Politics
Politics

Bill would create public list of ‘criminal’ unauthorized immigrants in Georgia

Scores of activists with the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights protested recent arrests outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s downtown Atlanta offices Thursday.
Scores of activists with the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights protested recent arrests outside U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s downtown Atlanta offices Thursday.
By Aaron Gould Sheinin
Feb 22, 2017

Legislation filed in the state House on Wednesday would require the GBI to create and maintain a website listing any unauthorized immigrant convicted of a crime who is released from jail or prison in Georgia.

House Bill 452, by Rep. Jesse Petrea, R-Savannah,

requires the GBI to update the website within 12 hours of receiving the names and must send a copy to the Georgia Sheriff’s Association.

While the bill says GBI must build a website that lists “the names of persons who are” undocumented, Petrea said he intends the bill only to apply to those who are detained for violent offenses.

The bill comes as President Donald Trump's administration moves to crack down on illegal immigration.

The Trump administration on Tuesday issued stringent new guidelines for vastly bolstering the nation’s border security, expanding immigration detention and prioritizing many more people for deportation.

Georgia is home to an estimated 375,000 unauthorized immigrants.

Channel 2's Rikki Klaus reports.

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Aaron Gould Sheinin
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