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Will Georgia legalize foreign police officers? – House committee on “barriers” to foreign nationals meeting again in Dalton, Sept 9 *Updated 2/4

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August House Committee meeting

Updated Sept 8, 3:04 PM –

Just in: “The meeting will be held in Brown Hall, room 105. Brown Hall is located at the north end of our campus. When you enter the building, you will go down the stairs immediately in front of you & the room is at the foot of the stairs. There is a large parking lot adjacent to the building that you may utilize.

The GPS address is Brown Hall, 2206 Mt Haven Drive. Dalton, GA.”

 

 

Pro-American voters in North Georgia should attend the next meeting of the ‘House Study Committee on Innovative Ways to Maximize Global Talent’ when it meets again at Dalton State College on September 9, 2021 (10:30 AM). It’s a great opportunity to get a sample of what you miss by not being in the Georgia Capitol during the legislative session. Thursday’s meeting is the second of three scheduled hearings for the committee assigned to recommend ways to eliminate “barriers” for foreign nationals in the state economy that supposedly exist in Georgia law.

In the first meeting we heard leftist activist Darlene Lynch explain that “restrictions” should be lifted that currently require law enforcement officers in Georgia to be U.S. citizens. And an illegal alien who is paid to lobby legislators under the Gold Dome – Jaime Rangel – explained that illegal aliens should pay less tuition than U.S. citizens and legal immigrants in Georgia’s public universities. A refugee from Africa explained that she should be paid more taxpayer money every month so that she could go to school instead of working. We wrote that meeting up here. It’s worth a read. Hit the links.    

Look for more of the same from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and other assorted open borders types at Thursday’s meeting. Dalton’s own Rep Kasey Carpenter is a committee member. Conservative testimony not permitted. I plan on wearing my Dog & Pony Show clothes.

The official meeting notice is (finally) here. The program and players agenda is pasted below.

 

Georgia State Rep Sam Watson (R) on American Wages: Then and Now

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One of the quotes in the 2012 Sam Watson for State House webpage:

“I am running to represent the hardworking people and families in rural Georgia. As a 3rd generation Colquitt County farmer, I can use my experience in Agribusiness to improve South Georgia’s economy and fight for our shared conservative values.”

A 2021 Rep Sam Watson (R) quote at a Georgia Chamber of Commerce seminar on increasing profits ‘prosperity’:

“Labor costs continue to rise and our global partners are far more competitive. We have to level the playing field.”

#Immigration #Amnesty #ForeignWorkers #Wages

 

Photo: Sam Watson for State House (2012).
Photo: Ga Chamber of Commerce Twitter feed. July, 2021.

 

 

 

 

Gov Kemp signs disputed interstate compact bills: An open letter to (most of) Georgia’s Republican lawmakers

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Georgia Capitol Building. Photo: Twitter

 

“To be clear, I am not in the camp that trusts Gov. Kemp on illegal immigration statements.”

May 10, 2021

Re: HB 34, HB 268, HB 395 – interstate compacts on professional licensing

Dear Georgia Republican state legislators,

The professional licensing compacts you voted for in the 2021 General Assembly are apparently now something of “an issue”. We hope our work from here is connected to your increased interest in and investigation of these bills and how they may effect illegal immigration in Georgia.

Interstate compacts are new to us. But along with other illegal immigration-related code sections I helped create, improve and defend, I have been working on OCGA 50-36 -1 since 2006.

I first noticed HB 34 on the morning of Feb 25 – just hours before it passed the House. After a quick but careful read of the lengthy bill, I sent out emails to several House members alerting them to possible problems the proposed compact may create with the existing eligibility verification system for public benefits. I also called and emailed the Speaker’s office. I confirmed receipt of my email.

I pasted the text of my original Feb. 25 email into the first blog post done on HB 34. I hope you have seen examples of my time consuming write-ups on these bills. I assure you this was not done out of boredom.

A House member who I have known for years followed up on my concerns in February. “…I went to legislative counsel on HB 34 and you were right, D.A…..” I wanted to be wrong.

I also became aware of HB 268 and shortly afterwards, HB395. I knew the Georgia Chamber of Commerce was pushing the compacts contained in this legislation and that these agreements could effect illegal immigration. There are no examples of the GA Chamber advocating on the side of immigration enforcement available to send you.

After the House passed all three of the bills, I sent notes to several members of the senate – including the Senate Majority Leader – asking for line numbers on language that would eliminate my fears that the interstate compacts would reduce security on immigration verification. The only response I received was from my own senator. There was no citation of language that would alleviate my fears. I also personally asked several interested Georgians to ask for the same information from their own senators. I have not talked to anyone who even received a reply.

I also learned about the GORRC and the involvement of the Georgia Secretary of State office in the council’s procedure in consideration of the compact legislation. I continued to pursue the hope that somebody in power would cite language I may have overlooked in the bills to remove my concerns that illegal aliens could access the professional licenses covered in the measures. I spoke to an official in the SoS office, sent a request for comment and information – and again asked for citation of a line number to language that would remove my fears. There was no response other than confirmation of receipt.

I now see a May 6, 2021 opinion letter from legislative counsel to a House member who apparently asked the same question another House member asked about HB 34 in February. This time the opinion is that the sentence “nothing herein prevents the enforcement of any other law of any member state that is not inconsistent with the Compact” represents language that preserves the current system of immigration verification.

I read the cited sentence several times in my review of the bills. I do not agree that it will automatically result in use of verification system – including the affidavit process – in processing applications for professional licenses from applicants with existing credentials from other states. But it is my fervent hope that the most recent opinion reflects how the new laws will actually be implemented.

I need to add that knowledge gained from nearly twenty years of studying illegal immigration and according to retired ICE agents, retired Border Patrol Agents and several Georgia sheriffs, a background check by law enforcement does not reveal illegal immigration status unless the alien has already been arrested and fingerprinted. And that hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens have valid Social Security numbers.

My interest in the bills also led me to legislation that put Georgia in an interstate compact on nursing licenses in 2017. (SB 109). I was not aware of that legislation at that time. We will soon know if if the verification system required in OCGA 50-36-1 has been followed in the reciprocal process of licensing nurses from other states since that law was put in place in 2017.

In closing, I respectfully extend my sincere thanks to Rep Chuck Martin for taking the time this month to investigate the effects the legislation may have on illegal immigration and the law requiring verification of ‘lawful presence’ for applicants for professional licenses.

In the recent past an expert on the issue who is willing to help legislators fight illegal immigration in Georgia was not automatically regarded with suspicion.

I respectfully put forth the hope that moving forward, Republican lawmakers ask how legislation may effect illegal immigration before they vote.

So there is no confusion on my message, two opposite opinions on this matter have come out of legislative counsel. I have seen Gov. Kemp’s *signing statements on the three bills.

UPDATE: I have also seen the letter from Reps Belton and Werkheiser to the House Republican caucus asking for help in convincing the governor to sign the bills.

     * Compact bills letter to Caucus 2

We will follow up to see actual practice.

To be clear, I am not in the camp that trusts Gov. Kemp on illegal immigration statements.

D.A. King

Georgia Sec of State Office joined in recommendation to pass bills that may dismantle immigration verification

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Legislation would put Georgia in interstate compacts on professional licensing – bypass ‘lawful presence’ status checks

Part 2.

In Georgia the Secretary of State Office administers professional licenses.

GA SoS Brad Rafensperger.
Photo: WABE News online.

Conservative voters should be asking why Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office joined in a recommendation that at least three anti-enforcement bills “pass as written”

We asked last week if Gov. Brian Kemp will sign several GOP bills that dismantle the system in place to verify ‘lawful presence’ of foreign nationals who apply for professional licenses. We now have more information.

The story so far

The short version is that 2006 state law requires that applicants for public benefits – including professional licenses – go through a verification process intended to prevent illegal aliens from accessing those benefits.  Three bills (that we know of) were passed in the 2021 General Assembly that put Georgia in inter-state compacts that contain standardized, reciprocal licensing practices that seem to remove the verification process from Georgia’s system. We asked senior legislative management to dispute our analysis. Nobody did.

Washington’s prestigious Center for Immigration Studies has picked up the story

The bills we know about and their respective professions (and corresponding Gold Dome lobbyists) are HB 34: audiologist and speech language pathologists, HB 268: occupational therapists and HB 395: professional counselors. All Republican sponsored. Our original post has the details.

We have heard sneering criticism of our opposition to dismantling the verification system that include the dismissive rhetorical question “just how many illegal aliens will be filling these positions…?” The answer is we don’t know. And that’s kind of the point.

We do know that if the current law is left in place and actually enforced the answer will be “zero.”

According to the anti-enforcement Georgia Budget and Policy Institute Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than green card holders.

We also know that if the usual suspects are allowed to put this legislation in place that next year there will be other bills passed that quietly expand the list of “it’s OK if they are here illegally” professions.

We have learned that these three bills went through a review process by the obscure ‘Georgia Occupational Regulation Review Council’ and that the recommendation from the GORRC was to pass the bills as written. It is important to make it clear again that the Georgia Chamber of Commerce urged passage of this legislation as well.

Photo: LinkedIn.

According to the recommendation from the council on each bill “there is a recognizable potential for harm to Georgians by not entering into the (inter-state compact)…” We do not agree. The harm comes from allowing illegal aliens to obtain professional licenses in Georgia because they have already done so in other states.

The recommendation also makes it clear that “during the course of the review, Council staff obtained information from the applicant group… and the Secretary of State Office while also conducting internal research.”

Who sits on the council? Here is a screenshot from the GORRC.

We sent two questions to the SoS office and confirmed receipt but have not received a reply.

Gov Brian Kemp should veto these bills. His office number is 404-656-1776

Part 1, here

There will be a part 3 to this story as we now see that a similar bill that got past us became state law in 2017 regarding nurses. More later, but all concerned need to know that an illegal alien-free Georgia is not part of most  Republican legislator’s agenda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will Georgia’s Brian Kemp sign bills to dismantle legal immigration verification?

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Tom Homan, Former Acting Director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) urges Georgians to contact Gov. Brian Kemp, Feb, 2020.
Photo: Courtesy FetchYourNews.com
Part 1

Kemp voted for the verification system as state senator

Topic may be worthy of consideration at upcoming Republican conventions

The governor can sign, veto or take no action. Legislation becomes law if he does nothing. May 10 is final day in process.

 

Pro-enforcement Georgians are watching to see if Gov. Brian Kemp signs several Republican bills that apparently quietly begin to dismantle the system that verifies lawful presence of applicants for public benefits. Examples are  HB 395, HB 268 and HB 34 .

GA Gov. Brain Kemp. Photo: MDJ online

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce pushed these measures with letters requesting support placed on legislators’ Chamber desks. Two of those letters are posted on the Dustin Inman Society website.

Related: Georgia Chamber distributing letters…

State law implemented in 2006 was an effort to prevent illegal aliens from accessing public benefits. The goal was to make Georgia less hospitable to illegal immigration. Professional licenses are public benefits under that law. When he was state senator the governor voted for the legislation that created the verification mandate.

Georgia code (OCGA 50-36-1) requires that an applicant for public benefits swear on a notarized affidavit that he is either a U.S. citizen or a “lawfully present” and eligible foreign national. The applicant is required to present verifiable document to prove that eligibility. The foreign national’s ‘lawful presence’ is then verified using a federal database known as ‘SAVE.’

The legislation in question puts Georgia in interstate “compacts” that essentially require reciprocity in licensing and issuance procedures. “Interstate compacts are contracts that are negotiated between states. The US Supreme Court has held that the term “compact” should be understood to refer to a “contract” according to the Library of Congress.

Image: Twitter

Georgia would be joining compacts that honor the professional license of covered occupations for people who relocate from one participating state to another. If another state in the compact has issued a professional license to a resident for one of the covered professions the idea is to issue a license for the same job here without most of the current processing if that person migrates to Georgia.

The bills include provisions for quicker licensing for spouses of active duty military personnel.

If Kemp signs the bills new law will eliminate the step of verifying the “lawful presence” of the covered applicant. The abbreviated licensing process would result in quicker participation in the workforce – and a more hospitable experience for illegal aliens.

The Georgia Chamber says this will make Georgia “a better state for business.”

Including the Speaker’s office and the Senate Majority Leader, the Dustin Inman Society alerted individual legislators in both the House and senate about the result of the bills becoming law. We also asked several state senators for citation of line numbers in the legislation containing language that would dispute our analysis of these bills. The sole response came from Senator Kay Kirkpatrick (R- Marietta) who replied,  “…these bills are important to the military and passed the Senate unanimously. Compact language cannot be changed.” We are grateful to Sen. Kirkpatrick.

It appears the legislative choice was between compliance with the dictates of the business lobby or the preservation of procedures put in place to make Georgia less attractive to illegal immigration. The business lobby won out. Again.

Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than is Arizona, according to the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security.

Absence of media coverage or Republican resistance

We note the past press attention and the brutal fight to implement the verification law in question and the unsurprising absence of liberal media coverage on the decision to further the process of dismantling the law.

Between the three bills, there was only one “no” vote in the House and Senate. It came from Rep Matt Dollar (R- Marietta) who voted against HB 34.

We repeat:  then-Senator and Public Safety Committee Chairman Brian Kemp voted in favor of the 2006 ‘Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act’  (SB529) that put the verification of lawful presence for public benefits in place (senate vote # 1037).

“Georgians are “fed up” with illegal immigration,” Kemp told the AJC newspaper then. They still are. But as Governor, Kemp is conspicuously silent on the entire crisis.

As can be seen by a recent letter written by an angry retired federal immigration agent, and the Dustin Inman Society’s Brian Kemp page, most conservatives are not willing to overlook that silence.

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

This story continues here.

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That’s not accurate, Mr. Germany: Fact checking Ryan Germany, General Counsel to Georgia’s SoS on his testimony on HB 228  

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Georgia Capitol Building. Photo: Twitter

 

Fate of HB 228 could hang on “expert” testimony

 With a note on Shevondah Leslie and DDS

 

In his long testimony to a legislative committee chock full of senior House members, Georgia Secretary of State General Counsel Ryan Germany passed on a remarkable amount of inaccurate and incomplete “facts” last Friday. From where this writer was sitting it appeared the assignment was to kill the measure at hand, HB 228.

The bill is aimed at voter ID integrity.

The hearing in the Special Committee on Election Integrity admittedly involved “in the weeds” details on immigration law. But it also dealt with Motor Voter registration, Georgia driving credentials, ID Cards given to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals and the security measures involved in the issuing process. In addition to Germany’s, the general lack of knowledge of many of the legislators was quite extraordinary.

Example? In a state where legislators endlessly seek to increase foreign labor, exactly who can obtain a Social Security number seems to be a deep and mysterious unknown.

From a transcript of the hearing on voter security and “proper identification” at the polls:

Committee member and Speaker Pro-Tem Jan Jones to Ryan: “So I guess follow up if you’re not a citizen, you wouldn’t have social security number?”

From the witness podium, Secretary of State General Counsel Germany: “Uh, I believe it’s possible to have a social if you’re not a citizen, but it’s, but it’s not, it’s not, um, a typical occurrence by any means.”

That’s not accurate Mr. Germany

GA Secretary of State General Counsel Ryan Germany. Photo: Law.com

The fact that Ryan Germany was put in a position to influence the outcome of pending legislation and apparently does not know his statement to the House Speaker Pro Tem is wildly wrong should be alarming to all concerned.

The reality is that foreign nationals aka “non-citizens” aka “aliens” can easily obtain a Social Security number. It is a very “typical occurrence.”

Virtually every legal immigrant (green card holder) in the U.S. – and we take in about a million every year – is given a Social Security number and they are under no obligation to ever become American citizens. Guest workers here on temporary visas are issued Social Security Numbers – more than 1.4 million guest workers in 2013 (for example). As is mentioned further down, about 600,000 illegal aliens have been issued Social Security numbers.

*In his testimony and a response to another question from Speaker Pro Tem Jones, SoS General Counsel Germany told her “So, um, that means that when, when they’re checking their status at DDS, when you’re checking either citizen or, you know, legal resident, um, because it’s non-legal residents cannot get driver’s licenses or IDs in Georgia.”

That’s not accurate, Mr. Germany.

For brevity here, let’s consider the more than twenty thousand illegal aliens who are beneficiaries of Barack Obama’s ‘Deferred Action on Deportation for Childhood Arrivals’ (DACA recipients) who have Georgia drivers licenses and/or official ID Cards – and Social Security numbers.

This is due to the fact that the REAL ID Act contains a section (MINIMUM DOCUMENT REQUIREMENT AND ISSUANCE STANDARDS… (Sec. 202, (2) (B) ) which says illegal aliens with deferred action on deportation (and other categories of administrative status) have “legal status” for purposes of drivers licenses and ID cards only. The status does not transfer out of that narrow regulation.

For example, these illegal aliens with DACA have Georgia drivers licenses and ID Cards but are not allowed instate tuition rates at USG/TCSG schools. While he is stone silent on the entire issue as governor, in 2018 even then-candidate Brian Kemp recognized that “illegal immigrants” with DACA do not qualify for the Hope scholarship. No Obamacare either. Why? Because they are, using the words of Ryan Germany, “non-legal residents.”

In a March, 2019 opinion the 11th circuit appellate court noted the obvious: “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 (INA) act.” Even the liberal AJC reported it.

We noted that decision in 2019 with observations on how public benefits are administered in Georgia.

Text of HB 228 as introduced here.

—>Update: October 18, 2021: Current version (committee substitute) of HB 228 here. 

Rep Charlice Byrd. Photo: Asian Times.

Bonus for General Counsel Ryan Germany and the Georgia legislature:

It is very possible Mr. Germany lacks this knowledge. The committee considering HB 228 should not have similar gaps of information.

On the topic of REAL ID compliant credentials, Germany informed the committee considering DDS-issued credentials used as voter ID that “…since 2012, I believe (DDS) has only issued Real IDs for driver’s license or state ID.”

Ryan Germany testifies to the Special Committee on Election Integrity Feb 26, 2021. Photo: dak

Not exactly, Mr. Germany.

As I type, I am looking at my own Georgia drivers license issued in January 2016. It is not REAL ID compliant. It has no gold star. What Germany omitted in his “expert” education to legislators in the HB228 hearing is the fact that if anyone obtains both an ID card and a DL DDS will only make one document REAL ID Act compliant – which is noted with a gold star in upper right corner.

Photo dak

It should be made clear – again – that the illegal aliens with Georgia-issued drivers licenses and ID Cards are given the same credentials as U.S. citizens with the exception of the words “LIMITED TERM” on top.

Here, we insert an April, 2019 news item from the liberal AJC: Georgia leads nation in motor voter registrations

“Amid heated battles over voting rights, Georgia has emerged as an unlikely national leader in automatic voter registration, according to a study this month by the Brennan Center for Justice. The study estimated that 94% more voters registered in Georgia than if the state hadn’t implemented automatic voter registration in September 2016.”

House Bill 228 is designed to make human and/or systemic error resulting in illegal voting much less possible. The bill closes a loophole in current law that does not prohibit foreign national’s drivers licenses and/or ID Cards from acceptance as “proper identification” at the Georgia’s polls. It clearly marks these documents with “BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN – NOT VALID VOTER ID.”

The committee hearing HB 228 seemed to reject the multiple liberal media stories presented documenting foreign nationals being registered to vote through the Motor Voter system. But it was clear they hung on every word from General Counsel Ryan Germany.

That is accurate, Mr. Germany

It is not apparent that the committee realized one of Germany’s most important statements came in his answer to another question from Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones. She asked “is it possible though for a non citizen, um, to accidentally be registered to vote, say at the county level, if they go to their county board registration to register that?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible” was Germany’s reply.

That is accurate, Mr. Germany.

A parting note on DDS testimony at the same hearing

“A Georgia DL/ID is not proof of lawful status in the U.S. so it is important to note that an expired LIMITED-TERM card does not mean the person is in the country illegally.” – statement on the DDS website as of 2:25 PM March 2, 2021..

We are focused on testimony in committee from “experts” to legislators with apparent wide gaps in knowledge of immigration law and how secure credentials are issued in Georgia. It’s a good place for a quick note on the video testimony of Ms. Shevondah Leslie who is Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) Director of Governmental Affairs and Communications.

Space here does not allow extensive coverage, but Leslie effectively told committee members multiple times that everyone who is issued a Georgia drivers license and/or ID Card is “lawfully present.”

To repeat information offered above, the federal government – the source of immigration laws that decide status – tells us something quite different. So does a former federal immigration judge.

It is long past time that responsible lawmakers pay attention.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) puts it a different way:

“Current law does not grant any legal status for the class of individuals who are current recipients of DACA. Recipients of DACA are currently unlawfully present in the U.S. with their removal deferred” – here.

 

Again, more than twenty thousand DACA recipients alone have Georgia drivers licenses and/or ID Cards. There are other categories of illegal aliens with state ID credentials.

In response to inquiries from past state legislators, DDS has revealed that the SAVE system does not confirm “lawful presence” for DACA recipients – but rather temporary employment authorization. That phrase notes that Obama gave these illegal aliens a work permit and an SSN. It does not in any way contradict the laws from congress as noted in the 11th circuit appellate court decision.

_____

The problem with SAVE.

_____

In response to questions on the non-citizen drivers licenses a DDS spox once told a news outlet

“DDS has not changed the policy regarding driver’s license and/or identification card issuance to non-citizens. Those non-citizens in Deferred Action Status are eligible for GA licenses and IDs per the Federal Dream Act (assuming that they meet all other GA licensing criteria). Here.

We hope that it does not come as news to readers here that the DREAM Act failed to pass in congress multiple times. There is no “federal DREAM Act.” You can read that one here.

A DDS liaison once assured a state legislator, in writing, “we don’t issue cards to illegal aliens.”

There is much more information available for lawmakers who want to make educated decisions on all matters immigration and “non-citizens.” That issue is crucial to HB 228 which is focused on clarifying and ease of recognition the ID we give to foreigners in Georgia.

Indoor billboard outside Ga. Gov. Kemp’s Gold dome office. Photo: dak 26Feb2021.

For Georgians curious as to why there is a thunderclap of instant and powerful opposition to adding clarifying wording on credentials issued to foreign nationals, it should be noted that a very important goal of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is more, not fewer foreign workers in “the number one state for business.” Any change in marking these documents is counter to the already announced goal from the business lobby at the leftist Georgia Budget and Policy Institute.– drivers licenses for all “immigrants” – legal or not. Election integrity comes behind that ambition for far too many obedient people in power in Georgia.

Like in California.

—

Note: A link to the official video record and transcript of the February 26, 2021 hearing can be accessed on the ImmigrationPoliticsGA website.

*Updated March 6, 11:13 PM. Corrected (deleted) a repeated paragraph typo concerning Ryan Germany response to Speaker Pro Team Jones on “…non-legal residents cannot get driver’s licenses or IDs in Georgia.” I regret the error. dak

Updated jan 5, 2022 to expand stated number of illegal aliens with SSNs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NY TIMES story, front page

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National Push by a Local Immigration Activist: No G.O.P. Retreat

 

D.A. King, center, at a July rally in Washington  against amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Credit…Christopher Gregory/The New York Times

By Julia Preston

ATLANTA — He says the United States is filling up with immigrants who do not respect the law or the American way of life. He refers to Latino groups as “the tribalists,” saying they seek to impose a divisive ethnic agenda. Of his many adversaries, he says: “The illegal alien lobby never changes. It’s the Wall Street wing of the Republican Party joining forces with the Chamber of Commerce, the far left and the Democrats in an effort to expand cheap labor and increase voting for the Democratic Party.”

D. A. King, who quit his job as an insurance agent a decade ago to wage a full-time campaign against illegal immigration in Georgia, is one reason this state rivals Arizona for the toughest legal crackdown in the country. With his Southern manners and seersucker jackets, he works the halls of the gold-domed statehouse, familiar to all, polite and uncompromising.

Now, like other local activists around the country, he is looking beyond Georgia to stop the House of Representatives from following the Senate and passing legislation that would open a path to legal status for illegal immigrants.

As lawmakers return to their home districts for the August recess, advocates like Mr. King are joining forces with national groups that oppose legalization and favor reduced immigration for an all-out populist push.

“These local people live in the middle of these places, they know how to be effective in their districts,” said Roy Beck, executive director of one of the largest national groups, NumbersUSA, who is now holding regular strategy calls with Mr. King and more than 50 other state advocates.

The zeal of militants like Mr. King is a problem for the House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio, and other Republican leaders, who are hoping to steer their divided caucus to pass a House version of legislation to fix the broken immigration system, which could include legal status for those who lack it — though probably not citizenship.

Mr. King’s “respectful but firm” message for the speaker, he said in an interview, is that “any vote for legalization would be a matter of very great consequence for the people who voted for conservative congressmen from Georgia.”

Mr. King says his wrath grew slowly, beginning in the 1990s with a feud with Mexican neighbors who disrupted the quiet of his leafy street. In Mr. King’s account, they parked fleets of run-down vehicles on their lawn and at one point housed 22 people in a jerry-built warren of rental rooms in the basement.

He took the neighbor to court over code violations, and the conflict boiled for seven years until the family moved away.

A visit in 2004 to the Southwest border convinced Mr. King that the country was facing “what was easily described as an invasion.” Returning to Georgia, he made common cause with the struggling father of a teenage boy killed in a car accident by a reckless driver who was an illegal immigrant. He named his organization the Dustin Inman Society, after the boy.

The mistrust of Mr. Boehner among Mr. King and his allies deepened recently when the speaker rebuked an anti-amnesty hero, Representative Steve King, Republican of Iowa, for commenting that young immigrants here illegally had “calves the size of cantaloupes” from running drugs across the border.

Mr. King in Georgia said he sided squarely with the congressman of the same name, although he might have chosen a milder metaphor. He nonetheless spared little in his description of Senator Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who was one of the authors of the Senate bill, calling him a “smarmy and dishonest” turncoat. During the Senate debate, Mr. King designed and paid for thousands of bumper stickers as well as three large billboards along a commuter highway near Atlanta.

“Help us stop RubiObama amnesty!” one big sign read, with President Obama’s name joined by his hallmark red-white-and-blue letter to that of Senator Rubio.

His billboards instructed drivers to call a senator from Georgia, Johnny Isakson. Mr. Isakson, who supported a comprehensive bill in 2007, voted against the Senate legislation this year.

In Georgia, Mr. King has not been afraid to take on many adversaries, including the farmers and growers, business organizations, labor unions and Latinos. A big-shouldered former Marine, he often shows up with his own placards at rallies called by his opponents — just to let them know he is watching.

“I was taught that we have an American culture to which immigrants will assimilate,” Mr. King said. “And I am incredibly resentful that’s not what’s happening anymore.”

Mr. King, 61, runs his one-man operation from the small guest room of his home on a tree-shaded cul-de-sac in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, equipped with an aging desktop computer and a chair that he acknowledges “needs a new coat of duct tape.” He lives on small donations, and to keep it all going he spent down his savings, ran up his credit cards, refinanced his house three times and “sold the stock my grandmother left me.”

He is unmoved by the protests of Latino and immigrant groups that the Obama administration has already done more than enough enforcement, with more than 1.6 million deportations those groups say have sown fear in their neighborhoods.

Mr. King wants a lot more enforcement before the House does anything else on immigration. He sees the Senate bill as a scheme by Democrats to create legions of new government-dependent voters for their party. He feels certain House Republicans will ultimately reject it.

“The tribalists will not make any difference with any Republican who has enough sense to get on an airplane every Monday and fly to Washington,” Mr. King said.

In his recent meetings in the statehouse, Mr. King huddled with two Republicans, Senator Josh McKoon and Representative Edward Lindsey, who called in by phone. They laid plans for Republicans in the state legislature to send a letter to all the Georgia lawmakers in the House, urging them to focus on enforcement and avoid legalization.

Mr. King is joining a surge of activity among his allies that was spurred by the Senate vote in June. At NumbersUSA, Mr. Beck said, more than 400,000 people signed on to an e-mail list as the vote approached, expanding its followers to more than 1.6 million names. Mr. Beck said a recent conference call he convened with followers was joined by 58,770 people.

But Jerry Gonzalez, a Latino leader in Georgia who is one of Mr. King’s oldest rivals, pointed to new demographics that House lawmakers would have to consider. The number of registered Latino voters in the state grew to 184,000 in 2012 from 10,000 a decade earlier, with more than 200,000 legal immigrants eligible to become citizens.

 

Former Dem candidate and board member on anti-enforcement immigration lobby group wins GOP primary for Georgia state senate — Jason Anavitarte

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Jason Anavitarte. Photo: Marietta Daily Journal

 

Lt. Governor’s PAC reportedly kicks in $250,000 for narrow victory

 

Jason Anavitarte, controversial candidate for the Republican ballot in Georgia’s state senate District 31 primary contest has apparently squeaked past opponent Boyd Austin, a former mayor.

 Austin has criticized Anavitarte as representing “outside interests” rather than the district; “…a breakdown of Anavitarte’s contributions from both his April 30th report as well as his latest one bear this out. In the April document 94 percent of Anavitarte’s contributions come from outside the district (with many from lobbyists). In the latest report, outside-the-district donations make up 97 percent of Anavitarte’s total. Only six individuals in the district gave a monetary contribution” according to a July note at Insider Advantage Georgia.

As of August 22, the Secretary of State website still shows results of the August 11TH primary contest as “Unofficial Results – Totals may not include all Absentee or Provisional Ballots” but watchers agree that Anavitarte will likely prevail in the final vote tally.

UPDATE: Final and official results show that Anavitarte won 10,574 to 10,348, a margin of 226 votes.

Anavitarte has drawn considerable attention since it was revealed that from 2006 -2009 he served on the board of the radical GALEO Inc. GALEO is well known as a corporate-funded force against immigration enforcement, ICE holds, 287(g), voter ID and official English. In 2006, the same year Anavitarte joined the board of directors, GALEO teamed with the ACLU, MALDEF, and the ADL in a protest rally against state immigration enforcement.

GALEO Director Jerry Gonzalez has illustrated the group’s mission with antics such as escorting admitted illegal aliens into the Georgia senate Chamber in an effort to stop passage of a 2006 bill, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act (SB529) – aimed at reducing Georgia’s attractiveness as a destination for illegal immigration. Gonzalez has also been criticized for badgering a diminutive female state Rep, Katie Dempsey, for her pro-enforcement position on E-Verify in a Rome, Ga. public forum.

GALEO’s Jerry Gonzalez. Photo: Dustin Inman Society

In early 2016, another former GALEO board member and state court judge, Dax Lopez, was passed over for confirmation after an Obama nomination for a lifetime seat on the federal bench due to his ties to GALEO.  This writer was proudly credited with leading the opposition to the Lopez nomination with the research series ‘A Beginner’s Guide to GALEO’ posted on the Dustin Inman Society website in 2015 and 2016.

On its political blog, the Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported that a PAC, ‘Advance Georgia,’ founded by Georgia’s Republican Lt. Governor and president of the senate Geoff Duncan helped Anavitarte’s slim victory with a $250,000 infusion:

“Jason Anavitarte might owe Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan a thank-you note for his apparent narrow GOP runoff victory over Boyd Austin in the contest to replace state Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen. The lieutenant governor’s PAC pumped about $250,000 into Anavitarte’s bid. He’s currently up by about 200 votes – a 1% margin says the liberal AJC Political Insider blog.

Georgia’s Lt. Governor and President of the Senate, Geoff Duncan. Photo: AJC.

“Jason Anavitarte is a former member of the Paulding County School Board and candidate for Senate District 31 in the Georgia Legislature. Most recently, Jason served as Senior Adviser of Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan’s campaign and served on the state finance committee for Governor Brian Kemp during the 2018 election. Jason has been named one of the 50 Most Influential Latinos in Georgia” according to Anavitarte’s campaign website, Campaign website (August 19, 2020).

Anavitarte, who has described himself as an admirer and supporter of Senator Marco Rubio, is a former Doraville City Council member and in 2005 filed to run for the state House as a Democrat. In the recent primary he was endorsed by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and originally did not mention illegal immigration on his campaign site as an issue.

That changed after he drew the attention of pro-enforcement conservatives and the media. He now has stated policy positions on immigration that are curiously tailored to a candidate for federal office as opposed to a state senate seat, but has assured voters he is supports legal immigration without offering limits. From JasonAnavitarte.com:

“I support legal immigration and I want to see our current immigration laws upheld. I support the following reforms:

  1. Secure the border. Lack of border security is causing a rise in crimes. It is estimated that in 2018 235,000 illegal immigrants were arrested on various charges.  https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/president-trump-sends-letter-border-security/

  2. End chain migration. Stop the original immigrant from petitioning to bring their extended families into the USA.

  3. Move to a merit-based skill categories system. This system would put an emphasis on education and skill as a basis for acceptance into the country.

  4. Reform welfare. Deny welfare to anyone with a green card or visa.

  5. NO AMNESTY! Enforcement of deportation will stop people from coming to our borders.

  6. I support the use of e-verify by our businesses. We need to hire people that are legal to work here in Georgia.

  7. No in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.”

Lt Governor Duncan’s PAC was the topic of AJC coverage in October, which included the observation: “the financial haul could also help Duncan exert more influence over a fractious Republican caucus that sporadically sparred during his first legislative session. Duncan said he preferred to view it as a “partnership” to support Republicans.”

According to the most recent estimates from DHS, Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than Arizona and enforcement of laws designed to deny jobs, benefits and services to illegals is routinely ignored by the Republicans who have run the state for *more than a decade nearly two decades.

Anavitarte and his committee and floor votes on illegal immigration-related matters will be the focus of much attention from conservative writers and voters when he becomes a state senator.

*Edited, 1Sept2020 – dak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Lives Matter: Anti-enforcement Marxists Who Hate

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Remarks by President Trump at South Dakota’s 2020 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration | Keystone, South Dakota. Here.

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Photo: DIRT

Marxist BLM Co-Founder Reportedly Buys $1.4M Mansion Near Beverly Hills – April 9, 2021 Here.

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Univision

Black Lives Matter is joining the fight against deportations

The group is calling for an end to immigration raids and deportations, as well as ensuring tax-funded legal representation for all immigrants (including illegals)… here.

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Black Lives Matter co-founder describes herself as ‘trained Marxist.’ Here.

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Photo:CREDIT: Pax Ahimsa Gethen (CC).

Immigration & the Black Lives Matter Protests, with Kavitha Rajagopalan Here

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Activists Try To Block Hospital Where Shot Deputies Were Taken, Say ‘We Hope They Die,’ Sheriff’s Dept Says  – Here.

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4 Things the Liberal Media Won’t Tell You About Black Lives Matter – Here.

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BLM Activists Are Funneling Donations Back to Their Own Companies, Documents Show

Shaun King’s PAC gave $460,000 to consulting companies registered to PAC leaders. – Here.

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BLM Protesters Shoot At Black Officer At Home – Here.

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Photo: U.S. Chamber of Commerce

At Historic U.S. Chamber Headquarters, Temporary Art Installation Celebrates Black Lives Matter Voices – Here.

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Delta Airlines’  VP Shawn Cole raises Black Lives Matter flag at Delta HQ – Here. 

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Black Lives Matter Leader Yusra Khogali Believes White People are Subhuman, Calls Them ‘Genetic Defects’ – Begs ‘Allah’ to Help Her ‘Not Kill White Folks’ Here and here.

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Black Lives Matter fundraising handled by group with convicted terrorist on its board  Here.

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It’s Political Power That Really Matters To Black Lives Matter

There’s a reason they demand people kneel –   Here.

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 Black Lives Matter crowd demands Seattle homeowners ‘give up’ property: ‘We coming for it’   Here.

And here.

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The agenda of Black Lives Matter is far different from the slogan – Here.

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Nolte: BLM Mob Terrorizes Residential Area — ‘Wake Up, Motherf**ker!’ Here.

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Discover the Networks on Black Lives Matter – here.

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Black Lives Matter: “We Are Trained Marxists” – Part I – here.

Black Lives Matter: “We Will Burn Down This System” – Part II – here.

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MLB commits over $1 million to organizations in support of Black Lives Matter – here.

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 Police investigating viral photo of man kneeling on baby’s neck with pro-Black Lives Matter caption

Here. 

And here.

Photo: Matt Walsh Twitter July 22, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Illegal aliens are not ‘immigrants’ – a pro-enforcement response to illegal alien, FWDus lobbyist Jaime Rangel

By

Image: A.F. Branco

I close with an experienced warning to anyone judged to be too successful in advocating for honoring real immigrants by enforcing our immigration laws: You will be labeled as “anti-immigrant” and a “hater” by the integrity-free, anti-enforcement lobby.

The below guest column was published in today’s Dalton Daily Citizen-News

(Editor’s note: This is a response to Jaime Rangel’s column in the May 5 edition of the Daily Citizen-News.)

By D.A. King

D.A. King Image: Univision

In today’s America, it is easier to understand the debate on the raging illegal immigration crisis if people consider that there are essentially two general attitudes on the issue: Pro-enforcement and anti-enforcement. And realize that illegal immigration is mostly caused by rampant illegal employment.

This weary writer has been fighting the pro-enforcement battle in the Georgia Capitol since 2003. With a hope of educating readers, I take note here of the anti-enforcement guest column in this space last Sunday from Dalton’s Jaime Rangel.

I also respectfully note that no matter who created the headline on Rangel’s column, (“Session is over, but the fight for Georgia immigrants is not”) it serves as an inaccurate, thoughtless smear and base insult to the millions of real immigrants — like my adopted sister — who joined the American family according to our very liberal immigration laws.

The battle over immigration enforcement in America is not about “immigrants,” it is a question of whether or not we are going to end illegal immigration and tell the world that illegal aliens are not going to be treated the same as legal residents. And that we are never going to repeat the “one-time” immigration amnesty of 1986.

For folks who have a difficult time discerning the difference between illegal aliens and immigrants, it helps to remember that because they are here lawfully, immigrants do not require amnesty. And that immigrants are already on a path to citizenship.

It should shock readers to know that according to the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than green card holders. And more than Arizona.

Jaime Rangel is, by law, an illegal alien. This is an accurate legal term used in state law, federal law, by the U.S. Supreme Court (including by Justice Sonia Sotomayor), the IRS, multiple presidential executive orders and law enforcement professionals.

While we may have a certain amount of sympathy for anyone who was brought over our borders illegally by his parents as a child, dressing up illegal status with the attempt to hide behind the term “dreamer” created by the corporate-funded and far-left illegal alien lobby does not change reality.

Rangel is a paid lobbyist who works under the Gold Dome against any legislation designed to make life more difficult for illegal aliens and illegal employers. Put another way, in 21st century, Republican-ruled Georgia we have illegal aliens lobbying for illegal aliens and against enforcement — or too much information on the cost of illegal immigration being shared with Georgia taxpayers.

Example? The illegal alien lobby worked furiously against House Bill 202 in the last legislative session. The bill that would have simply required the Department of Corrections to publish a public, quarterly report showing the immigration status and number of non-citizens in the Georgia prison system. It died for the year in the Republican House Rules Committee.

Rangel also proudly boasted here of his input on legislative issues for next year at a strategy session held by the anti-enforcement Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

First, he wants special treatment for illegal aliens who have a deferral on deportation through Obama’s DACA program so they would receive the much lower instate tuition at Georgia’s public universities. This, while real immigrant families living in Chattanooga would pay a higher tuition rate in our schools.

Second, Rangel wants readers to believe that legislation pending to simply end the current policy of issuing the DACA illegals aliens the exact same drivers licenses and official ID cards as are given to real immigrants and guest workers will somehow stop the illegals like Rangel from “from safely traveling to and from their jobs.” The legislation does no such thing. It only creates a new and unique cards separate from what is issued to legal residents.

I close with an experienced warning to anyone judged to be too successful in advocating for honoring real immigrants by enforcing our immigration laws: You will be labeled as “anti-immigrant” and a “hater” by the integrity-free, anti-enforcement lobby.

D.A. King is president of the Dustin Inman Society. He is not a member of any political party. He has assisted state legislators with legislation since 2005.

 

 

 

  READ THE REST HERE.