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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.

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The problem with SAVE.

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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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pending legislation under Georgia’s Gold Dome to allow illegal aliens to pay lower tuition at public universities than legal immigrants and U.S. citizens #HB120 #KaseyCarpenter

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Image: A.F. Branco – In 2016 three Georgia residents, all illegal aliens who had graduated from Georgia high schools, went to court with the contention that their deferred action on deportation status as DACA recipients somehow provided “lawful presence” in the U.S. Further, they said DACA should allow them to attend the universities the Board of Regents has placed off limits to illegal aliens.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them in 2019. On page 26 of the March 2019 11th Circuit opinion the court wrote: “As explained above, appellants are not lawfully present in the United States.”
The court noted the obvious (even the liberal AJC reported it): illegal alien students are still subject to deportation proceedings. “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.”

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Updated: Typos corrected 5:32 PM 28 January, 2021.  **Updated 9:15 AM 29 January, 2021 with note on lack of criminal restrictions for eligibility.

UPDATE FEB 19, 8:47 PM – THERE IS NOW A SUBSTITUTE BILL (LC 49 0393S) WITH A SLIGHT CHANGE IN LANGUAGE DESIGNED TO CREATE FAKE NEWS. IT IS WORKING. MORE SUNDAY.

Instate tuition for illegal aliens in Georgia – House Bill 120 sponsored by Republican Rep Kasey Carpenter of Dalton

 Carpenter has three Republican co-signers and five Democrat co-signers. Without ever using “DACA,” the hoped-for contention is that DACA provides “lawful presence.” It doesn’t.

See bottom for a list and contact info of cosponsors.

Rep Kasey Carpenter’s legislation, HB 120, would change Georgia law to allow illegal aliens to access instate tuition rates in Georgia’s public university and technical college systems. Three schools would be exempt because they do not admit illegal aliens at any tuition rate.

Rep Kasey Carpenter Photo: GA General Assembly

These instate rates are much lower than out-of state tuition (what non-residents pay). For academic year 2019-2020, the average tuition & fees for Colleges in Georgia is $4,721 for in-state and $16,879 for out-of-state.

This would mean illegal aliens would pay a lower rate than Americans and legal immigrants from Michigan or Nebraska (for example).

The bill is being promoted in the liberal AJC in a way that makes it sound like it would only apply to illegal aliens with Obama’s illegal DACA action. Here is a quote from an AJC article before the bill officially dropped:

“ (Rep Kasey) Carpenter said his bill would apply to participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.”

The reality is that “DACA” is not mentioned anywhere in Carpenter’s state tuition amnesty bill. Carpenter, along with his far-left, Atlanta-area Democrat co-sponsors has structured the measure so that nearly any ‘youngish’ illegal alien living in Georgia, DACA or not, can pay much less tuition in Georgia taxpayer-funded post-secondary schools than Americans and legal immigrants from most other states *if they meet the bill’s guidelines. *(updated 3:19 PM, January 28, 2021)

Note: Read a well written explanation of what may happen to DACA in the near future from Regulatory Review.

______________________

Requirements for instate tuition for illegal aliens in Carpenter’s bill:

* Student must have graduated from a Georgia High School or obtained a Georgia GED.

* Claim domicile in Georgia since January 1, 2013 or be a dependent “child” of a parent (including illegal alien parents) who claims Georgia domicile since January 1, 2013.

*  Be younger than 30 at time of initial application to a Georgia post-secondary school. This appears to mean the illegal alien who is older than 30 now could have applied in the past and been rejected but can use the date of that original application. (We have not done the math).

* Has not been issued a temporary (non-immigrant) visa to enter the U.S.A. by the federal government.

*The bill says student must be “lawfully present in this state” and present evidence of that status – and that the regents may not allow instate tuition to non-citizens who are not “lawfully present.”

All italics mine.

**UPDATE: January 29, 2021 – DACA has guidelines for eligibility regarding criminal records and convictions. In HB 120 we see no such limiting language. This bill is a separate, state level illegal alien tuition amnesty that should be rejected out of hand by responsible lawmakers.

_______________________

The term “lawful presence” (different from “legal status”) seems to be the rock Carpenter, his Democrat co-sponsors and his foreign labor backers are tying themselves to. Congress, and only congress, makes the determination of immigration status. According to a 2019 appellate court decision discussed further down, “lawful presence” is not defined anywhere in the Immigration and Nationality Act that regulates immigration. Illegal aliens with DACA for example, do not have “lawful presence.”

Carpenter says he is trying to educate more workers. In a pandemic. With high unemployment. A move that will lower wages for Americans if successful.

Carpenter and his Democrat co-sponsors seem to be trying hard to allow the state of Georgia to create its own amnesty for tuition rates. By using the “DACA” label in talking points, but leaving it out of the bill language, they could allow perhaps thousands more illegal aliens to obtain this immigration amnesty for special treatment on tuition than the 21,000 or so illegal aliens that actually currently have DACA status.

We expect the argument to be that illegal aliens with a Georgia drivers license can use it to demonstrate “lawful presence” in Georgia to pay less tuition than legal immigrants.

See bill here

Image: The Dustin Inman Society

FACTS:

 Associated Press: “Some illegal immigrants get licenses in Georgia.”

llegal aliens with deferred action on deportation (DACA or no DACA) can and do qualify for a Georgia drivers license because of federal law (REAL ID Act) – this special treatment applies to obtaining drivers licenses and official ID cards only.

The Georgia state senate passed a bill to end this insanity in 2017. All but one Republican voted in favor. The liberal AJC reported on it with “Georgia Senate passes measure aimed at immigrants without legal status.”

The House never allowed the bill to see a hearing and the bill died. We are forever grateful to former state Senator Josh McKoon for his courage and determination.

Drivers license issued to non-citizens in Georgia, including illegal aliens with deferred action on deportation. Photo: DDS.

Carpenter and his Dem pals may be trying to use the drivers license as a way to get illegal aliens instate tuition. The effort seems to be to use the DACA amnesty as a way to confuse lawmakers and voters on Carpenter’s tuition amnesty bill, it should be noted that illegal aliens with DACA have already lost their case in federal court – twice – when they tried to claim “lawful presence.”

“Illegal aliens who have been awarded deferred action on deportation proceedings through the DACA amnesty by both the Obama and Trump administrations are illegal aliens and do not have “lawful presence” says the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision was handed down March 6, 2019.

The ruling was in response to a suit brought by several illegal aliens in Georgia who were challenging the Board of Regents policy that requires lawful presence for instate tuition purposes and admittance to some USG universities.

The Eleventh Circuit rejected all of the students’ claims. The court noted that  ““lawfully present” is not a stand alone immigration classification, and it is not defined anywhere in the (Immigration and Nationality) Act  *(opinion here).

We wrote it up here, with a link to the court’s opinion.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. Photo: Twitter.com

Georgia Attorney General, Chris Carr:

“We have continuously and clearly taken the position in ongoing legal cases that DACA does not confer legal status…” from the liberal WABE news.

The bill seems to depend largely on lawmaker’s ignorance of the issue and the slanted promotional and inaccurate headline coverage in the media.

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HB120

Sponsor: Rep Kasey Carpenter (R) Dalton

*Cosponsors

Rep Dale Washburn (R) Macon

Rep Mathew Gambrill (R) Cartersville

Rep Bee Nguyen (D) Atlanta

Rep Zulma Lopez (D) Atlanta

Rep Wes Cantrell (R) Woodstock

Rep Shea Roberts (D) Atlanta

Rep Angelika Kausche (D) Johns Creek

Rep Mathew Wilson (D) Brookhaven

Rep Sam Park (D) Lawrenceville (Added here Jan 11, 2022 after an update with House Clerk’s office. Thank you, Judy!)

*As per Clerk’s office 10:00 AM Jan 27, 2021 & Jan 11, 2022.

Image: Dustin Inman Society

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Numbers Show Effectiveness of Cancelled 287(g) Program in Two Georgia Counties

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Photo: CIS.org

Elections have consequences

The below excerpt is taken from a recent report for the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington D.C. 

Newly elected Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor cancelled the law enforcement partnership on January 1.

  • Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) accounted for 4,262 foreign-born encounters in FY 2020, 25.2 percent of all 287(g) encounters nationwide (16,903).
  • GCSO has reported 57,911 foreign-born encounters since the inception of the program in FY 2009 through FY 2020.

New Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens has pledged to end the program within his first 100 days in office.

  • Cobb County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) accounted for 1,097 foreign-born encounters in FY 2020, 6.5 percent of all 287(g) encounters nationwide.
  • CCSO has reported 21,984 foreign-born encounters since the inception of the program in FY 2007 through FY 2020.

Nationally in 2020, the 287(g) program encountered approximately:

  • 37 aliens convicted for homicide;
  • 920 aliens convicted for assault;
  • 1,261 convicted for dangerous drugs;
  • 104 convicted for sex offenses/assaults;
  • 377 convicted for obstructing police; and
  • 190 convicted for weapons offenses.

Here are some examples of dangerous individuals who were taken off the streets in Gwinnett and Cobb Counties under 287(g):

  • A citizen of Guatemala charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. The subject illegally reentered the United States on an unknown date and location after having been previously removed in 2012.
  • A citizen of Mexico charged with rape and aggravated child molestation by sodomy with a prior conviction of counterfeiting. The subject illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously removed.
  • A citizen of El Salvador charged with simple battery, disorderly conduct, no driver’s license, and outstanding warrants for two counts of strongarm rape and strongarm sodomy-sexual assault. Previous convictions include concealed weapon carrying, inflicting corporal injury to spouse/cohabitant, aggravated DUI, DUI, and disorderly intoxication. The subject illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously removed twice.
  • A citizen of Mexico arrested for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, trafficking in methamphetamine, and trafficking in cocaine. The subject entered the United States on an unknown date and location without inspection.
  • A citizen of Jamaica sentenced to 10 years for a conviction of armed robbery, possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, and possession of marijuana. The subject was last admitted into the United States as a conditional lawful resident.

Former Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway is quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as saying, “It [the 287(g) program] has saved people. I certainly think there have been fewer child molestations, rapes, murders, robberies.”

–> Read the complete report from CIS.org here.

Metro Atlanta more dangerous after two Democrat sheriffs elected

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Image: DIS

 

“People will die and American families will be separated forever because of the politically-based policy decisions of these pandering, “progressive” law enforcement officials. These are dangerous Democrats.”

The essay below originally appeared on the subscription website Insider Advantage Georgia on December 8, 2020

December 9, 2020

Metro Atlanta and Georgia were set on their way to becoming much more dangerous places on November 3rd—  and the chaos over the alleged fraud in the election should not distract from that truth. Two Democrats in Cobb and Gwinnett counties— Craig Owens and Keebo Taylor– won on promises to end the 287(g) agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that expand their ability to locate, hold and report to ICE illegal aliens who land in their jails.

People will die and American families will be separated forever because of the politically-based policy decisions of these pandering, “progressive” law enforcement officials. These are dangerous Democrats. 

Sheriffs elect: Left, Craig Owens, Cobb County. Right, Keebo Taylor, Gwinnett County. Photo WSB TV/Twitter

According to federal law, all illegal aliens are removable. And the sole reason for deportation, which can only be done by the feds, is violation of the quite liberal American immigration laws. Put another way, illegal aliens are deported because they are illegal aliens. 

Contrary to either incredible ignorance or willful falsehoods on the part of Taylor and Owens, neither is the 287(g) program limited by law to applying only to illegal aliens who were arrested for ‘serious’ or ‘violent’ crimes. Put still another way, and from the 287(g) law itself, authority includes “to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien as to his right to be or to remain in the United States;” 

The corporate-funded, anti-borders crowd has long been pushing for the end of all 287(g) agreements. The names of these well-financed, anti-enforcement Georgia groups is far too long to list here, but mentions should include the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute and Atlanta’s GALEO, which enjoys financial support from Coca-Cola Inc. and Mundo Hispanico. (GALEO was founded by one-time MALDEF board member Sam Zamarippa and currently operated by former MALDEF lobbyist Gerardo E. “Jerry” Gonzalez.) 

The ethnic-based MALDEF is known for a defiant 1998 statement from co-founder Mario Obledo: “California is going to become a Hispanic state and if anyone doesn’t like it they should leave.” Followed up with “they ought to go back to Europe.” 

In 2004, Georgia’s “flagship newspaper,” the liberal AJC, served as Dinner Chair for a glitzy Buckhead MALDEF fundraiser. MALDEF is on the list of anti-287(g) groups. 

 Thousands of American families have suffered at the hands of illegal aliens who were released from custody by “progressive” law enforcement officers. A 2017 Fox Five news report (jail records reveal immigrants not deported after minor crimes later commit worse ones) shines some light on the very real danger to the entire state the incoming anti-enforcement sheriffs plan to implement. 

Retiring Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway, who courageously worked to implement 287(g), reports that in a 26-day period in 2009, a startling 914 illegals were located in the Gwinnett County jail. More than half of them had been arrested previously. 

 The liberal AJC drops all pretenses 

 In one of several victory-lap news reports on the looming demise of 287(g) in the Atlanta area, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution went with the misleading headline “Cobb reckons with immigrant legacy” explaining it was withholding the names of multiple illegal aliens quoted in the long weeper. The mostly balance-free yarn included the stated AJC policy of shielding illegal alien’s identities “due to their concern over stigma or deportation.” This remarkable arrangement should be noted and a question should be asked: Will this ‘woke’ protection apply to all criminals in the future? 

 “Being undocumented, your dream is just not getting deported” one illegal alien laments to the AJC. 

The vanishing dream for Americans — in their own country— is family safety, security and an equal application of our immigration laws. That ideal could easily have been illustrated in the AJC story with a quote from Woodstock’s Kathy Inman. If asked, Inman would have replied from her wheelchair. That’s where she has been since 2000 when an illegal alien who was released after multiple contacts with local law enforcement put her there, and killed her only child, Dustin Inman. 

We don’t think “family separation” is a universal concern at the “credible, compelling and complete” Atlanta Journal–Constitution. 

Not for the first time, we remind AJC editors that illegal aliens are not “immigrants.” Real immigrants do not require shielding in “news” stories to protect them from deportation. 

D.A. King is president of the Georgia-based Dustin Inman Society, which supports enforcement of immigration laws. He is not a member of any political party.  NewDustinInmanSociety.org  

 

Georgia Gets in Ballot Trouble with Rule Changes – IAG

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Photo: IAG

“Previously, the signature on the absentee ballot had to match the signature on eNet, a computer database that maintains Georgia’s voter registration and absentee ballot information. If the signature on the ballot didn’t match, it was thrown out.”

Insider Advantage Georgia

November 11, 2020

By Phil Kent

Criticism of poor management and decision-making by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger continues, coupled with GOP voter fraud lawsuits that have been filed or will be filed. The controversy and lawsuits are partially spurred by changes in state election laws. One change, agreed to by the Republican secretary of state last March, is especially stunning. And it leads to a big question: Why did he agree to a settlement that smuggled in a major change to mail-in voting?

John Daniel Davidson, writing in The Federalist, has researched and written about Raffensperger’s incredible cave-in involving a settlement in federal court with the Georgia Democratic Party, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee which had sued the state over for absentee voting rules.

The settlement introduced “ballot curing” to Georgia law. Ballot curing, as Davidson describes it, is when voters whose mail-in ballots are rejected for some reason— the signature on the ballot doesn’t match the one on file, the ballot is missing certain voter information, etc.— are notified and given a chance to correct or “cure” their absentee ballot. “Under the settlement, state election officials agreed to contact voters whose ballots were rejected within three business days. If an absentee ballot is rejected in the 11 days before Election Day, officials agreed to contact the voter in the next business day,” Davidson writes.

But here’s where it gets worse. Because more than 8,000 absentee ballots were rejected in Georgia’s 2018 general election, this provision in the settlement got the most media play. Yet the most important one is a crucial change to the rules for accepting absentee ballots in the first place. Consider Davidson’s findings:

“Previously, the signature on the absentee ballot had to match the signature on eNet, a computer database that maintains Georgia’s voter registration and absentee ballot information. If the signature on the ballot didn’t match, it was thrown out.

“In a cleverly worded section of the settlement, Georgia election officials agreed to a subtle but profound change…, we hope you read the rest here.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dax Lopez’ wife to be Democrat state legislator – says he is no longer a Republican

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Image: Dustin Inman Society

A recent news report from the liberal AJC informs us that Zulma Lopez, wife of GALEO’s Dax Lopez has won the primary for State House District 86.

She also allows that former GALEO board member and fundraiser is “no longer a Republican.”

AJC:

Lopez moved to DeKalb County from Puerto Rico in 2007 and has owned her own practice for about six years. Her husband, DeKalb County State Court Judge Dax Lopez, was appointed to the bench in 2010 by then-Gov. Sonny Perdue.

President Barack Obama nominated him for a federal judgeship in 2016, but his nomination was thwarted by U.S. Sen. David Perdue due to the judge’s participation with the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.

At the time, Dax Lopez aligned himself with Republicans, but Zulma Lopez said things have changed.

“Since he’s a judge, he’s nonpartisan,” she said. “I’m happy to live in a house that is not divided, and I can say he is no longer a Republican.”

State Court Judge and former GALEO board member, Dax Lopez circa 2014. Image: Twitter/GALEO

The Dustin Inman Society and this writer were (very proudly) key in educating Senator David Perdue on the relationship between Judge Dax Lopez and GALEO and GALEO’s true agenda and record in large part with the DIS “Beginner’s Guide to GALEO” series of posts.

We wish Ms. Zulma Lopez luck in the General Assembly.

 

 

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms allowed activist council member to intercede on armed protesters’ behalf before child was shot and killed

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Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Photo: CBS46.com

“I called in a couple of artists. I called in neighborhood people. What I said was, ‘Guys, let’s bring some healing to this site,'” Sheperd said. “I told people to bring flowers. There was singing. There was a lot of stuff going on for healing.”

 

Before an innocent 8 year-old girl was shot and killed, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she allowed a city council member to negotiate with armed protesters who were blocking a city street.

Secoriea Turner was killed July 4 after gunmen opened fire on her mother’s SUV as she attempted to turn around in an BLM occupied University Avenue parking lot.

Secoriea Turner. Photo: Essence

From the the liberal AJC:

“In a wide-ranging interview Wednesday with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial board, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said police had planned on clearing the area weeks earlier but were encouraged to wait after City Councilmember Joyce Sheperd requested more time to negotiate with activists.

“That was not the administration’s position,” Bottoms said. But ultimately, it was the mayor’s call (more “mayor’s call” here).

Those negotiations came amid numerous reports of violence. There were at least two other shootings, at least one beating and multiple reports of threats against people approaching the site.

“Don’t make any sudden moves, or you will get shot,” an armed demonstrator told an AJC columnist reporting from the scene last month.

“I called in a couple of artists. I called in neighborhood people. What I said was, ‘Guys, let’s bring some healing to this site,'” Sheperd said. “I told people to bring flowers. There was singing. There was a lot of stuff going on for healing.”

But when armed people started blocking the road as if they were operating a checkpoint, Sheperd said she, along with area residents, told them to stop. After Brooks’ funeral on June 23, police cleared the barricades. Sheperd said she never saw the road blocked again and was encouraged that tensions were easing.

She acknowledged morale among Atlanta police officers was very low, referring to a recent conversation with Interim Police Chief Rodney Bryant, who told her “the wounds were deep.”

Note: A growing IPG page on the Black Lives Matter Marxists here.

Anti-enforcement Marxists likely to see another success against cowering GOP majority state legislature UPDATED

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Georgia Capitol Building. Photo: Twitter

UPDATE: Gov Kemp signed the bill described below on the last possible day, August 5, 2020. 

The road to Georgiafornia

Led by a Mexican citizen, Adelina Nichols, the anti-borders Marxists at the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) are demanding that Georgia’s governor veto just-passed legislation intended to offer additional protections to law enforcement officers and other first responders for “biased motivated crimes.”

HB 838 was passed as an attempt at saving face and as a distraction for conservative voters by the trembling Republican legislators who voted for passage of a thought crimes bill under pressure from the Chambers of Commerce, the Democrats – including Marxist Black Lives Matter and Antifa rioters who have been terrorizing Americans in Atlanta and around the country for more than a month.

Protections for police was included in the committee process of the hate crimes legislation later passed by the Republicans, but was removed when the GOP majority caved to the Democrats and the BLM rioters.

“We’ve had ongoing discussions with the minority party for the large part of two days and within our own Republican caucus and we’ve reached a compromise that I think everybody will be pleased with,” state Sen. Bill Cowsert (R) said, ABC News reported.

Georgia state Senator Bill Cowsert.

Governor Kemp was quick to sign the hate crimes capitulation legislation and that bill becomes law today.

Below is a Twitter post from GLAHR on the measure designed to protect police:

 

Photo: GLAHR Twitter

After reviewing the legislation, the ACLU has noted that it can be interpreted to actually reduce penalties for killing a police officer. The liberal AJC happily wrote that up here.

Note that the GLAHR objection to the poorly crafted bill isn’t that it a poorly crafted bill, but that it is somehow “anti-Black Lives Matter.”

We predict that Kemp will veto this one. We blame massive incompetence.

VOTING RECORDS:

HOUSE

SENATE

This post has been updated and edited. July 2, 2020.

 

No more jail! Anti-Borders Marxists to Atlanta’s Mayor: “It is time to end the cruel, unnecessary, and unhelpful incarceration of all human beings…”

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Photo: College of Liberal and Creative Arts, San Francisco State University

(Note: Atlanta’s mayor has already signed legislation to close the city’s jail)

The letter pasted below was sent to the mayor of Atlanta recently and distributed on May 28, 2020. I have added a few educational links to the letter. My links are noted with an *asterisk.

Photo: CBS 46

The letter below:

Dear Members of the Atlanta City Council:

 We, as *immigrants’ rights organizations, write this letter to urge you to support an upcoming budget amendment that will finally close the city jail and redirect the $18 million currently allocated to the Atlanta Department of Corrections (ADOC) in the proposed 2020-21 city budget to services to promote the health and wellness of all Atlantans.

 To date, while *the City of Atlanta terminated the contract with ICE, ACDC to this day still incarcerates our community members, primarily on minor or petty offenses. It is time to end the cruel, unnecessary, and unhelpful incarceration of all human beings at ACDC.  The city’s commitment to close and *repurpose the jail cannot be reconciled with allocating millions of dollars to its operation in the coming year. At a time of public health crisis and a loss of millions in the City’s revenue, it is unconscionable for the City of Atlanta to spend $18 million to continue to operate a jail that sits mostly empty and is already slated for closure and repurposing.

 We ask that you support the amendment to zero out the FY21 budget for the Department of Corrections and announce a date certain for the jail’s closure.

 Just two years ago, many of our organizations testified before the City Council on the human rights violations occurring at the Atlanta City Detention Center (ACDC), and called for terminating the contract with ICE and closing the jail altogether. These violations, described at length in Project South and Georgia Detention Watch’s 2018 Report titled, Inside Atlanta’s Immigrant Cages, highlighted: lack of medical care and mental health care, unsanitary living conditions, lack of edible food, abusive labor practices, lack of religious accommodations, verbal abuse by officers, overuse and abusive use of solitary confinement, and more.[1]

 After years of advocacy from community organizations to close the detention center and end immigration detention in Atlanta, the Mayor created an advisory committee to make a recommendation as to whether the City of Atlanta should end the contract with ICE that allowed for the detention of immigrants at ACDC. After hearing from directly impacted individuals who *testified to the horrid conditions at the facility and urged the Mayor to shut the facility down, the advisory committee recommended that the mayor end the contract to detain immigrants with ICE. The committee recognized that detaining immigrants at ACDC was inhumane.

*Terminating the contract with ICE was an important step towards Atlanta becoming a more welcoming city – one that prioritizes community-based care and support over punitive spaces for warehousing human beings. In the year that followed, we heard from organizers and residents throughout the city of Atlanta who are ready to see the jail closed, and the Mayor committed to shutting down and repurposing ACDC. Over the past two years, we were proud to see Atlanta praised, both locally and nationally for the collaborative development of a bold and compassionate plan to divest from incarceration and invest in real solutions for Atlanta’s marginalized communities.

 Now more than ever, we must put an end to locking people in cages for petty offenses such as jaywalking and disorderly conduct, wasting desperately needed resources, criminalizing people for being poor, and making us all less safe.

 We respectfully ask that you support our proposal and vote to zero out this year’s budget for the Department of Corrections and set a date for the jail’s closure.

 Sincerely,

 *

Project South (Institute for Elimination of Poverty and Genocide) 

Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR)

Georgia Detention Watch

Innovation Law Lab

Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)