Georgians and immigration
An exclusive poll conducted last week for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution gave Georgians an opportunity to weigh in on President Barack Obama’s plan to suspend the threat of deportation for millions of immigrant parents living illegally in the U.S. See the results in a story Thursday.
The Republican-run Congress is set to fire its first legislative salvo Wednesday against President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration, planting a conservative-driven flag with a bill that faces long odds of becoming law.
The House of Representatives will vote on a proposal to fund the Department of Homeland Security through September while adding a series of amendments to prevent Obama from carrying out actions to remove the threat of deportation for millions of immigrants living here illegally — including steps Obama took as far back as 2011.
The move has galvanized House conservatives, including those from Georgia, but Senate moderates are already expressing concern and the White House has threatened a veto for any strike against the immigration actions.
Still, most Republicans were incensed by Obama’s actions, which culminated in a November move to defer prosecution for potentially millions that many in Congress saw as trampling on their authority.
“This is not a debate about immigration — that’ll come later,” U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, a Republican from Ranger, said in a House floor speech. “But this is about the rule of law. This is about the constitutional separation of powers. This is about the respect we owe the American people.”
U.S. Rep. David Scott, an Atlanta Democrat, accused the GOP of failing to offer a plan for the millions of immigrants living here illegally after the House refused to take up an immigration bill the Senate passed in 2013.
“It would certainly make more sense for the Republicans that instead of just saying no, that they offer something,” Scott said. “If you don’t like what the president does, you offer something.”
The debate is being closely watched in Georgia’s immigrant communities.
The Pew Research Center has estimated 140,000 more immigrants living illegally in Georgia could be eligible for relief through Obama’s executive actions.
The House votes Wednesday include a repeal for a program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. It offers temporary deportation deferrals and work permits to immigrants who were brought here as children. As of Sept. 30, 610,375 people have been approved for the program nationwide. Of those, 19,009 live in Georgia, which has the eighth-largest total among states.
In November, Obama announced his administration was expanding DACA. The move eliminated the age cap in the program — now at 31 — and requires applicants to have continually resided in the U.S. from January 2010 to the present, a change from June 2007. The White House estimated 270,000 more people will qualify nationwide.
Josafat Santillan of Stone Mountain said the program has helped him get a Georgia driver’s license, allowing him to drive to his classes at Kennesaw State University. The work permit he got through the program helped him get a better-paying job at a steel distribution company. He used to work as a waiter. Santillan opposes the Republican legislation.
“It seems obvious there is an anti-immigrant sentiment,” said Santillan, who came here from Mexico on a tourist visa that he overstayed. “I don’t understand them anymore.”
Judy Craft of Peachtree Corners called the president’s executive actions on immigration unconstitutional. A member of Conservative Republican Women of North Atlanta, Craft said the GOP legislation is “a good start.”
“That is one reason the Republican majority was elected because the president has taken too many executive actions,” said Craft, also a member of the Dustin Inman Society, which opposes illegal immigration. “It makes sense to go back to the Congress and have the voices of the people decide policy and not the president.”
In November, Obama also announced his administration would suspend the threat of deportation for immigrants who are living illegally in the U.S. but have children who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. More than 4 million people are expected to be eligible nationwide.
Lori Pesta, a member and former president of the Republican Women of Cherokee County, said she opposes granting “amnesty” to immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status.
“We are definitely watching our congressmen,” she said. “We have their numbers on speed dial and we are going to make sure we hold their feet to the fire — on all issues.”
Department of Homeland Security funding expires Feb. 27. It was separated from the rest of the government's funding in a $1 trillion spending bill that passed late last year in a strategy intended to set up this showdown.
Democrats and Republicans each accused the other of threatening to shut down a vital agency at a time of high alert following last week’s Islamist terror attack in Paris.
Scott, the Democratic congressman, said immigration is a “labor economics problem.” Mitzy Calderon, a DACA recipient from Mexico now living in Flowery Branch, agrees.
Calderon said her parents would qualify for relief because her younger brother is a U.S. citizen. She said her mother would start a bakery and contribute to the state’s economy if she can get a work permit through Obama’s executive actions.
Calderon, who works at a local grocery store and a restaurant and is saving her earnings for college tuition, criticized the Republicans’ efforts to scrap the president’s plan.
“It’s like they don’t realize how many people like us want to have their own businesses — how this would affect the economy for the better,” she said. “… There is no real common sense behind what they are doing.”
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