HB444 billed as ‘reform’ to dual enrollment program but does not change lack of screening for illegals

 *UPDATE – 8:50 PM. I  was informed about 5:30 this evening that although it wasn’t on the Rules calendar, while I was writing the below column, House leadership put the HB444 bill on members desks and held a surprise vote today. This was done because we were shining way too much light on the DE program and the bill. Too many House Reps were starting to ask questions. They voted about 12:30-ish I am told. The bill passed (they agreed to senate version).

Never let it be said that Gov Kemp and Speaker Ralston won’t work together.

“They shoved it down our throats. If I had known all this, I never would have voted to agree” one GOP Rep told me this evening. 

__*UPDATED with vote records March 6, 2020 10:48AM. See bottom of column.

Spoiler alert to this post: While it is billed as a way to produce a more educated workforce, the Georgia dual enrollment program allows high school students to attend public universities at zero tuition cost. It has no verification system to keep illegal aliens out of the taxpayer-funded system. And, unless they have the Obama DACA amnesty, which provides a work permit, illegal aliens are not eligible to work anywhere in the United States.

It seems that Gov. Kemp’s office is quite anxious to see his dual enrollment “reform” bill (HB444) passed and is contacting House members to gauge support. A note from Kemp’s Deputy Director of External Affairs, Stuart Wilkinson, to House members (apparently only GOP members) illustrates the urgency and interest. Delivered to members yesterday, this came to us from several pro-enforcement lawmakers:

“Good Afternoon,

We understand that HB 444, the Governor’s dual enrollment bill, will be called for an agree this week. The Governor hopes he can count on your support with a YES vote. Please let us know if there are any issues you want to discuss or are not able to vote YES.

Thanks,

Stuart Wilkinson”

The dual enrollment program (DE) allows high school students to attend public-funded college classes in the taxpayer-funded USG system at zero tuition cost to the student.  Zero cost is a much better benefit than the reduced rate of instate tuition!

With stated goal of reducing costs of DE, HB444 was introduced by a Kemp floor leader and passed last year in the House and then was amended and passed by the state senate earlier this year– handled by a Kemp floor leader.

The liberal AJC did a good job of explaining DE and Kemp’s intent in his reform move here, but they did not include any of the obvious pertinent information on illegal alien students. Neither did they do a story when I asked how many illegal alien high school students are right now receiving a totally free ride in USG classroom seats.

AJC:

“Georgia House Bill 444 would significantly change the state’s popular dual enrollment program that allows high school students to take state-funded college courses.

Supporters of the bill say the program’s costs have skyrocketed in recent years and changes are necessary to make it sustainable. About 52,000 students are currently enrolled in the program.

Critics say the changes will limit education opportunities for many low-income and rural students.

Here are five things to know about the dual enrollment program and proposed legislation, according to information in the bill and its sponsor, state Rep. Bert Reeves, R-Marietta.”

Please read the rest here.

And note that there is no change to the fact that there is no verification to exclude illegals.

As Gov. Kemp’s staffer tells House members in his note yesterday, HB444 will see a call to agree with the senate changes this week, which will send the bill to Gov Kemp’s desk for signing.

Nothing in the original DE program, the Kemp House bill from last year or the senate changes this year includes any requirement that illegal aliens be screened out of the free (taxpayer-funded) college courses.

Not so after high school graduation. See the USG verification system to insure illegal aliens do not receive reduced tuition rates for those applicants here.

Gov. Kemp’s office phone number is 404-656-1776. He is knowingly allowing illegal aliens in high school to obtain a no-cost college education – and Georgia citizens are being billed.

We hope you ask your own Rep how they are going to vote on HB 444 – and how they voted on it last year.

We will post all voting records next week.

Vote records as promised. Pasted from the General Assembly website.

 

Mar/03/2020 – House Vote #521Yea(103) Nay(67) NV(1)

Excu (excused) (9)

 

 

 

 

Pitching a story and pleading for help

 #BigTruckTrick

Media blackout in Georgia

 

18 Feb 2020

 After campaigning on a promise to “track and deport” criminal aliens and keeping his ‘Big Truck’ for “rounding up criminal illegals” and a solid pledge on ending sanctuary jurisdictions while citing Kate Steinle and other victims, Georgia’s establishment Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has been totally mute on any part of illegal immigration since Election Day, 2018.

This, despite a growing unease by the pro-enforcement, independent voters. Here is my Brian Kemp file that includes letters to the editor and other information. The liberal media here in Georgia, including the AP and AJC have watched this happen without so much as a single note of Kemp’s betrayal on illegal immigration in a state that is home to more illegal aliens than green card holders — and more than Arizona (DHS).

Also despite the known rapes and murders committed by illegal aliens in Metro Atlanta, Kemp is still silent. He does not speak up to support the sheriffs who are fighting the corporate-funded anti-enforcement leftists in the full scale assault on 287(g)/. “Chinga La Migra!”

Add to that the fact that state law requires GA Dept. of Public Safety to have a 287(g) agreement and to train ten new officers each year in that program. Under Kemp, DPS is not 287(g) authorized.

While cutting the budget by $200 mil this year, he will not consider a $100 million annual new revenue stream because it effects black market labor in our Big Ag industry.

Now, POTUS announces his intent to send Border Patrol Agents to Atlanta to help with the sanctuary city crisis while Kemp remains silent. *Stats on criminal aliens in our prison system. POTUS endorsed Kemp – largely due to his announced “tough on criminal illegals” claim. It is obvious that President Trump is doing the job Gov Kemp will not do.

Because Republican-ruled Georgia is about where California was around the late 1990’s on this and the political corruption involved, we have taken to calling our once conservative state “Georgiafornia.”

BTW”: Georgia’s governor has a “do not call me policy.” We are pleading with a national news outlet to expose this dangerous and defiant rot. And Kemp is pushing legislation through that will “reform” the dual enrollment program in our schools in an effort to educate more workers – but he refuses to insert any verification system to filter out illegal aliens who are obviously not eligible to work.

We held an event here Feb 8 that featured former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan as keynote speaker and when he learned of the above and verified it with his active Georgia-resident ICE Agent friends, he took some verbal swings at Kemp on Fox and Friends and at our event. Please see photo here.

Again, despite all of this, the GA media is silent. Most Georgians are unaware of any of this.

We are pleading for help from the outside world. I have been blacklisted by the media here since the amnesty fight of 2013 and a front page profile in NY Times and a resulting interview/trial on Univision with Jorge Ramos. Local agenda-reporters went bats over that one.

D.A. King

@DAKDIS

Marietta, GA

ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com

 

 

 

 

“End detainment and deportations.” “ICE out of Gwinnett.”

Stacey Abrams seems to have clarified her position on illegal immigration and enforcement. Her ‘New Georgia Project’ distributed pre-addressed, information-gathering post cards featuring the demand to “keep ICE out of our communities” at an anti-enforcement forum in Georgia’s Gwinnett County last week.

In a state with more illegal aliens than green card holders and more than Arizona, Gwinnett County is home to about 71,000 illegal aliens, or about 8% of the metro-Atlanta county’s total population according to stats from the Migration Policy Institute. The figures came with a depiction of the effects of immigration enforcement contained in a 2018 report from the leftist The Guardian.com.

The October 2 event was organized by several  militant extremist, anti-287(g) groups including the ‘Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights’ and the ‘Project South Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide’  to create opposition to the decade-old 287(g) agreement Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway has with ICE. Event organizers were surprised with the attendance and participation of pro-enforcement Americans after IAG and the Dustin Inman Society made the meeting in a public library known outside of the anti-enforcement circle. Several people on the pro-American side sent us photos and the post cards from Abram’s New Georgia Project.

Abrams, runner-up in the 2018 Georgia governor’s race,  has partnered with anti-borders groups (“communities in resistance”) that use banners and t-shirts to disparage immigration enforcement officers with the foreign language slang term “chinga la migra”

 

 

“Keep immigrant families safe”

As is now the default propaganda tool for the corporate-funded anti-borders mob and much of the media, use of the term “immigrants” is substituted for any reference to the fact that the support is aimed at and intended for illegal aliens.

Readers of all pronouns can see the reverse side of Abrams’ New Georgia Project postcard below.

 

 

 

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

Dear reader,

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

There is a lot of information in the embedded links.

______________________________________________________________________________________________

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MSM seems to have missed this story

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Offense of aggravated identity fraud”

(a)  A person commits the offense of aggravated identity fraud when he or she willfully and fraudulently uses any counterfeit or fictitious identifying information concerning a real, fictitious, or deceased person with intent to use such counterfeit or fictitious identifying information for the purpose of obtaining employment.”

The law says that a first offense “shall be punishable by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than 15 years, a fine not to exceed $250,000.00, or both…”

*The below guest column was posted on the subscription website, Insider Advantage Georgia today

Illegal Alien Employer Arrest an Enforcement Opportunity for Kemp

by D.A. King | May 10, 2019 | The Forum | 0 comments

The news that a Mexican illegal alien amassed a large fortune by illegally operating a construction company while employing other illegal aliens and living in a Bartow County compound — complete with a security wall and armed guards – presents a golden opportunity for Gov. Brian Kemp. That is, if the new governor wants to make clear his determination to fight illegal immigration.

It cannot be said enough: The chief cause of illegal immigration is illegal employment. Reduce the former and see less of the latter. Fewer illegal aliens equals fewer crimes committed by illegal aliens. It seems obvious.

As the anti-enforcement Georgia Budget and Policy Institute was kind enough to remind us last summer, Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders). Only the most politically blind and naïve still hold out hope that congress will accomplish anything meaningful on ending the illegal immigration crisis.

The logical conclusion is that state and local governments should use all available tools to make Georgia as inhospitable as possible to illegal employers and illegal aliens. That would include unapologetic enforcement of state laws already in place.

Which brings us back to the governor and Juan Antonio Perez, the illegal alien recently busted by the feds and who reportedly had somewhere around 200 employees “almost all of them here illegally.”

Kemp should consider having the GBI obtain the employment records from all of the companies operated by Perez, if he has any. Including the I-9 forms. The I-9 form is the outdated, 20^th century paper device used to collect and record identity verification documents presented by new employees to the employer.

It is impossible for an illegal alien to complete the I-9 process without use of false or stolen ID. Georgia has a state law for that.

Intended to severely punish ID fraud in the process of obtaining employment, Georgia’s  “Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011” (HB 87) put OCGA 16-9-121.1 in place.

“Offense of aggravated identity fraud”…read the rest here.

PSA: Governor Kemp can be contacted by email at Brian.Kemp (@) georgia.gov and Georgians can leave a message with his staff at the Capitol by calling 404-656-1776

 Editor’s note: CAIR is active in lobbying against state legislation related to illegal immigration in the Georgia Capitol, including 2019’s HB202.

Robert Spencer in Frontpage magazine: “So long, everybody. If I’m shut out of all platforms over the next few days, you’ll know why.”

March 18, 2019

Frontpage magazine

Calling for or justifying a massacre of innocent people is one thing. But that “failing to address far-right extremism on their platforms” is quite another. For years now, Leftists and Islamic supremacists have insisted that opposing jihad mass murder and Sharia oppression of women and others constitutes “far-right extremism.” So it is likely that those who will be shut down will not be limited solely to people such as this “24-year-old from Oldham” who was “making reference and support for the terrible events.” It will include foes of jihad terror.

My friends, it could be time for me to be saying goodbye. Leftist and Islamic groups have been trying for years to silence all criticism of jihad terror and Sharia oppression of women and others, and in the New Zealand massacre they see the best chance in a long time to move in for the kill. I (along with other foes of jihad terror) could be banned from everything and rendered a non-person, a la Alex Jones, any day now.

This is no exaggeration. Meeting in Istanbul, the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has called on non-Muslim countries to ban “Islamophobia,” which means criticism of Islam, including analysis of the motivating ideology fueling jihad terror. IUMS President Ahmed al-Raisouni said Friday: “IUMS calls on non-Muslim countries to ban the spread of hatred against Islam and Muslims.”

Since analysis of the motivating ideology behind jihad terror is routinely smeared as “hatred of Islam and Muslims,” this will likely outlaw all such analysis and make opposition to jihad terror effectively impossible.

And these bans are very likely coming. In America, they won’t take the form of actual laws forbidding criticism of Islam (although remember that Tom Perez, the current head of the Democratic National Committee, refused to rule out the implementation of such laws a few years ago, when he was Assistant Attorney General in the Obama administration). They’re more likely to take the form of a complete deplatforming. We will be able to speak, but no one will be able to hear us, as we won’t be allowed on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and the rest.

IUMS was not alone. Saudi King Salman tweeted: “The heinous massacre that targeted worshippers in the mosque in New Zealand is a terrorist act, and it reaffirms the responsibility of the international community in combating hate speech and terrorism that is not condoned by religions or the values of tolerance.” Apparently terrorism that is condoned by religions is fine with him, as in “strike terror in the enemies of Allah” (Qur’an 8:60). But by “hate speech” he almost certainly means honest discussion of how Islamic jihadis use the texts and teachings of Islam to justify violence.

Domestically, the call for censorship came from the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which has for years been trying to shut down all opposition to jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women, gays, and others. They have succeeded in fooling many people into thinking that it is “bigotry” and “racism” to oppose jihad terror, and have made those who discuss the motivating ideology behind jihad terror toxic in the public square. Now Hamas-linked CAIR is attempting to use the New Zealand massacre to achieve total victory: the complete closure of all media platforms to foes of jihad terror and Sharia oppression… Read more here.