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“LIMITED TERM” drivers license: Non-citizen ID not excluded from use as “proper ID” at GA’s polls

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A suggestion for voters who actually go to the polls and cast a vote in person: When the poll worker asks you for I.D and you pull out your drivers license, ask them if they would have accepted your license if it read “LIMITED TERM” across the top.

Spoiler: The answer will be “yes, we accept all Georgia drivers licenses.”

Because that’s the law.

“Section 21-2-417 – Presentation of proper identification to poll workers; “…each elector shall present proper identification to a poll worker at or prior to completion of a voter’s certificate at any polling place and prior to such person’s admission to the enclosed space at such polling place. Proper identification shall consist of any one of the following: (1) A Georgia driver’s license which was properly issued by the appropriate state agency…”

There is nothing in Georgia law that excludes the “LIMITED TERM” drivers license or state ID card from being regarded as “proper identification’ at the polls.

What are the LIMITED TERM drivers licenses and official state ID Cards?

They are the driving/ID credentials issued to non-U.S. citizens by Georgia’s Dept. of Drivers Services (DDS). This includes students here on temporary visas, Mercedes Benz executives on visas – and illegal aliens who are still benefitting from the protections of deferred deportation proceedings illegally conferred by Barack Obama in 2012 as part of his pandering re-election campaign.

There have been several attempts under the Gold Dome to rectify this needless lapse in common sense and security. None of them were allowed to pass.

LIMITED TERM GA drivers license as proposed in HB 228 (2021 session)
GA’s Current LIMITED TERM drivers license.

 

The most recent try was in 2021 with HB 228 sponsored by Cherokee County Republican Rep. Charlice Byrd and an impressive list of powerful cosponsors. The bill was well-written and simple. It would have added wording to the law that excluded drivers licenses and ID Cards issued to foreigners. The bill would have added words across the top of the credentials that read: ‘BEARER NOT A U.S. CITIZEN — NOT VOTER ID’.” For mail in voting protections the legislation would have required DDS to create a document numbering system in which all non-citizen’s document numbers began with “NC” alerting all concerned to the non-citizens status of the bearer.

Readers may remember the climate of the nation, state and legislative session in 2021 after the 2020 election results. The short end of this story is that HB 228 was not allowed so much as a vote in the House Special Committee on Election Integrity. We had to fight to even get an abbreviated, Friday PM hearing. Taking a goofy talking point from the far-left, Republican opponents told us the change would be branding non-citizens with a “Scarlett Letter.”

The bill died after much push back by Ryan Germany, then General Counsel at the Georgia Secretary of State office.

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

Voters may want to ask their Republican legislators to reintroduce the bill and easily solve a needless – and mindless – lapse in security.

I end by suggesting readers check out the star in the righthand corner of the current LIMITED TERM drivers license issued in Georgia. That denotes it is REAL ID Act compliant. It’s not only U.S. citizens who are given that status on their licenses.

REAL ID Act approval allows the bearer to enter nuclear power facilities, federal buildings and to board airliners in the post- 9/11 America. Google it.

Stolen Valor: GA state Senator Shawn Still does not want to talk about his false claim of being a military veteran

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State Sen. Shawn Still. (Twitter/X)

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“Tori, don’t, don’t ever say that to me again. I am too. I’ve served proudly, and you don’t need to throw that in my face.” Republican state Senator Shawn Still on veteran status to Senate District 20 Republican Primary candidate and former U.S. Marine Tori Branum in a recorded May, 2024 telephone conversation.

________________

In several May, 2024 posts, we focused on a claim by Georgia state Senator Shawn Still (R- Norcross) that he is a military veteran. He isn’t.

GA Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R), President of the Senate.

While the political right correctly goes after Democrat Tim Walz for his shameless stolen valor remarks, as far as we can see there is silence from Georgia Republicans on Shawn Still. That includes Georgia Republican Party leadership, Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp, the president of the Senate, Lt, Governor Burt Jones, Still’s Senate colleagues and Republican voters – even voters in Still’s home district in Gwinnett County.

You can read about Freshman Sen. Shawn Still here and here and here. There is a lot more information linked into the posts.

Shawn Still Senate bio here.

 

For political insiders who do more than read “the news” it may help to explain Senator Still’s approach to policy by pointing out he was named the 2023 Freshman Senator of the Year by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. That reminds us: Don’t forget to remember the date of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce 2024 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit.

Heads up: Still has made it clear to this writer that he does not want to talk about the stolen valor topic.

SMH

 

Retired INS Agent in the Brunswick News: Dual Enrollment should be open only to citizens (and green card holders)

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Letters to the editor

August 9, 2024

 

Dual enrollment in Georgia is a taxpayer-funded program on which immigration expert D.A. King has been sounding the alarm for several years. As usual, he is completely correct. Starting now, legislators should be pushed to finally fix this ridiculous mess in the 2025 session.

From the College of Coastal Georgia website:“The Dual Enrollment program is a state-funded program for eligible Georgia high school (public, private and approved home-study) students that provides opportunities for eligible high school students to enroll, earning both high school and college credit via part-time or full-time enrollment. Tuition, books and mandatory fees are paid by the Dual Enrollment program.”

What a great migration destination! Totally free college classes and no worries about books and fees. There is no exclusion for illegal alien students. The program is presented and shielded by the Gov. Kemp-led “No. 1 for Business” Chamber of Commerce, Gold Dome crowd as an invaluable tool to increase the skilled workforce. While dutiful Republican legislators under Kemp’s thumb likely haven’t considered it, the fact is that it is a federal offense to hire an illegal alien. Georgia taxpayers are funding a no-cost college education for foreigners who cannot work legally anywhere in the USA.

Fact: Camden County GOP Rep. Steven Sainz promised to push a bill for this last year but let it die without a hearing. Only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (green card holders) should be eligible for the dual enrollment program. Concerned conservatives should read more about this at ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com.

Robert Trent

St. Marys

HERE.

Note: Bob Trent is a former Border Patrol Agent, INS agent and retired as Assistant Director, Enforcement Training, U.S. Immigration Officer Academy, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, GA.

Reforming Dual Enrollment – Draft legislation for our lawmakers

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“Workforce development?” – Why are we paying for college classes for illegal aliens who are not eligible for employment?

We hope regular readers of this space and the audience of Scott Ryfun’s superlative “Straight Talk” radio show know this writer and the Dustin Inman Society have been pushing for significant change to Georgia’s Dual Enrollment program for several years. I am grateful for a weekly segment on Scott’s show – Thursdays at 8:35 AM.

The quick, elevator ride explanation of Dual Enrollment is that our tax dollars are going to fully fund college classes for Georgia high school students – including the cost of books and fees. It’s zero cost for the student. A more in depth explanation here.

Like a great deal of what happens under the Gold Dome in Atlanta, the program is operated and funded in the name of increasing the size of Georgia’s skilled workforce. Along with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce wants more workers. They usually get what they want.

What Gov. Kemp, Republican leadership in the General Assembly, and the special interests have kept quiet is the fact that illegal alien students are not excluded from the Dual Enrollment program. Further, the hope is that nobody (including our state legislators) will remember that federal law makes “the undocumented” ineligible to work.

A perfectly logical question for our state lawmakers: “Since they cannot legally work anywhere in the USA, why are you voting for legislation that pays for a college education for illegal aliens using my taxes?”

  • According to the Georgia House Budget and Research Office, the 2025 state budget for Dual Enrollment is $91.3 million.

It is truly astonishing to this writer that voters remain silent on matters like this.

As a nudge for concerned Georgians to take action, we paste language below that can be introduced as legislation for the 2025 legislative session. The wording that will exclude illegal aliens is in bold italics (a Lawful Permanent Resident is a ‘green card’ holder). After working in the Capitol for nineteen years I can assure readers that the below proposal will need very little adjustment to become effective law if there is an interest in doing so.

I predict that there will be an effort to dilute the language so as to allow the should-be illegal aliens who have been improperly granted “parole” to access the free college classes. But one thing at a time.

About here I should remind voters that if they remain silent on this, the current arrangement will not change. We must make our voices louder than the well-funded lobbyists.

The hope here is that readers will send the below draft of legislation to their state legislators and maybe give them a friendly phone call and/or email. To be clear: If you remain silent nothing will change.

  • We include a FAQ and response (#7) from the officials at the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) who operate and administer the Dual Enrollment program:

Is there a residency requirement to participate in Dual Enrollment?”

Response: “There is no residence or citizenship requirement to participate in the Dual Enrollment program. A student must be enrolled at an eligible participating high school located in Georgia or home study program operated pursuant to Code Section 20-2-690 located in Georgia, and meet the postsecondary admissions requirements and enroll in a participating postsecondary institution.”

 

______________________

 

DUAL ENROLLMENT REFORM: OUR HANDY, PROPOSED BILL LANGUAGE:    

This Act shall be known and may be cited as the “Georgia Dual Enrollment Reform Act of 2025.”

To amend Code Section 20-2-161.3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Dual Enrollment Act, purpose, dual credit courses, eligibility for participation, and eligibility for payment, so as to provide for a U.S. citizenship, legal immigration status and residency requirement for eligible students; to provide for an effective date and for applicability; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Section 20-2-161.3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Dual Enrollment Act, purpose, dual credit courses, eligibility for participation, and eligibility for payment, is amended by revising paragraph (9) of subsection (b) as follows:

“(9) ‘Eligible high school student’ means a student who is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident who remains a resident of the state while participating in the program, and who is:

(A) Entering or enrolled in eleventh or twelfth grade at an eligible high school taking any eligible dual credit course at any eligible postsecondary institution; or

(B) Entering or enrolled in tenth grade at an eligible high school when such student: (i) Is enrolled in an eligible CTAE course at an institution within the Technical College System of Georgia;

(ii) Has obtained prior to the beginning of the term of dual enrollment coursework an SAT or ACT test score that would meet the assessment requirements of a Zell Miller Scholar pursuant to division (27)(A)(i) of Code Section 20-3-519 and is taking eligible core courses at any eligible postsecondary institution; or

(iii) Was enrolled as a ninth grader in one or more dual credit courses at an eligible postsecondary institution for which payment was made under this part on or before June 30, 2020.”

This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025, and shall apply to all school years beginning on or after July 1, 2025.

 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.

Please feel free to send this post to your state Senator and your state House Rep.

_

A version of this column was published in the August 5, 2024 edition of The Islander newspaper in Glynn Co.

Hooray! – At least one GA public university sats they exclude illegal aliens from Gov. Brian Kemp’s Dual Enrollment program

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It appears that at least one taxpayer-funded Georgia university excludes illegal aliens from accessing the no-cost college classes offered in Gov. Kemp’s Dual Enrollment program. The new information creates a lot of questions, which we will get to another time.

Former GOP candidate for Georgia Senate District 20, Tori Branum sent us a screen shot of the Dual Enrollment (DE) page from Middle Georgia State University (apparently also called Middle Georgia Academy or MGA) on which there is a link to the DE “Application Process” that includes “submit proof of lawful presence” in the “follow the application steps” pulldown box. Screen shot below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I write on July 29, (12:55 PM) the link to ‘lawful presence’ is dead. I sent a letter to various staffers at MGA alerting them to the broken link and asking if there was an error on the page or if in fact the school does indeed require proof of lawful status for D.E. applicants. A timely response from Dual Enrollment Recruiter Ms. Holly Spires informs me that yes, Middle Georgia State University does require proof of lawful presence for DE applicants. Hooray!

8:28 AM July 29, 2024

Good morning, Mr. King:

Thank you for reaching out with your questions.  I am happy to help.

Middle Georgia State University does require submission of Proof of Lawful Presence when applying for dual enrollment.

Please let me know if you have any other questions, and I will my best to assist you.

Holly Spires
Dual Enrollment Recruiter

Academic Services Building

MGA Warner Robins Campus

Suite 124 Office 128

100 University Blvd, Warner Robins, GA 31093

C:  478-342-6015
holly.spires@mga.edu

 

Thank you for the terrific news, Ms. Spires!

For an example, see the statement on the “Resources for DACA and Undocumented Students” from the University of North Georgia website here (click “show all”) and below.

 

 

 

 

Illegal immigration is crime

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Pro-enforcement Americans should talk back to liberal media

By now in the ongoing illegal alien invasion and colonization of the United States, even the most unaware Americans must surely recognize the endless effort from the left to intentionally conflate “immigrants” with illegal aliens. And to convince us that illegal aliens are less likely to commit crimes than Americans. The intentional push by the liberal media stenographers to happily assist with the endeavor does not and will not end the activist propaganda campaign.

One of the legacy media/Democrat (my apologies for the repetition) goals is to auto-paint as “anti-immigrant” Americans who demand the nation’s immigration laws be enforced or notice the resulting crime.” It’s a “pro-enforcement opinion on immigration is “hate” effort on the part of media.

Here is a March example from NPR of this pre-planned dishonesty titled “Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born Americans, studies find” posted after an illegal alien allegedly murdered Laken Riley in Athens. NPR “reporter” Jasmine Garsd quotes U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R- AL): “She (Laken Riley) was brutally murdered by one of the millions of illegal border crossers President Biden chose to release into our homeland. Y’all … as a mom, I can’t quit thinking about this. I mean, this could have been my daughter. This could have been yours.”

NPR in the very next paragraph: “The claim that immigration brings on a crime wave can be traced back to the first immigrants who arrived in the U.S. Ever since the 1980s and ’90s, this false narrative saw a resurgence.”

See what they did there? Illegal immigration is simply “immigration.”

“False narrative” indeed.

Here is another example from the despicable Atlanta Journal Constitution in a recent report on the June Biden-Trump debate (“Hispanic voters in Georgia react to a debate that often centered on immigration”). It’s from their immigration writer, Lautaro Grinspan with assistance from another AJC typist, Helena Oliverio. The piece explains to the reader that Trump asserts the U.S. Mexico border is considered the most dangerous place in the world. He pointed to the fact that illegal border crossings have reached record highs during the Biden administration. The topic is illegal immigration.

The AJC: “While some individuals who entered the country illegally have gone on to commit violent crimes, including here in Georgia, data shows that a vast majority of immigrants don’t. According to a Northwestern University study published earlier this year, immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens (italics mine).

See what they did there?

The AJC’s front page slogan is “The Substance and soul of the south.”

 

The far-left NPR is also one of many anti-enforcement outlets pushing this gem: “There is also state level research, that shows similar results: researchers at the CATO Institute, a libertarian think tank, looked into Texas in 2019. They found that undocumented immigrants were 37.1% less likely to be convicted of a crime. (italics mine). Not said: CATO is an open borders concern. Readers who doubt that statement should read “Forget the Wall Already, It’s Time for the U.S. to Have Open Borders” – the CATO Institute, July, 2018.

Pro-enforcement readers should know and use some static truth on illegal immigration.

  • “Illegal Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1325 makes it a crime to unlawfully enter the United States. A first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, up to six months in prison, or both.
  • “Illegal Re-Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1326 makes it a crime to unlawfully reenter, attempt to unlawfully reenter, or to be found in the United States after having been deported, ordered removed, or denied admission. This crime is punishable as a felony with a maximum sentence of two years in prison.
  • Illegal employment is the main driver of illegal immigration in the U.S.
  • It is a federal offense to knowingly hire an “undocumented worker” (8 USC 1324(a).
  • The use of a false Social Security Number or card to obtain a benefit is a felony, punishable by a fine, and up to five years in prison (SSA.gov) .
  • Identity theft is a crime (IRS.gov).

Illegal immigration is organized crime.

Responsible conservatives should fight back by talking back to the left – including media – with an educated voice.

Because silence is consent.

  • The above column was also published by The Islander newspaper in Glynn County, Georgia on July 15, 2024.

Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens Misleads on Lifesaving 287(g) Program

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Newly sworn Cobb Co. Sheriff Craig Owens proudly displays memo he said ended 287(g) in the jail. Jan 19, 2021. PHOTO MDJ

“At a recent (FOP) candidate event, both Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens and his challenger, David Cavender, took some questions from the audience, which included questions about 287(g).”

Center for Immigration Studies

Georgia Sheriff Misleads on 287(g) Program

Simply honoring ICE detainers is not the same as being a proactive partner with federal law enforcement

By Jon Feere on June 19, 2024

In 2007, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office became Georgia’s first local law enforcement agency to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and participate in the critical public safety program known as 287(g). After years of successful identifications and removals of criminal aliens from Georgia, newly elected Sheriff Craig Owens ended the 287(g) partnership immediately upon taking office in 2021. The Biden administration didn’t make any attempt to maintain the partnership, apparently okay with the release of criminal aliens into American communities.

Now, Sheriff Owens is claiming that the 287(g) program is no different than honoring ICE detainers, which is entirely inaccurate and an obvious attempt to hide from his pro-illegal immigration record during an election year.

  • Related reading: Cobb County (GA) Sheriff Craig Owens invited a mariachi band to celebrate his announcement to drop lifesaving 287(g) program

The fact is this: Without the training and equipment that 287(g) sheriffs receive as part of this critical ICE partnership, Sheriff Owens and his employees cannot identify whether a person they’ve arrested for a criminal act is in the country illegally. That inability to identify criminal alien status has undoubtedly resulted in the release of dangerous individuals back into American communities.

The 287(g) Program Is Critical. As described by ICE, “The 287(g) Program enhances the safety and security of our nation’s communities by allowing ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and remove incarcerated criminal noncitizens who are amenable to removal” from the United States. The program has been key to identifying countless criminal aliens sitting in jails on account of already having been arrested by local law enforcement. Officers working for law enforcement agencies throughout the nation have received training from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on how to identify criminal aliens so that the individuals can be handed over to ICE for removal, rather than be released back into their communities.

There are a number of reasons the 287(g) program is critical to public safety. Sometimes ICE is aware that a criminal alien has been arrested by local law enforcement. For example, when a sheriff’s department takes an individual’s fingerprints, after having arrested and booked the individual for a violation of some local or state law, the prints are entered into a federal system and will result in a flag for ICE if the individual is an alien who has had a previous run-in with federal law enforcement (e.g., a previous deportation). In such an instance where a record exists, ICE will generally issue a detainer to the sheriff, requesting that the local law enforcement agency continue to detain the individual until an ICE officer can be sent to the jail and transfer the alien into federal custody. Sanctuary jurisdictions generally ignore these detainers and release criminal aliens back into our communities.

However, there are many instances where an alien arrested by local law enforcement for a violation has no federal record (e.g., they may have entered the country illegally without encountering the Border Patrol), and the fingerprints do not result in a flag to ICE. It’s in these instances where training local law enforcement receives through the 287(g) partnership is critical in initiating the identification and removal of a criminal alien. After making the right inquiries, sheriffs will alert ICE to the potential removability of an individual they’ve arrested instead of automatically releasing them back into the community, where they might reoffend.

Once a Benefit to Cobb County. The 287(g) program was instrumental in identifying serious criminal aliens in Cobb County jails and opponents of immigration enforcement are well aware of this.

Those who oppose 287(g) are explicitly in support of releasing criminal aliens into our communities. The case studies below are a handful of examples of criminal aliens that the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office identified through the 287(g) program. They are available in ICE’s monthly 287(g) reports that the Biden administration stopped publishing as soon as President Biden took office.

Notably, one of these 287(g) encounters occurred right after the current anti-287(g) sheriff was elected (but before he was sworn in, in December 2020) and involved a Jamaican national sentenced to 10 years for armed robbery. Other examples include illegal aliens arrested for rape and child molestation, crimes that one would think a serious sheriff would want to ensure resulted in prosecution and deportation. But under Sheriff Owens, there’s no telling what is happening to individuals with similar records who are arrested by his officers. We do know that they are no longer being identified as removable aliens by his office, and it’s more than likely ICE is not detecting them — since many enter the United States clandestinely on unknown dates — and they are simply being released instead of being transferred to ICE custody.

  • On November 16, 2020, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) Program encountered a citizen of Jamaica sentenced to 10 years for armed robbery, possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, and possession of marijuana and placed an immigration detainer and warrant on the subject. The subject was last admitted into the United States a conditional lawful resident.
  • On January 2, 2020, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) Program encountered a citizen of Honduras charged with statutory rape and placed an immigration detainer and warrant on the subject. The subject entered the United States on an unknown date and location without inspection.
  • On November 11, 2019, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) Program encountered a citizen of El Salvador charged with child molestation and placed an immigration detainer and warrant on the subject. The subject entered the United States on an unknown date and location without inspection.
  • On March 10, 2020, the Cobb County 287(g) Program encountered a citizen of Guatemala charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a valid license and placed an immigration detainer and warrant on the subject. The subject entered the United States on an unknown date and location without inspection.
  • On August 23, 2020, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) Program encountered a citizen of Mexico charged with simple battery and driving on an expired license and placed an immigration detainer and warrant on the subject. The subject has previous convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol, driving while license suspended, cruelty to children-1st degree, obstructing or hindering persons making emergency telephone call, cruelty to children-3rd degree, false imprisonment, and aggravated assault. The subject entered the United States as a lawful permanent resident.
  • On October 26, 2020, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) Program encountered a citizen of Mexico for driving on a suspended license and failure to yield to a pedestrian at crosswalk and placed an immigration detainer and warrant on the subject. The subject has two prior convictions for driving under the influence. The subject entered the United States on an unknown date and location without inspection.

Why Sheriff Owens wouldn’t want similar identifications of criminal aliens to continue is hard to imagine, but he’s very proud of helping criminal aliens in his jails evade deportation, calling his ending of the 287(g) partnership a “historic moment for Cobb County”. It may be historic in that it’s likely the first time a Cobb County sheriff has moved to protect drunk driving child rapists in our country illegally.

Criminal Aliens Benefit from Cobb County Ending 287(g) Partnership. At a recent candidate event, both Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens and his challenger, David Cavender, took some questions from the audience, which included questions about 287(g). Sheriff Owens obfuscated… read the entire CIS post here .

Martha Zoller’s proposed amnesty guidelines vs Joe Biden’s amnesty – how far apart are they really?

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Martha Zoller

 

Being that she has pushed similar goop for a large part of the year so far, we’ll be quite interested to hear what Kemp Republican and radio show host Martha Zoller has to say about the amnesty the Democrats perpetrated  yesterday.  Having been extremely busy with pro-enforcement matters under the Gold Dome, I haven’t tuned in to Zoller in quite a while. The guess from here is that she slowed down her relentless push for amnesty when Nikki Haley dropped out of the GOP race for president. But maybe not.

For those readers who haven’t heard Martha Zoller’s guidelines for which illegal aliens would be eligible for legalization you can see here and here and here and here for a sample (don’t miss the repeated premise that Gov. Brain Kemp betrayed his promise to go after illegal immigration in Georgia because the number of illegal aliens increased so much after he was elected). The basics of the Martha Zoller amnesty plan include illegal aliens with ITINs, illegal alien DACA recipients, and illegal alien”families” that have been able to dodge nearly non-existent efforts at deportation for twenty-ish years (it varies) should be legalized.

President Joe Biden

Martha refers to Americans who fight any amnesty as “hard liners.” We note that those “hardliners” include a large majority of Americans, including Hispanic Americans. Most people do not agree with Martha Zoller on her push for amnesty.

  • Related reading: Illegal immigration’s biggest losers? America’s poor.

We hope to be able to listen in and see what Martha says about the Biden amnesty – here’s a fact sheet on that event from the Immigration Accountability Project in Washington D.C.

Like the proposed Martha Zoller amnesty, Biden’s executive action will likely add a lot of voters to the Democrat’s rolls in the near future.

 

 

 

 

Media request sent to Rep. Chuck Martin Re: High Demand Apprenticeship Program with response

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From: “D.A. King” <Dking1952@comcast.net>

Subject: Media request – SB 497

Date: June 11, 2024 at 12:37:25 PM EDT

To: Chuck Martin <chuck.martin@house.ga.gov>, “Rep. Chuck Martin” <

Rep. Martin,

I am compiling information and quotes for a write up on the newly re-named High Demand Apprenticeship Program and your amendment on line 201 (SB 497 as passed) which adds “apprenticeships” to the list of public benefits in OCGA 50-36-1.

In addition to the very real possibility that illegal alien employees are participating in the apprenticeship training, my original concerns were that illegal aliens who were also employers can send an employee to be *“upskilled” at taxpayer expense and then collect the contract completion award of up to $50,000.

Having worked with OCGA 50-36-1 since 2006 I am very familiar with the system it creates for verification of “lawful presence” of applicants for public benefits. It appears that by the addition of ‘apprenticeships’ to the list you have improved the HDAP with the requirement that the apprentice applicant be subject to  the verification process. As the sponsoring employer is not applying to be an apprentice, it seems that he would not be included in the multiple steps involved in OCGA 50-36-1 – including the affidavit and SAVE verification.

If so, there is still no safeguard against $50,000 of taxpayers money going to reward an illegal alien employer for the upskilling process paid for by the taxpayer.

Question: Was it your intent to omit the employer from a verification process or do you hold the position that the addition on line 201 of SB 497 will somehow include the verification of lawful presence for the employer who sends an employee to be trained, please? If it is the latter, it will help my readers (including many state legislators) if you could offer an explanation of that position.

As you no doubt are aware, there are multiple public examples of illegal aliens running businesses as employers here in Georgia. As I sent to you, Senator Strickland and Gov. Kemp earlier this year, I cite two of those examples here.

Also, senior officials at TCSG have volunteered that H1B workers are already in the apprenticeship program which apparently indicates that employers are being rewarded with up to $ 50K for Georgia taxpayers funding the OJT/upskilling of temporary workers who are supposedly hired because of their specialty knowledge and expertise in the relevant industry. H1B workers in compliance with the federal law on that visa have “lawful presence.”

Question: Do you agree that  SB 497 did nothing to exclude H1-B workers from the apprenticeship program?

In addition to my own now widely-read blog, I also write on James Magazine Online, in various Georgia newspapers and at The Federalist. My deadline on gathering information for this educational opinion piece is noon, Monday, June 17, 2024.

I hope you will reply to my inquiry to insure accuracy and fairness in my column.

Thank you,

D.A. King

404-*****

___

Response from Rep.Martin received June 17, 2024 at

Mr. King,

Here are two questions I’ve asked of TCSG and the answers:

  1. Can H1B Visa status be legally used as a determining factor in awarding the apprenticeships?

H1B status is not considered an awarding factor in the HDCI process. Since the program’s inception, no apprentice supported under the HDCI program has been an H1-B visa holder. While not connected to HDCI Program, USDOL, a federal agency, coincidently offers apprenticeship grants to help employers reduce their reliance on H1B workers. This is unrelated to any apprenticeship funding mechanism offered by TCSG.

2. Is the system aware of any persons receiving the benefit that are not in the country lawfully?

No. All apprentices must be full-time permanent employees of a Georgia business, which are generally prohibited from hiring a person who is not in the country lawfully per federal DHS rules and required to conduct E-Verify on each fulltime employee. As a double check, we are implementing a SAVE verification process for HDCI apprentices moving forward.

Your questions:

Question: Was it your intent to omit the employer from a verification process or do you hold the position that the addition on line 201 of SB 497 will somehow include the verification of lawful presence for the employer who sends an employee to be trained, please? If it is the latter, it will help my readers (including many state legislators) if you could offer an explanation of that position.

No, in fact, I believe the language covers the employer as well. Additionally, ‘Apprenticeship sponsor’ is defined in the bill (lines 116 – 120), so the additional language added to 50-36-1 is a bit of “belt and suspenders” for state verification.

Question: Do you agree that  SB 497 did nothing to exclude H1-B workers from the apprenticeship program?

As the name implies, the HDAP is an apprenticeship program. Individuals who meet the requirements for an H1B must have sponsorship, specific skills and are typically over the age of 21, making it highly unlikely such individuals would meet the application requirements; I draw your attention to lines 91 – 98 in the bill defining application requirements.

Best Regards,

Charles E. “Chuck” Martin, Jr.

House Higher Education – Chairman

State Capitol Room 417

Atlanta, Georgia 30034

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Amnesty for illegals? Former state Senator Mike Dugan would not get my vote for GA03 Rep in congress

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Updated 5:38 PM June 15: I think I repaired the typos. I inserted a few more links to educate the reader. dak

 

Immigration “reform” and a “path to citizenship” would be the largest single addition to Democrat voter roles in history.

When asked about his “…priority immigration legislation for the country” if elected to congress in the June 9, 2024 GA 03 candidate debate in Atlanta, Mike Dugan replied with an immediate reference to immigration “reform.”

Q: “Senator, while you were working in the State House, you worked on several Georgia-specific ways to regulate immigration. If elected into Congress, the picture gets much bigger in what you could do. What would be your priority immigration legislation for the country?

Mike Dugan: “I think I would… It’s a two-part deal. Uh, first, before we do any immigration reform, we have to shut down the border. The- the border situation right now, it’s a- it’s a local public safety issue, it’s a humanitarian issue, it’s a national security issue. Until we shut that down with federal government working in coordination with the states, not in opposition to, we can’t really discuss immigration reform. Once it… border is shut down, then we do need to take a long, hard look at immigration reform ’cause we need new people coming into the country. We need skill sets that we had… don’t have readily available up in the numbers that we need here in- in the U.S. So that there… It’s a two-part deal, and you can’t do both of ’em at the same time.”

Audio:

 

A heads-up from here for trusting Republican voters voters who only read the daily headlines and get their “facts” from “the news”: On immigration, “reform” is the establishment code for amnesty. Legalization – like 1986. Make ’em legal – like 1986. Give them a work permit. It’s the mo’ money answer to illegal immigration that has been tossed out by politicians for the twenty years I have been active on immigration. Dugan’s answer is that we will “shut down” the border then we will “reform” immigration so as to create more (legal) workers and then we will import more immigrants because we need “skill sets.”

It’s amnesty and increased immigration – and “we’ll tell you when the border is ‘shut down’. Trust us.”

  • Related reading: “Immigration Reform” Equals Amnesty for Illegal Aliens and Their Employers
Mike Dugan

If voting Republicans were allowed even a shred of useful education and knowledge on the immigration reality and what happened in 1986, Dugan would likely only get votes from the business community.

This pro-enforcement advocate watched Dugan in the state Senate for the entire eleven years he was there. While not very illegal immigration vote he made was bad, many were horrible in that he went along with the “anything for a buck” agenda of the real bosses of much of Georgia state government – The Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Big Ag and the lobbyists for business interests.

Perhaps the most memorable is Dugan’s support for the 2023 Democrat bill, SB 264 as second signer. That beauty was pushed by a lobbyist for the refugee industry, Darlene Lynch (she/her). Lynch boasts of her partnership with the Georgia Chamber in something they call “Business and Immigration for Georgia (“BIG”)and uses that connect to sell bills to wayward Republicans who are directed to create a larger work force quicker at any cost. (Lynch once promoted the idea of reciprocity in occupational licenses not only with other states, but other nations.)

Democrat Sen. Kim Jackson (L) and Darlene Lynch from Coalition of Refugee Services (CRSA) & Business and Immigration in Georgia (BIG) present SB 264. Senate Higher Ed, committee hearing, March 16, 2023.

SB 264 with lead sponsor Democrat Kim Jackson was dropped in the state Senate in February of 2023. When it was presented in the GOP-run Senate Higher Education Committee, it was Lynch who did most of the talking. The entire purpose of the bill was to change long standing state law on the requirement that newly arrived Georgia residents live in the state for twelve months before they can be regarded as “residents” for purposes of instate tuition at our taxpayer funded colleges and tech schools. With Dugan as the number two sponsor, the language of the bill would have allowed foreign nationals who came to the U.S. as refugees, “Special Visa Immigrants” (mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan) and recipients of the biden administration’s seemingly endless “humanitarian parole” to skip the waiting twelve month period – they would have been eligible for the huge reduction in tuition of instate tuition the day they arrived here. Americans moving here from Michigan and the rest of the nation would still be required to wait for a year before qualifying for the lower tuition rate.

I referred to SB 264, Sen. Mike Dugan cosponsor, as (yet another) “Americans last” measure.

It gets worse. When I wrote about the legislation in my regular column in Dugan’s home town newspaper, The (Carroll County) Star News, the editor gave my copy to Dugan who was able to write a rebuttal in the same edition. Point by point Dugan misrepresents the bill and even told readers it had never even seen a hearing – and that it didn’t;t matter anyway because the bill was dead because the 2023 session had ended. The fact is that I watched the hearing, and that Georgia runs on a biennial system for the legislature- the bill was quite alive for the 2024 session. I think he had Lynch write his response to me and never even checked it.

There is a lot more, but if voters liked Paul Ryan and John McCain on immigration, they should look forward to Mike Dugan going to Washington.

I know very little about Dugan’s primary runoff opponent.