Protesters lined up outside the governor’s office and there were threats of a boycott of the state.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Mexico says lawmakers “ignored the many contributions” from immigrants.
- The bill allows law enforcement officials to ask about immigration status during investigations
- Latino groups have denounced the measure and threatened lawsuits and boycotts
Atlanta (CNN) – Despite protests outside his office and threats of a boycott, the governor of Georgia on Friday signed into law one of the toughest anti-illegal immigration measures enacted by a single state.
The measure, which Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law about a month after the passage of the Republican-dominated Georgia Legislature, allows law enforcement officials to ask about immigration status when questioning suspects in certain criminal investigations.
HB 87 also imposes jail terms of up to one year and fines of up to $1,000 for people who knowingly transport illegal immigrants while committing a crime. It is also claimed that workers convicted of using fake IDs to look for a job could face 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
“This law is a responsible step forward in the absence of federal action,” Deal said after signing the bill. “Illegal immigration is an incredible burden on Georgia’s taxpayers.”
As they have throughout the debate, leaders in the local Latino community have railed against the measure. Among them were several dozen people who demonstrated outside the governor’s office at the state capitol on Friday, shouting “shame on you.”
The legislation drew threats of lawsuits against the bill and boycotts aimed at forcing government action. The Southerners on New Ground group is calling for a nationwide boycott of Georgia conventions and vacations, while a blog post on the group’s Somos Georgia website warned, “Veto HB 87 or Boycott! It’s your choice, Governor Deal!
“This is the beginning of a path that we will walk and that will take a long time,” Teodoro Maus, president of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, said in Atlanta on Friday.
Similar efforts have been made – with some success – towards other states that have passed laws to combat illegal immigration. Nonetheless, bills against illegal immigrants can still be found from coast to coast.
The National Conference of State Legislatures noted that in 2010 alone, more than 1,400 bills were introduced aimed at giving individual states a greater role in immigration enforcement. Of these measures, 208 laws were enacted, 10 were vetoed and 138 resolutions were passed.
The best-known such effort was in Arizona. Among other things, this legislation would have required local law enforcement officials in Arizona to apprehend and assist in deportation of illegal immigrants.
The US Department of Justice sued, arguing that only the federal government had that authority. Last month, a three-judge panel from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Justice Department and opposed Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed SB 1070 last year. Brewer has asked the Supreme Court to overturn the court order blocking enforcement of parts of the law.
Wade Henderson, the advocacy leader of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, blew up what he called Georgia’s “disgusting piece of legislation.” He said it is a “copycat” of Arizona law and effectively legalizes “racial profiling”.
“Georgia’s lawmakers have not learned from Arizona’s mistakes,” Henderson said in a statement Friday. “These laws assume everyone is guilty and contradict the basic American presumption that the accused are innocent until proven otherwise.”
The Mexican government added on Friday that it regrets Deal’s decision to sign the law.
“Legislators and the state executive have ignored the many contributions of the immigrant community to Georgia’s economy and society,” the Mexican government said in a statement.
But some who support Georgia’s legislation — including Deal and Phil Kent, a spokesman for the conservative group Americans for Immigration Control — said the issue isn’t about discrimination, it’s about protecting taxpayers.
“The illegal immigrants in our state have flooded our hospitals and schools,” Kent said. “It’s a very expensive undertaking. We just want to make sure that people are welcome here and that they come here legally. And then we can limit illegal immigration.”
President Barack Obama’s administration has opposed such state-specific measures, including fighting them in court, saying that it would be counterproductive from a law enforcement perspective and damaging from an international relations perspective to have up to 50 different immigration policies (one for each state). to have.
When asked about HB 87 by CNN affiliate WSB last month, Obama defended the federal government’s actions.
“The truth on this matter is that we have done more for enforcement than any previous administration,” the president said. “We have more border patrols; we have had serious crackdowns on employers who hire undocumented workers.”
