In April, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law an immigration reform bill that provides state and local law enforcement officials in that state a number of additional tools in the effort to identify and detain illegal immigrants. After the Obama Administration filed a lawsuit to stop the implementation of parts of the new law, the measure set off a national debate that served to shine a spotlight on the incredible economic and social problems confronting states as a result of the federal government’s failure to adequately address the issue of illegal immigration.
Here in Georgia in recent years, the General Assembly has passed some of the most comprehensive illegal immigration reform laws in the country. Most recently in 2006, the General Assembly passed SB 529 which prohibits the use of state and local government benefits by illegal immigrants. Even after the implementation of these reforms, our state is still being adversely affected by illegal immigration and we realize that more needs to be done. The impact is real and Georgians see it everyday, particularly at the state and local levels where services are burdened and precious tax dollars are usurped by illegal immigrants.
While we acknowledge that the problem will never truly be solved until the federal government takes decisive action, the General Assembly will not simply wait and hope for the U.S. Congress or federal courts to act to address this pressing issue. In that regard, Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and Speaker of the House David Ralston recently impaneled a new Special Joint Committee on Immigration Reform. We were honored to have been appointed as the Co-Chairs of this new committee.
The charge of the committee is to review existing local, state and federal laws and identify statutory and enforcement gaps concerning illegal immigration that are within the legislative power of the Georgia General Assembly to address. We intend to engage in a thorough and inclusive process and consider viewpoints from all along the ideological spectrum. We look forward to working with our colleagues and interested stakeholders from across Georgia to draft meaningful legislation that addresses illegal immigration and builds on the General Assembly’s strong record of finding common sense conservative solutions to the challenges facing our state.
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