MORE HISPANICS ATTENDING GA COLLEGES

WALB reports that many more Hispanic students are attending colleges in Georgia, many of them are first generation college students. Some colleges offer additional assistance to these students and their families by offering cultural bridging programs, such as home visits and preparation of parents. Hispanics made up 4% of the state's college graduates in 2005, but that number is expected to jump to 24% in 2022 as the Hispanic population in Georgia increases substantially. Education is the key to full integration and professional success in the workplace and increasing one's pay for work.

Georgia Man Receives 21 Month Sentence and Fines for Immigrant Harboring

AP reports that Guo Hua Jiang recently pled guilty to a conspiracy to harbor and employ undocumented immigrants and received a 21 months prison sentence as well as a $75,000 fine in lieu of forfeiting two of the residences where the immigrants were housed. The immigrants are about to be deported. It is not clear what caused this investigation or which federal authorities got involved, because usually much larger networks are targeted by ICE.

IMMIGRATION JUDGE DEPORTS A U.S. CITIZEN

Recent reports confirms that immigration judge William Cassidy in the immigration court in Atlanta, Georgia, deported a U.S. citizen to Mexico on December 9, 2008. The man, Mark Lyttle, is a U.S. citizen who was born in the U.S in North Carolina. According to reports he informed the immigration judge twice of this fact. Mark is bipolar according to some reports and does not speak Spanish at all... Unfortunately it appears this case was not handled well, and the immigration court in Atlanta, Georgia is known for a few "trigger happy" judges who think they still work for the immigration service or the prosecution.

REP. DEAL (R-GA) ATTACKS 14TH AMENDMENT

According to the Associated Press (May 25, 2009), Rep. Deal (R-GA) decided to go against the constitution's 14th amendment which grants automatic citizenship to "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof", passed in 1868. Deal's proposal will allow automatic birth citizenship only if one parent is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or active member of the U.S. forces. The intention behind it is that automatic citizenship will no longer be granted to children of undocumented workers (although many of them have U.S. citizen spouses, in which case the child will be a citizen anyway even after this bill). It is also depriving all the children of legal immigrants, such as people here on valid work and study visas, asylees, refugees, etc., and require a birth record clerk in each state to know how to and verify the parents' immigration status.
This bill has no chance to pass, as it will take a constitutional amendment by a Democratic Congress, so I guess he really wants to rally the Republicans for his gubernatorial campaign. All in all, a really bad deal. Pun intended.

GEORGIA IMMIGRATION INTRODUCTION

This blog is intended to cover immigration stories and news in the U.S. state of Georgia. Started from Atlanta, Georgia, the state capital. We welcome remarks and suggestions from our readers.
Visit our Atlanta office page at: http://www.visalaw.com/atlanta.html