Wednesday, November 23, 2011

HB87 CAUSES RESTAURANT LABOR SHORTAGE

Yet another development of HB87 in Georgia. A survey by the restaurant association in Georgia shows that most of the owners report shortages in janitors, line cooks and dishwashers since HB87 the anti-immigration law in Georgia was enacted into law.
What is the impact? Other than the immediate loss of jobs of the cooks and dishwashers, if the restaurants are missing those they will not be able to serve as many customers and may also have to let go other staff such as waiters. Currently the estimate is that a restaurant experiencing a shortage serves about 35 to 50 fewer customers a day but this might be getting worse. Because the revenues are down, these restaurants are not spending as much and cutting more labor.
Yes, and those same restaurants cannot fill the vacant jobs because Americans do not want to do them.
The immigrants that have legal status in this country like me have a lot of things to be thankful for this upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Friday, November 18, 2011

FORMER GEORGIA SOS SPEAKS AGAINST HB87

Former Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox recently spoke against Georgia's anti-immigrant bill HB87. She said that bureaucratic delays of months that are expected to stem from HB87 could become catastrophic for people seeking professional licenses from the state and create direct consequences for small businesses.
The current secretary of state, Brian Kemp, estimated that enforcing the licensure part of HB87 could delay the licenses for tens of thousands of accountants, nurses and many other professionals by an additional three to four months, during which they cannot work (and nurses are in dire shortage). Each person applying for a license would be required to show identification in person which will delay turnaround time by 90 to 120 days. At the same time Kemp is asking for additional funding to hire more staff (another indirect tax and budget drain).
Georgia business leaders have raised concerns in recent days that the delays could slow down economic development at a time when the state can least afford it.
I applaud Ms. Cox' remarks. I will go even further and say that the law of unintended consequences is just that. There are far more reaching consequences of HB87 that the legislature had not previously thought about. There is no single positive thing that this legislation created. I am sure some additional unforeseen consequences will be revealed in the near future...

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

DEPORTATIONS SOAR NATIONWIDE BUT ESPECIALLY IN GEORGIA-ALABAMA AREA

The Obama administration is deporting much more people than his predecessor. Deportations in the South have increased by more than 300 percent, and even 500 percent in some areas since fiscal year 2005, much faster than the national average. Close to 400,000 people were deported in fiscal year 2011.
In the area that covers Georgia, the deportations increase the most dramatic, from 4,129 deportations in 2005 to 22,963 in 2011, ICE data shows. In the area that includes Tennessee and Alabama, deportations increased from 3,480 in fiscal year 2005 to 15,363 in FY 2011.
Most people are being deported for minor violations or none at all (only immigration violations which are civil in nature).
This data is shocking but validates what we all see here in the Atlanta area and the immigration court in Atlanta and Stewart: more rapid deportations of people, most of whom are not represented. Having a good attorney in deportation or removal proceedings increases the chance of remaining in the U.S. by more than double. Leslie Diaz is the attorney in our office that specializes in deportation defense. http://www.visalaw.com/atlanta.html
For the full article see:
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/nov/01/deportations-soar-nationwide-locally/?local