Georgia seeks Arizona-like immigration law – Albany Herald

A special committee of Republican lawmakers met at the Capitol on Thursday and began discussing a comprehensive immigration bill for the General Assembly's next session in January. The panel discussed Arizona's laws, the strictest in the country, and received a report showing how Georgia's laws compare to Arizona's.

“I'm not sure we'll adopt Arizona's law, but we'll draft our own,” said Sen. Jack Murphy, R-Cumming, co-chair of the House-Senate Joint Study Committee on Immigration Reform. “It would probably be something similar, but I'm not entirely sure how it would exactly reflect hers. But I’m sure there will be some of the same language in there.”

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed the new package of immigration measures into law in April. After a challenge from the Obama administration, a federal judge blocked the portion of that law that requires police to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws. There are no such laws in Georgia.

Critics say Arizona's law is unconstitutional and could lead to racial profiling. Supporters say the measure is necessary because the federal government is not adequately enforcing immigration laws.

Murphy and other members of his committee say they will weigh a number of other issues this year, including whether illegal immigrants should be barred from all Georgia colleges. They also intend to study the impact of primogeniture citizenship in Georgia. Children born in this country automatically receive U.S. citizenship through the 14th Amendment, even if their parents are here illegally.

“Given everything that has happened since our last meeting, I suspect there will be a lot of differences [immigration-related] Bills introduced by many different members,” said Rep. Matt Ramsey, R-Peachtree City, the committee’s other co-chair.

Lawmakers began their deliberations amid a bitter gubernatorial race that has repeatedly raised illegal immigration here. Democrat Roy Barnes and Republican Nathan Deal have said they would support an Arizona-style law in Georgia.

Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, both Republicans, appointed the Immigration Committee in September, complaining that the federal government had failed to crack down on illegal immigration.

Critics noted that all members of the panel were Republicans. And they said the timing of the committee's first meeting – less than a week before the gubernatorial election – was no coincidence.