SENATE VOTED REWRITE OF HB87

In an unusual state of events the Senate voted upon a re-write of HB 87 after a long day of debate on 50 some bills yesterday. HB 87 was changed by Senate Committee, and further changes were made by floor amendments. There were many amendments put in last minute and it was obvious that the Senators were confused too on which amendment they were voting on and which states what. One amendment that passed after lots of pressure from the business community was to remove the E-Verify mandate for private businesses. So the good news out of all this is that based on the new Senate version, E-Verify is no longer mandated for private businesses. The bill goes back to the House where they will have an opportunity to Agree or Disagree with what the Senate did. The House can take-up the Agree/Disagree vote at any time Thursday (last day for them to do so). Agree/Disagree are voted upon in between other bills that are already on the calendar. The House could then try to amend what the Senate sent over, and then that would go back to the Senate. If the House Disagrees or amends the bill further, it will go back to the Senate where they have the chance to vote on "insisting" on their version or amending it further. And if this happens then the bill goes to conference committee. I don't think there is enough time for a Conference Committee and they are running out of time for negotiations between both chambers on the bill. Also, the Governor is staying out of the debate so far. He said that immigration is a sticky wicket. Although he is not expected to veto this bill if it passes because of his anti-immigrant record, as Governor he also has to balance the interests of businesses who are pressuring him to veto the bill if it passes. Please continue to call your Senators to stop this insanity!

15,000 SIGN PETITION TO GOVERNOR TO VETO IMMIGRATION BILL

A petition signed by over 15,000 Georgian voters, business owners, and human and civil rights advocates is being delivered today to Governor Nathan Deal urging him to Commit to Veto the Arizona-Style Legislation being considered in the Senate. HB87 passed the Congress and now the SB40 language was replaced in the Senate by the HB87 language so the stricter and tougher bill is on the table for a Senate vote. 3 days are left of the 2011 legislative session. A group of 270 farmers and business leaders delivered a letter to oppose the legislation, now this large petition with over 15,000 signature is being delivered to the governor today urging him to veto the legislation if it passes because it “will severely tarnish Georgia’s image in the eyes of the country and the world.” “If these Arizona-style bills become law, everyday Georgians will be mourning the loss of our economic strength and our moral compass,” said Lisa Adler of Amnesty International USA, which helped spearhead the petition campaign. “Governor Deal will be forcing us to say goodbye to thousands of jobs and millions of dollars. It will be ‘R.I.P to small businesses, to southern hospitality, to jobs, and to our civil rights legacy.’” The petition's organizers said that it only took them two weeks to gather the signatures – and if they had more time they could gather thousands more. At least some people realize this legislation will likely cause a big blow on Georgia businesses.

GEORGIA LEGISLATION BARRING UNDOCUMENTED FROM COLLEGE SPARKS PROTEST

A legislation in Georgia to ban undocumented immigrants from attending state colleges and universities sparked a protest that resulted in arrests after it passed the Georgia Congress. Police apprehended at least seven of the more than 100 demonstrators who blocked traffic on Courtland street downtown. The group included college students, civil rights activists and others who marched around the Georgia State University Campus. Effective next fall, undocumented immigrants will be barred from admittance to the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State, Georgia College & State University and the Medical College of Georgia. While the ban does not apply to 30 other state colleges and universities, the above universities are by far the most well-attended universities. What a shameful piece of legislation. Now these Georgia universities will have to turn away academically qualified students who all they want is to study and graduate!

WHAT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN MAY LOOK LIKE

Courtesy of Greg Siskind: By this weekend, the federal government's funding is set to run out and unless there is a breakthrough in negotiations between members of the two parties, we could see a shutdown for the first time in more than 15 years. How will this affect immigration services? While we don't have a lot of experience with government shutdowns in this country, we expect that only "essential" services will continue. That means law enforcement, fire fighting, the military, utilities and prisons. Air travel is considered essential so air traffic controllers and TSAs will continue to work. And so will agencies that are funded by application and user fees. So which immigration services are to be hit? According to AOL News, the State Department will be one of the highest profile agencies to be affected: The U.S. tourism and airline industries reportedly lost millions of dollars after the 1995-96 shutdowns halted visa and passport processing. Approximately 200,000 U.S. passport applications went unprocessed during the shutdowns and 20,000 to 30,000 foreign visa applications were unprocessed. Emergency passport and visa processing should be available during the shutdown. USCIS Service Centers and local district offices should operate as normal because they are funded primarily through application fees. It's not clear yet what's going to happen at the Department of Labor. But it is very possible the iCert portal used for labor certifications and H-1B labor condition applications could be closed during the shutdown and H-1B processing could be delayed. ICE facilities will continue to detain people and the court systems - including presumably immigration courts - will operate as normal. But according to AOL, hiring at these agencies may be frozen: The last shutdown had a number of consequences for law enforcement and public safety operations, including reported cancellation of hiring 400 border patrol agents and cancellation of federal law enforcement recruiting programs. Processing of immigrants and non-immigrants at ports-of-entry should continue, but there could be staffing cutbacks that could cause delays. Of course, we're bound to be surprised by what develops and I'll try to report to readers news as it becomes available. I'd also welcome reports on what people are learning on their own.

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATORS TO OPPOSE SB40

All, in order to try and prevent this bad bill from passing, I URGE you to contact your State Senators, and let them know that they should be alert to DISAGREE on SB40when the House tries to send it back for an agree/disagree vote. The House Judiciary Committee took over SB 40 by substituting its own immigration bill in its place - effectively putting HB 87 language into the new version of SB40. Not only does this take-over negate the previous work of the Senate, but the new version of SB40 is infinitely more costly, opens the floodgates on private rights of action to clog our courts (every private person that believes an official is not complying with the law, can file a law suit against that official!), and it is wide open to constitutional challenges such as those seen in Arizona. It's the intention of the House to send SB 40 back to the Senate in this costly format, in the hopes that Senators will comply. Tell your Senator to DISAGREE when the House tries to send it back. People can find their state Senators at http://www.senate.ga.gov/senators/en-US/FindyourLegislator.aspx.

THOSANDS PROTESTED ANTI-IMMIGRANT BILLS IN GEORGIA

This also happened last week when I was out of the country -- about 5,000 people got together at the Georgia state Capitol to protest against the Arizona-style bills that cleared the House (HB87) and the Senate (SB40). Speakers asked demonstrators to telephone the office of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to demand that he veto the bills if they reach his desk. 'We won't remain silent. We deserve respect and dignity as a community because this state doesn't work without immigrant labor,' said Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials. Christian leaders from across the metro area voiced their opposition to these immigration bills as well at the state Capitol. While people held up signs like, 'Is your God racist,' and 'Stop in the name of God' several religious leaders addressed the crowd. Glenna Shepherd of Decatur United Church of Christ quoted Reverend Al Sharpton: 'He said, 'Read the bill, read the constitution, read the bible, and then read the bill again. And see where we stand.' Other religious leaders have expressed concern about a section of HB 87 that could make it a crime to knowingly transport illegal immigrants. Darker times indeed if this bill passes.

A BIT OF GOOD NEWS FOR IMMIGRANTS IN GEORGIA

The horrific SB40 and HB87 are still in the game in Georgia and gaining steam, which is bad for immigrants and businesses in Georgia. However, a number of smaller anti-immigration measures (some of which were reported earlier this year in my blog) have failed to advance and may be stalled for this session. Out of nearly a dozen immigration-related bills, only three cleared either the House or Senate by crossover day, the deadline by which legislation is supposed to pass at least one chamber, or cannot pass during the session. Apart from SB40 and HB87, the other immigration related bill that passed the Senate is a bill that makes driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol a felony on the first conviction for illegal immigrants.