Search Results for: Transcript

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 More on special immigrants (SIVs) here

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

________

Notes.

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

 Ga. Code § 20-3-66

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

(b)(1)

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

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

Voters should talk back to the politicians they send to Atlanta

One of the glaring realities realized after nearly two decades as a reluctant denizen of the Gold Dome is that most voters have little idea about what really goes on there. A pending Democrat bill related to immigration and the cost of higher education with three Republican cosponsors is likely an example.

Senate Bill 264 is sponsored by Stone Mountain Democrat Sen. Kim Jackson. The number two signer on the bill is Republican Sen. Mike Dugan of Carrollton. The other two Republican cosponsors are Senators Billy Hickman (Statesboro) and Dalton’s Chuck Payne.

If passed and signed by Governor Kemp, this bill would remove the requirement now in state law that new Georgia residents must live here for a year before they can access the much lower instate tuition rate in our public colleges and technical schools.  Including the Republican cosigners, we urge all concerned to read lines 22 & 23 in the bill as introduced (LC  50 0510).            

But the proposed change would not apply to Americans.

The Democrat legislation these Republicans have decided to support only applies to foreigners with refugee and “special immigrant” status along with otherwise illegal aliens who the Biden administration moves into the U.S. as recipients of temporary “Humanitarian Parole.” Under SB 264 these lucky folks could legally “migrate” to Georgia from other countries and immediately access instate tuition rates. They would not have a twelve-month residency waiting period as do Americans.

U.S. citizens moving here from other states would still pay the much higher out of state tuition rate for their first year as a new Georgian.It’s easy and accurate to refer to this gem as an “Americans last bill.”

The measure  has been assigned to the Senate Higher Education Committee where Hickman is the chairman and saw an initial hearing on March 16, 2023. Along with Sen. Payne, with his question to the sponsor, Chairman Hickman demonstrated that that he did not understand the Democrat, immigration related bill he has cosponsored (transcript here).

How much more tuition would an American pay in our public colleges than foreign nationals?

In Carroll County, where Sen. Dugan lives, the University of West Georgia charges $2,732 (15+ hours) for instate tuition. The out of state rate is $9,641.

• Related: Dugan’s senate email address is mike.dugan@senate.ga.gov .

According to the Georgia Southern University website, the instate tuition for undergraduates was $2732.00 for fifteen hours in the Fall 2022 semester and $9641.00 for out-of-state rate (it’s the same for Spring, and Summer 2023). Our math tells us that is a difference of $6909.00 per semester.

As per the Dalton State website, for on campus students the estimated tuition and fees per semester is $2,123.00 for instate tuition. It’s $6,334.00 for students being charged the out-of-state rate. That’s a difference of $4211.00 if my American math is correct – per semester.

Based on a 9-month academic year for an average undergraduate student, tuition and fees at UGA for instate tuition is $12,080.00 The out-of-state tuition/fee cost is $31,120.00  “based on a 9-month academic year for an average undergraduate student”  (UGA website, May 30, 2023).

My guess is that cosponsoring SB 264 wasn’t at the top of any “end of session at the Gold Dome wrap up” presentation at a grassroots GOP meeting for Dugan or the other Republican cosponsors.

Pushed in the state Capitol by the leftist Coalition of Refugee Service Agencies (CRSA), Mark Zuckerburg’s little-known, pro-amnesty ‘FWD.us’ lobbying enterprise and the powerful Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the same bill (then from a Republican) died without a vote last year as HB 932. When this writer made it public during the 2022 legislative session that Speaker Pro Tem Rep Jan Jones (R – Milton) had cosponsored that bill, she went to the Clerk of the House office and scratched her name off the list of cosponsors.

• According to their website, the CRSA mission is “to engage a broad coalition to highlight the cultural, social, and economic contributions of refugees and immigrants in Georgia.”
• A quote on “immigration reform” on the FWD.us website goes like this: “A majority of Americans support immigration and criminal justice reform, and we’re working with legislators and groups on both sides of the aisle to drive real change at the local, state, and federal levels.” Jaime Rangel, the lobbyist in the state Capitol for FWD.us is an illegal alien.
• The Georgia Chamber website tells us “for over 100 years the Georgia Chamber of Commerce has worked to keep, grow and create jobs to make Georgia a better state for business.”

I can sadly tell you that the list of lawmakers who have an “Americans First” mindset on business, benefits, law enforcement and educational matters when it involves immigration is short and shrinking. Voters can and should change that fact by paying attention and talking back to the politicians they elect to serve them.

There is a companion bill in the House, HB 640. Democrat Rep Scott Holcombe (Atlanta) is the lead sponsor, Republican Rep Bill Hitchens (Rincon) is the only cosponsor. Readers may want to ask their House Rep about that gem too as both bills are viable for the 2024 session. It’s an election year.

You can get more information on these bills and follow their progress at ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com.

In the closing days of the 2023 push for “school choice” in Georgia, Martha Zoller had Rep Todd Jones on her show yesterday (here). He is carrying this year’s school choice bill in the House. I listened in for the first time in awhile.

We were happy (surprised) to hear Rep Jones finally mention illegal aliens as related to the “educational freedom”, “put parents in charge,” “Promise Scholarship” topic. We were disappointed that he didn’t mention that in the current version of SB 233 there is no language that excludes illegal alien parents from the state benefit process or serving on an oversight committee.

There seemed to be some confusion on Martha’s part about what informed, pro-enforcement watchers were saying about illegal aliens as related to being eligible students.

Audio and transcript on the bottom.

Martha found time later in her show to mention me and suggest that I arrange an interview on her show. We were not aware of that possibility. The usual process of radio show hosts having guests on for interviews is that the host invites the guest. But it seems that Martha has some resentment towards me for not memory-holing Gov Brian Kemp’s defiant betrayal on his 2018 campaign promises regarding “criminal illegals,” the promised  public registry of criminal illegals, the “Brian Kemp Track and Deport plan” and his pledge on ending “sanctuary cities.”

We now have sanctuary counties in Georgia.

• Related: Under Gov Brian Kemp, Georgia is a sanctuary state for “criminal illegals”

Martha now says Kemp has done a lot on illegal immigration in Georgia, just different things than he said he would do – while continuing to try to divert listener’s attention to “the border.” During the last campaign Martha explained that Kemp had not done what he promised because things had changed at the border (even more illegal aliens crossing). We’ll get to all that and more after the legislative session is over.

Meantime, I am happy to be on Martha’s show anytime she wants me on. I wonder if I should regard  it as a hostile interview.

Audio (five-ish minutes) & partial transcript

Rep Todd Jones:

“… my swearing in in January of 2017.

Martha Zoller:

And then tell us about Senate Bill 233.

Rep Todd Jones:

Sure. So, Senate Bill 233, uh, effectively the- the Georgia Scholarship Promise Act, is what many are calling a voucher, but to me it’s an opportunity to provide families who are right now districted to a bottom 25% school within the state of Georgia, to provide them with an alternative, provide them with an opportunity. Frankly, to provide them hope.

Martha:

Now, you are getting some pushback from a lot of areas, okay, but one of them is in some of the anti illegal immigration groups, are, and, uh, many of them are Republicans, are- are pushing back saying that this is gonna open the door to illegal immigrants, uh, in education. Now I would argue that we already are required by the, by the Supreme Court to educate all children that are in our country regardless of their immigration status, but is there any foundation or any accuracy to some of the claims being made there?

Rep Todd Jones:

Yeah. So, when we were forming 233 with Senator Greg Dolezal, he’s the primary author of this, uh, on the Senate side. I’m honored to be carrying it on the House side. There was a series of things that we wanted to be able to do to make it clear, uh, what parents would be, uh, allowed to be able to take advantage of this voucher or the students, what a school would have to do. If it was a private school, what would have to occur for a homeschooling student, a hybrid school, et cetera. What would be accountability standards? What were the financial standards? And all the transparency that goes along with it. We wanted to make it the strongest school choice bill in the entire country in terms of, I’ll say, accountability.

Uh, in terms of this question around I’ll say illegal, uh, immigrants receiving the voucher, I can say this. To your point, the Supreme Court’s been very clear in terms of being able or having to educate students within the public school system, but we added in to 233 not only are you an existing public school student, but you also are eligible for HOPE. And HOPE, as you know, is effectively our opportunity to provide kids a pathway into the university system and be able to cover anywhere between 90% to 100% of their cost.

That does not provide for the funding of anyone who is here illegally. So ultimately, putting the guardrails around not just are they in the public school system, but also eligible for HOPE puts the guardrail in in terms of who can and who can’t. But the other thing I like to mention is, is that the voucher itself is not fungible cash. It’s not just cash that’s deposited into the parents’, um, I’ll say bank account, but rather it is a third party administered account that can only be released based on approved or pre-approved expenses that the commission has already reviewed and has indicated that those are expenses that are appropriate to be paid for by the account.

Martha:

You know, since about the 1850s or ’60s in New Hampshire and Vermont, there has been a system called Town Tuition. Uh, it is a system where basically the money follows the child. And it became about because there were a lot of small towns in New Hampshire and Vermont where maybe they didn’t have enough money to have a middle school and a high school, or whatever. So there’s been this, you can go to … It used to be you can go to parochial schools, you can go to private schools. Up until the 1980s, you could go to parochial schools. And they’ve had this in place for, you know, 150 years.

Um, hav- are you aware of that system? Had you heard about it? Has anybody looked at it if so? Because it seems like we got a model that’s worked for 150 years, and, you know, but nobody seems to know about it.

Rep Todd Jones:

So, I would, A, yes, I am aware of it. B, I also agree with you that no one is aware about it, is- is aware of those programs. But you’re starting to see maybe not exact replicas, but at least I’ll say, a- a- a good overlap, uh, in Arkansas, you’re starting to see, in Florida, in terms of what they voted last Thursday in terms of universal money follows the student. So, these are I’ll say concepts that are starting to sweep across the country, especially in those states that lean red or hard red. And we hope that our, and coming back to 233, we feel as if we have tailored this in such a way, uh, that to your exact point, if the school’s in the bottom 25% of our state, we’re not looking to do anything adverse to that school.

I want to be clear. If a student takes a voucher from one of those school systems, the per capita funding actually goes up, not goes down, and that’s a long formula and a, probably for a longer conversation. But we see this as an and, Martha, not an or. We’re gonna continue to fund public education, totally fund public education and provide those students who are districted to a bottom 25% school to be able to have an opportunity to do something else, because let’s face it, education is the great equalizer.

Martha:

Amen to that, you know. Education and economics is what separates us. Okay.

Rep Todd Jones:

That’s right.

Martha:

And that’s what we need to- to look at. Um, of course, I’ve gotten a number of question when the people heard you were gonna be on. I got some questions that I’ve k- kind of compiled because they were all on the same topic. Um, Florida made some big changes in their education system back during Governor Bush. And- and e- essentially by adding choice-…”

“Stalker Boy” Sam Aguilar on the Martha Zoller Show

An anti-enforcement activist, Sam Aguilar is a former GALEO staffer, former FWD.us staffer and a person who spins whole cloth lies about his political enemies. Aguilar lost his gig with FWD.us  – we hope due to our shining some light on his goofy antics in the Georgia state Capitol.

From my own experience with this nut in 2015:

“Late in the legislative session. At night, on the 4th floor of the GA Capitol:

This bizarre character, Sam Aguilar, walked up and introduced himself with an odd smirk. As I shook his hand he informed me he worked for GALEO, which is one of the many corporate-funded anti-enforcement immigration lobby groups in GA. Warning, if you shake hands with this nutball, have a towel handy, his hands are miserably sweaty. After I walked away, I noticed he was following me, so I reversed direction to be sure. Sure enough, he was right on my tail. He stayed about 4 feet behind me for about 10 minutes around the building, with people everywhere, including when I went into the men’s room.

I finally told a Capitol Police officer what was up and handed my phone to a friend to record Stalker Boy Sam Aguilar. What you see here is the last minute of me, then age 63, being stalked by a paid GALEO anti-borders, millenial activist – in public. The Capitol Police officer was just about to get involved and Stalker Boy decided to slow down his tail. But he still had the weird smirk. I suppose in lefty-land this is considered revenge for my pro-enforcement work to make GA. inhospitable to the crime of illegal immigration. To be clear. Stalker Boy Sam Aguilar is a very strange egg.”

You can click here to see the video and more info.

Related: “Immigration amnesty: Republican GA radio show host Martha Zoller interviews illegal alien FWD.us lobbyist guest Jaime Rangel”

Readers can listen to Republican radio show host Martha Zoller thank ‘Stalker Boy’ Sam Aguilar for what he does at the end of the below audio of her interview with him from Nov. 29, 2021.