Warrant Service Officer Model”- and one for use by law enforcement who are carrying out their normal duties outside jails – think of it as a “street model – formally known as the “Task Force Model.” Readers who want more information on the details can see here.

Georgia’s DPS had the Task Force model. I am informed by ICE that currently there are no Task Force model agreements in place. DPS can change that fact.

There appears to be no reason for DPS not making a valid attempt to regain the 287(g) authority it is mandated to have in place by re-applying to ICE.

We sent an open records request to DPS asking for copies of any such application and received a negative reply.

I also sent a detailed formal media request for comment for this write-up to DPS and got back only “we are in receipt of your request” but as of this writing (July 23, noon-ish) have not received any comment, explanation or denial of our assumption that DPS is in violation of state law. If this is not the case, we are anxious to hear why.

In a state with more illegal aliens than green card holders, we are even more anxious to hear from Governor Brian Kemp (404-656-1776) about why – law or no law – DPS is apparently not taking advantage of the clear 287(g) expansion push from President Trump to enhance public safety.

And how this fits in with Kemp’s “Big Truck” campaign pledge on the crime of illegal immigration.

We expect that once educated, pro-enforcement voters will be equally curious.

MSM seems to have missed this story

Our self-funded effort here at Immigration Politics Georgia is gaining readers weekly, but we obviously don’t have the reach that say, the watchdogs at the Associated Press, the Atlanta Journal Constitution or any of the Atlanta TV/radio news desks have. So, we will be sure to share this with all of them to see if it is regarded as allowable “news” that state law seems to be ignored by state law enforcement – and Georgia’s Chief Executive.