Friday, November 20, 2009

GRAYSON, GA TO WORK ON SAVE PROGRAM WITH FEDS

Gwinnett Daily Post reports that the Grayson City Council voted Monday night to adopt a memorandum of agreement with the federal government to cooperate in a program which ensures that only qualified aliens or naturalized citizens can receive retirement, health and disability benefits, among others. Citizenship and immigration status information is verified under this program, called SAVE — Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements — mandated by the DHS and USCIS. Grayson will distribute affidavits to businesses so they can provide information on their employees applying for such benefits. Other applicant benefits include contracts, occupation tax certificates, and licenses for alcoholic beverages, taxi cabs, insurance companies and adult entertainment.
What remains to be seen is how the enforcement of this will happen and whether business will participate in answering these affidavits. It is easy to enforce on the licensing issue (we're not going to give you a license if you don't do it), but how is this going to apply for employers? Why would private sector employers take this hassle upon themselves to subject each of their employees to a SAVE check?

Thursday, November 12, 2009

GWINNETT STARTS 287(G) IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

The Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office is taking measures to start implementing its 287(g) program which will allow specially trained deputies to enforce federal immigration law.
The sheriff's office says deputies will be returning this weekend from training in Charleston, S.C., run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The 18 trained deputies plan to start the program "in some capacity" on Monday.
Gwinnett's acceptance into the ICE 287(g) program was announced in July, and highly criticized by immigrant rights and civil liberties groups because the large majority of people seized and turned over to the deportation authorities are non-criminals with family or other ties in the U.S.