Republican MPs in Georgia have a draft law that would oblige the police to help with the identification of and documented immigrants and capture them to deport them.
Ailsa Chang, host:
Republican MPs in Georgia have a draft law that would oblige the police to help with the identification of and documented immigrants and capture them to deport them. The proposal comes after the death of a nursing student from Georgia, who, according to the police, was killed by a Venezuelan man without papers. Emily Wu Pearson von Wabe says that supporters fear that the measure will lead to racial profiling and a procedure against all immigrants.
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Jesse Petrea: We have never experienced such a time. We have the biggest border crisis in our country's history.
Emily Wu Pearson, Byline: Republican MP Jesse Petrea from Georgia advocates a new immigration law.
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Petrea: In Georgia, the people of this state await the people we represent from us that we do something. And I think that's a good way to do that.
Wu Pearson: He speaks of a draft law that would oblige the local law enforcement authorities to take on some of the tasks of the federal immigration authority, mainly for identification, arrest and detention of immigrants without papers. The draft law gained dynamics after a Venezuelan migrant was arrested in the murder of sheets Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student in Athens, Georgia. Democrats like MP Pedro Marin say that the draft law supports racial profiling.
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Pedro Marin: This draft law will force people to live in fear and put a strain on local governments and law enforcement officers by expanding their responsibility without receiving a cent of state financing.
Wu Pearson: The proposal is similar to a Texas measure that is currently blocked by the US Supreme Court. In Georgia, the police are not allowed to proactively arrest people who suspect that they are immigrants. Instead, you would have to check the immigration status during encounters. The Republicans say that this would improve public security, but claim immigration advocates in the state that it is not true. And investigations show that immigrants without papers commit less frequent crimes than others. Jerry Gonzalez is the CEO of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials.
Jerry Gonzalez: It's not about making the Georgians safer. It is about using the opportunistic situation to specifically address an immigrant and Latino community. And that is really split and a dangerous policy that you run.
Wu Pearson: Proponents of the rights of immigrants in Georgia say that the draft law is motivated by the upcoming presidential election. Two of the most populous districts in Georgia have recently stopped demanding close cooperation with the federal immigration officials from the law enforcement authorities, and several interest groups have held events in the entire area of Atlanta to condemn the legislation. Ben Williams is a member of the Cobb County branch of Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Ben Williams: to beat immigrants now and to beat the descendants of slaves earlier, is a proven and unfortunately true approach to split people.
Wu Pearson: But the Republicans in Georgia insist that they tackle immigration in a sensible way. The district of the Republican MP Houston Gaines includes Athens, where sheets Riley was killed.
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Houston Gaines: In view of an unspeakable tragedy, it is not a policy. It is the right thing to ensure that something like this never happens again.
Wu Pearson: More than a dozen interest groups collect signatures for a petition in which you ask the legislator to reject the bill. In the meantime, the law must still be belonged to the entire Senate of Georgia and approved by the governor before it can come into force. For NPR News I am Emily Wu Pearson in Atlanta.
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