Mullis Co-authors Anti-Illegal Immigration Legislation

Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) will co-author legislation that will provide for greater enforcement of federal illegal immigration laws in Georgia.  Mullis will join fellow Georgia Senate GOP colleagues later this summer for the official announcement of the legislation.

“The United States is a land of opportunity for all who want to come here and contribute to our society in a lawful manner.  We welcome anyone who wants to become a legal resident of the United States to achieve the American dream.  The fact remains that those who are reside illegally are breaking the law and utilizing resources that should be for those who obtain legal residency,” said Mullis.  “Businesses, local governments and our university system must comply with federal and state illegal immigration laws to relieve wasteful spending and get legal residents and Georgians back to work.”

“Senator Mullis is one of Georgia’s leading voices on the issue of enforcing immigration law. We stand shoulder to shoulder in supporting enforcement not amnesty,” said Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock).

Facts on Illegal Immigrants in Georgia:

• Georgia had an estimated illegal immigration population of 490,000 in 2008.
• The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimates that the annual fiscal burden on Georgia taxpayers from illegal immigration is more than $1.6 billion.
• Georgians spend about $1.37 billion annually on educating the children of illegal immigrants.
• Nearly one in ten K-12 public school students in Georgia is the child of an illegal alien, and this presence has been increasing as the illegal resident population increases.
• State-funded uncompensated outlays for health care provided to Georgia’s illegal alien population amount to an estimated $210 million a year.
• The cost of incarcerating deportable aliens in Georgia’s state and local prisons amounts to about $22.6 million a year.

Federal Statistics:

• The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. roughly doubled, jumping from about 5 million in 1996 to about 11 million today.  (A 2009 report from the Department of Homeland Security reflects that the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. stands at around 10.8 million.)
• Federal estimates suggest that over 90 percent of the increase in the foreign-born population in Georgia since 2000 has resulted from illegal immigration.

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Congressional, Law Enforcement and Religious Leaders Call for Immigration Reform

Leaders Discuss Impact of Broken Immigration System on Public Safety and Community Trust

On Tuesday, August 11th, law enforcement and religious leaders join Congressman Hank Johnson to call for a solution to the broken immigration system in order to enhance public safety and build stronger communities around Georgia. Amidst signs the immigration reform debate is heating back up in Washington, leaders will gather at the historic Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta, GA, to speak about the need for an immigration solution that would strengthen border security, restore the rule of law and bring immigrants out of the shadows.

At its annual conference in late July, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) recognized the importance of finding an immigration solution by unanimously passing a resolution calling for federal action on immigration reform. Speakers will include Congressman Hank Johnson, Atlanta Police Chief, Richard Pennington, Archbishop Wilton Gregory of the Archdiocese Atlanta and Jiles Ship, 2nd Vice President of NOBLE.

Congressman Hank Johnson, Representative of Georgia’s 4th District
Chief Richard Pennington, Chief of Police, Atlanta, GA
Most Rev. Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Atlanta
Jiles Ship,2nd Vice President, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
Chief Art Venegas (Moderator), Retired Chief of Police, Sacramento, CA and Director of the Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative

Congressional, Law Enforcement and Religious Leaders Join Call for Immigration Reform

Tuesday, August 11th, 2:30 PM ET

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center
449 Auburn Ave NE
Atlanta, GA
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Symposium to examine immigration policy and human rights

“Immigration Policy and Human Rights” symposium
8 a.m. June 17
Room 460/465 University Center
404-413-6159

Georgia State University’s Center for Human Rights and Democracy will host a symposium addressing immigration policies and the protection of human rights in the United States and abroad at 8 a.m. June 17 in room 460 of the University Center.

“Immigration policy ranks atop the challenges facing many economically advanced democratic states,” said William Downs, co-director of the Center for Human Rights and Democracy. “The lowering of barriers to the free movement of peoples has host country implications for national security, employment, housing, education and health care. Governments at all levels now confront these challenges in environments of severe budgetary contraction and voter suspicion.”

More than 15 panelists will address political, economic, social and legal issues related to immigration policy, as well as promising policy alternatives. The symposium also will acknowledge the transition from the Bush to the Obama Administration and the recent 60-year anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Deepa Iyer, executive director of South Asian Americans Leading Together, will be the keynote speaker discussing “Charting a Path Forward—The Post 9/11 Backlash Against Immigrants and Human Rights Responses.” Iyer is an immigrant who moved to the United States from India when she was twelve years old. Iyer served as a trial attorney at the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice where she worked closely on initiatives to address post 9/11 backlash discrimination. She also was the executive producer of a documentary about hate crimes in the post 9/11 environment.

“The post 9/11 atmosphere in America and Europe means renewed difficulties in protecting the fundamental rights of immigrants,” Downs said. “Democracies struggle to address the intolerance that often confronts immigrants, and issues of detention, denial of legal due process, deportation and hate crimes persist.”

Adelina Nicholls, of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, and Azadeh Shahshahani, of ACLU of Georgia are among the panelists who will examine “Immigration as a Human Rights Issue.” Other panel topics during the symposium include, “Immigration and Belonging: Divergent Perspectives on Latinos and Human Rights in the United States”; “Immigration Detention”; and “Citizenship and Human Rights Challenges in Europe.”

“Immigrants and refugees seeking a better life and fleeing poverty, hunger, civil war and persecution are among society’s most vulnerable groups,” Downs said. “Research endeavors that explain immigration trends, critically evaluate alternatives for policy reform, and compare the effectiveness of efforts to defend immigrants’ human rights are both timely and necessary.”

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Three Atlanta Indictments Announced as Part of Multi-State 'Operation Pay Cut' Drug Takedown

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Three federal indictments unsealed yesterday in Atlanta charge a total of 41 defendants on multiple counts relating to a large-scale drug distribution and money laundering scheme operating in the Northern District of Georgia and the Southern District of Texas.

In a news conference at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Atlanta office, U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias said, "This is another case of a major cartel-related Mexican organization that processed huge amounts of illegal drugs and money through metro Atlanta to many other parts of the country. During this long-term investigation, we took away from the organization about $22 million dollars in drug money -- a record amount for an Atlanta case -- and hundreds of kilograms of the organization's cocaine and marijuana. We have now indicted dozens of its alleged members, who face long sentences in federal prison."

"Seizures such as this strike at the heart of the criminal organization by targeting the financial gain that enables their criminal enterprises to flourish," Kenneth Smith, Special Agent-in-Charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Atlanta said. "This case is significant and highlights the cooperative effort of law enforcement working together under the David G. Wilhelm Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force to dismantle these dangerous organizations."

Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Special Agent-in-Charge Reginael D. McDaniel said, "Operation Pay Cut is confirmation that drug trafficking is all about the money. Seizing the dirty cash and the assets of these illegal organizations hits criminals where it hurts the most -- it deprives them of their profits."

According to the three indictments and information presented in court and other public records, this long-term, multi-agency investigation targeted a group of individuals, indicted and unindicted, who are a part of a cartel-related drug trafficking organization (DTO), which is involved in illegal drug trafficking and money laundering in and around Atlanta, South Texas and other areas. Since November 2006, law enforcement has seized approximately $22 million of drug proceeds, and approximately 223 kilograms of cocaine and more than 16,000 pounds of marijuana. Two auto sales and auto parts businesses, located in Texas, were allegedly used to launder large amounts of cash proceeds from the unlawful drug sales.

In one of the seizures, a former Hidalgo County Sheriff's deputy in Texas, Emmanuel Sanchez, was stopped on Interstate 20 in Georgia in a pickup truck hauling heavy equipment. During the traffic stop, conducted by the Georgia State Patrol, the defendant allegedly showed his law enforcement badge to the troopers in an effort to quickly conclude the traffic stop and questioning. Upon further investigation, law enforcement officers found $950,000 in cash hidden in the door and other areas of the truck. Sanchez immediately left his deputy position. In another traffic stop in Georgia, a large truck hauling livestock was pulled over, and defendants Jesus Flores Sr., and Jesus Flores Jr., were questioned. After the livestock was off-loaded, law enforcement officers located a hidden compartment under the livestock, and using the traffickers' complex pulley system under the floor, police found more than $13 million in cash in drug proceeds.

The penalties for the drug charges are a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison to life in prison, and the money laundering charges range up to 20 years in prison.

An indictment is merely a charge. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta recommends parents and children learn about the dangers of drugs at www.justthinktwice.com.

This case is being investigated by Special Agents of ICE and IRS-CI, along with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Marshals Service; Atlanta Police Department; Georgia State Patrol Fayette County Sheriff's Office; DeKalb County Police Department; Coweta Sheriff's Office; Kennesaw Police Department; Newnan Police Department; Whitfield County Sheriff's Department; Georgia Bureau of Investigation; Clayton County Police Department; and the Marietta-Cobb-Smyrna Organized Crime and Narcotics Unit.

Assistance in this case has been provided by the U.S. Attorney's Offices of the Southern District of Texas, and the Northern District of Texas, and the District Attorney's Offices of Fulton County and DeKalb County, and the Conasauga Judicial Circuit in Dalton, Ga.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa W. Tarvin, Bret R. Williams and Jeffrey Viscomi are prosecuting the case.

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Illegal Immigration Costs Georgia $1.6 Billion Annually, Finds New Report by FAIR

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) demonstrates why Georgia has taken a lead in adopting state-based policies to control the costs of illegal immigration. According to the new study, The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Georgians, the state currently spends about $1.6 billion a year to provide three basic services to illegal aliens and their dependents -- K-12 education, public health care, and incarceration of criminals. These costs associated with the estimated 495,000 illegal aliens residing in the state amount to a $523 a year burden for every Georgia household headed by a native-born American.

K-12 education for the children of illegal aliens constitutes the largest share of the Georgia's cost burden, finds the report. The annual price tag for schooling an estimated 64,100 children who are themselves illegal aliens, and an estimated 89,700 U.S.-born children of illegal aliens, runs to about $1.38 billion. Unreimbursed health care costs add an additional $210 million to the taxpayers' tab, while another $22.6 million is spent incarcerating illegal aliens who have committed other crimes in Georgia. All of these costs compound an already difficult fiscal situation, as state officials estimate a current budget shortfall of about $2 billion.

"At a time when governments at every level are struggling with huge deficits, slashing vital programs and services, and US-workers are losing their jobs, we see repeated examples of how illegal immigration is adding to already significant fiscal worries," said Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "As Georgia businesses have padded their profit margins in recent years by using illegal aliens to undercut American workers, the true costs for this low wage labor force have been passed along to the taxpayers."

In response to the spiraling costs associated with illegal immigration, Georgia adopted workable state-based enforcement policies in 2007, which have begun to have a positive impact. "Georgia provides a case study in how a state can respond effectively to crushing cost burdens associated with illegal immigration, and provides a model for other state governments," said Stein.

The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Georgians is the latest in a series of studies FAIR has produced examining the impact of illegal immigration on state governments and local taxpayers. "Until fairly recently, regions like the South had been largely unaffected by the phenomenon of mass illegal immigration. The findings of this report, that illegal immigration now costs Georgia $1.6 billion a year, is evidence that mass illegal immigration is truly a national problem that demands real enforcement solutions at the federal, state and local level," concluded Stein.

The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Georgians is available on FAIR's website, www.fairus.org.

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Isakson, Chambliss Praise Senate’s Rejection of Amnesty Provision in Emergency War Supplemental Bill

U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., today praised the Senate’s refusal to include an amnesty provision in the emergency war supplemental bill. Language that would have granted legal status to over 1 million illegal agriculture workers and their families was stripped Tuesday night from the spending bill for troops.

Isakson and Chambliss earlier this week had urged the Democratic leader to remove the amnesty provision from the bill.

“There’s no greater domestic issue in this country than illegal immigration, and I am pleased the Senate rejected this attempt to grant amnesty on a bill designed to give our soldiers the resources they need in the War on Terror,” Isakson said. “The war supplemental was the wrong vehicle to deal with this issue and this was the absolutely wrong approach to handling illegal agricultural workers. Congress can make immigration reform a reality by first delivering common-sense solutions to secure our porous borders and stop the flow of illegal immigrants.”

“I’m pleased the Senate recognized that removing this bad provision was the right thing to do,” said Chambliss. “We need to ensure that funding for our troops is approved and delivered as quickly as possible without getting bogged down in an unrelated immigration debate.”

On May 15, the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the emergency war supplemental spending bill that would give a five-year visa to 1.35 million workers plus their spouses and dependent children to live and work in the United States. For almost all legal purposes, the amendment requires that the illegal aliens who qualify for the proposed visa be treated as lawful permanent residents.

Adding the amendment to the appropriations bill violated Senate rules because it legislates on an appropriations bill. Last night, Democrats invoked Senate Rule 16 on the floor, which requires that provisions in amendments to appropriations bills be relevant to the underlying legislation. Among the provisions dropped was the proposal to grant visas allowing illegal aliens to hold agricultural jobs for up to five years.

On May 20, Isakson and Chambliss, along with eight other Republican senators, sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urging the removal of the language. The text of the letter to Senator Reid is below. The letter was also signed by Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., David Vitter, R-La., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., James Inhofe, R-Okla., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., and Jim Bunning, R-Ky.

May 20, 2008

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510

Dear Majority Leader Reid:

We write to express disappointment that the Senate Appropriations Committee chose to include in the War Supplemental more than 100 pages of immigration language that would grant legal status to more than one million illegal alien agriculture workers and their families. We urge you to remove these controversial provisions from the bill so we can enact essential funding for our troops without delay. If these provisions remain in the bill, you can expect a vigorous debate on immigration policy.

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Chambliss, Isakson Urge Democratic Leader to Strip Agricultural Worker Provisions from Emergency War Supplemental Bill

U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today, along with eight other Republican senators, sent a letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., urging the removal of language that would grant legal status to over 1 million illegal agriculture workers and their families in the emergency war supplemental spending bill.

“A bill to provide funding for our servicemen and women should not be bogged down by a debate over immigration policy,” said Chambliss. “I strongly disagree that this amendment would serve to provide stability in the agricultural industry and would in fact harm U.S. farmers and ranchers and U.S. workers. Nobody is more interested in the well-being of American agriculture than me, and this proposal is simply the wrong policy at the wrong time.”

“There’s no greater domestic issue in this country than illegal immigration, and the American people will not stand for this attempt to grant amnesty on a bill designed to give our soldiers the resources they need in the War on Terror,” Isakson said. “The war supplemental is not only the wrong vehicle to deal with this issue but I firmly believe this is absolutely the wrong approach in regards to agricultural workers.”

On May 15, the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the emergency war supplemental spending bill that would give a five-year visa to 1.35 million workers plus their spouses and dependent children to live and work in the United States. For almost all legal purposes, the amendment requires that the illegal aliens who qualify for the proposed visa be treated as lawful permanent residents. Illegal aliens would qualify for the proposed five-year visa by proving they have performed agricultural employment for 863 hours or 150 work days or earned $7,000 from agricultural employment over the course of a four-year period. Once granted the proposed five-year visa, the illegal aliens would be authorized to work in any job other than agriculture-related jobs for the rest of the year and would be treated as U.S. workers for hiring purposes.

Adding the amendment to the appropriations bill also violates Senate rules because it legislates on an appropriations bill. As such, it will be subject to a point of order on the floor and 60 votes will be needed to keep this language in the bill. Chambliss and Isakson strongly oppose the amendment and will vote against it.

The text of the letter to Senator Reid is below. The letter was also signed by Senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, David Vitter, R-Louisiana, Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, Elizabeth Dole, R-North Carolina, and Jim Bunning, R-Kentucky.

May 20, 2008

The Honorable Harry Reid
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510

Dear Majority Leader Reid:

We write to express disappointment that the Senate Appropriations Committee chose to include in the War Supplemental more than 100 pages of immigration language that would grant legal status to more than one million illegal alien agriculture workers and their families. We urge you to remove these controversial provisions from the bill so we can enact essential funding for our troops without delay. If these provisions remain in the bill, you can expect a vigorous debate on immigration policy.