Atlanta Forward: Regional economy

Today’s moderator: Rick Badie

Rick Badie joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as an education reporter in 1997. A South Georgia native, he’s covered the region’s immigrant communities, was a feature obituary writer and opinion columnist for the AJC’s Gwinnett edition.

President Barack Obama says Congress will pass a comprehensive immigration reform measure before he leaves office in 2017. Businesses that need workers can't wait that long, notes the president of a Georgia-based poultry-processing plant, so Congress must act now. Meanwhile, an executive for a non-partisan public-interest group says there's a surplus of idle workers, but employers prefer foreigners who work for less. Finally, a Gainesville attorney outlines the path to citizenship, or lack thereof, for Mexicans.