By the numbers
- Sixth — Georgia's rank among states for the highest number of immigrants living in the country illegally in 2011.
- 440,000 — The estimated number of immigrants living illegally in Georgia in 2011.
- 22,963 — The number of people deported during fiscal year 2011 from Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina combined.
- $861,997 — The total amount of federal fines issued by Atlanta-based immigration authorities to employers for illegal hiring practices in fiscal year 2012. (The total covered businesses in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.)
- 15,417 — The number of immigrants in Georgia who were brought to the country illegally as children and have applied to the government for a 2-year reprieve from deportation as of March 31.
- 15,856 — The number of Atlanta positions employers asked the federal government for permission to fill in fiscal year 2012 with skilled foreign workers.
Sources: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Labor Department
What’s being said about parts of immigration legislation
“This bill is clearly a compromise, and no one will get everything they wanted, including me. But it is largely consistent with the principles that I have repeatedly laid out for comprehensive reform.”
— President Barack Obama, in a statement released after Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., briefed him on the proposal
“Gov. Deal has said repeatedly that a comprehensive solution to our illegal immigration problem must come from Washington. In Georgia, we’ve done all we can on the enforcement side, but the solution must be much more than that.”
— Deal spokesman Brian Robinson in an emailed statement
On creating a new guest worker program for foreign farm laborers
“We are going to be in the same situation with undocumented workers somewhere down the road if we don’t fix the entire problem now.”
— Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
On offering a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living illegally in the United States
“The legislation grants amnesty and work permits to 11-plus million illegal immigrants — and if the granting of the permits hinges on the government ‘certifying’ border enforcement, then that is a joke.”
— Phil Kent, a member of Georgia’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board and the national spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control
On the requirement that all employers start using a federal work authorization program
“Smaller businesses — particularly the very small — have a more difficult time complying with any types of regulatory requirements, and it comes down to manhours and staff.”
— Kyle Jackson, the Georgia state director for the National Federation of Independent Business
On altering the nation’s legal immigration system
“I remain concerned that eliminating the diversity visa program — which is an important part of diversifying the immigrant populations and strengthening the social fabric of our country — would further erode the ability of people of color to immigrate to America. That would be un-American.”
— U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-DeKalb County
On allowing employers to hire more skilled foreign workers each year through the nation’s H-1B visa program
“It’s a terrific step.”
— Tino Mantella, president of the Technology Association of Georgia
In-depth coverage
Illegal immigration is a matter of deep concern to Georgians, and The Atlanta-Journal Constitution devotes significant resources to bringing readers timely, in-depth stories examining every facet of the issue.
What’s being said about parts of immigration legislation
“This bill is clearly a compromise, and no one will get everything they wanted, including me. But it is largely consistent with the principles that I have repeatedly laid out for comprehensive reform.”
— President Barack Obama, in a statement released after Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., briefed him on the proposal
“Gov. Deal has said repeatedly that a comprehensive solution to our illegal immigration problem must come from Washington. In Georgia, we’ve done all we can on the enforcement side, but the solution must be much more than that.”
— Deal spokesman Brian Robinson in an emailed statement
On creating a new guest worker program for foreign farm laborers
“We are going to be in the same situation with undocumented workers somewhere down the road if we don’t fix the entire problem now.”
— Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
On offering a pathway to citizenship for immigrants living illegally in the United States
“The legislation grants amnesty and work permits to 11-plus million illegal immigrants — and if the granting of the permits hinges on the government ‘certifying’ border enforcement, then that is a joke.”
— Phil Kent, a member of Georgia’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board and the national spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control
On the requirement that all employers start using a federal work authorization program
“Smaller businesses — particularly the very small — have a more difficult time complying with any types of regulatory requirements, and it comes down to manhours and staff.”
— Kyle Jackson, the Georgia state director for the National Federation of Independent Business
On altering the nation’s legal immigration system
“I remain concerned that eliminating the diversity visa program — which is an important part of diversifying the immigrant populations and strengthening the social fabric of our country — would further erode the ability of people of color to immigrate to America. That would be un-American.”
— U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-DeKalb County
On allowing employers to hire more skilled foreign workers each year through the nation’s H-1B visa program
“It’s a terrific step.”
— Tino Mantella, president of the Technology Association of Georgia
In-depth coverage
Illegal immigration is a matter of deep concern to Georgians, and The Atlanta-Journal Constitution devotes significant resources to bringing readers timely, in-depth stories examining every facet of the issue.
Details emerged Tuesday from sweeping immigration legislation that a bipartisan group of senators is expected to soon release, and its impact on immigrants, workers and employers across Georgia could be profound.
Among other things, the Senate bill seeks to tighten border security, allow companies to temporarily hire more foreign workers and unclog the nation’s legal immigration system.
But the provision that is getting the most attention would provide a pathway to citizenship for the millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S., including the 440,000 the government estimated to be in Georgia in 2011.
Immigrants would first have to apply for a provisional legal status, pay $2,000 in penalties plus taxes, learn English and wait 10 years before they could seek green cards giving them legal permanent residency. Once they have green cards, they can apply for citizenship. Only those who arrived here before Dec. 31, 2011, would be eligible. And people convicted of felonies or three or more misdemeanors would be barred.
Those who have obtained the provisional legal status would be allowed to work here and travel outside the U.S. Some agricultural workers and young immigrants who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children would be eligible for quicker access to green cards.
Senators had hoped to file the legislation by Tuesday evening, but The Associated Press reported that they postponed a rollout event until later this week in response to the bombings at the Boston Marathon.
Dulce Guerrero, a Cobb County resident who was illegally brought to the United States from Mexico when she was 2 years old, said she anxiously read newly leaked details about the legislation online early Tuesday.
“It does have a lot of good parts that we weren’t expecting,” said Guerrero, a co-founder of Dream Activist Georgia. “So we are pretty excited.”
Groups that oppose illegal immigration blasted the legislation Tuesday.
“The next waves of millions of illegal aliens will arrive soon as the word spreads around the world that the doors and windows of that nice house on the hill called America have been shattered,” said William Gheen, the president of Americans for Legal Immigration, a political action committee that advocates for the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
The deal was negotiated over a period of months by a bipartisan group of eight senators, including New York Democrat Charles Schumer and Arizona Republican John McCain, who briefed President Barack Obama about their plan Tuesday at the White House.
A linchpin is Florida Republican Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants who is seen as a possible presidential contender. Since Obama took 71 percent of the Latino vote in winning re-election last fall, many Republican leaders have sought an immigration overhaul as part of a plan to win over some of that growing demographic of voters.
They have been joined by some influential conservative forces. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is on board after negotiating a deal on guest workers with the AFL-CIO. Evangelical leaders are also backing the effort, including Duluth’s Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition, who spoke at a rally last week in Miami supporting an immigration overhaul.
Georgia’s senators, Republicans Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, are approaching the bill with caution. Through a spokeswoman, Chambliss said he had to review the bill’s 1,000-plus pages before commenting on it.
Isakson and Chambliss both were early supporters of a similar effort in 2007, but they abandoned that bill as it collapsed on the Senate floor. They got significant heat from conservatives for initially supporting what critics called amnesty for lawbreakers. A pro-union amendment on the Senate floor aided the bill’s demise.
This Senate bill faces an uncertain path, and the politics are even trickier in the Republican-controlled House, where a similar bipartisan “Gang of Eight” is negotiating a wide-ranging deal. The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has said he wants to move piecemeal bills.
Immigration has long been a heated topic of debate in Georgia, which depends heavily on foreign workers even as it struggles with high unemployment.
About 1,500 activists marched through downtown Atlanta last week in support of an immigration overhaul. Meanwhile, opponents of illegal immigration are planning an invitation-only fundraiser in Buckhead for next month to fight “mass amnesty.”
By providing a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are in the country illegally, the federal legislation in some ways diverges from a 2011 law Georgia enacted to drive them out. Gov. Nathan Deal is now weighing whether to sign new legislation that would expand the state’s crackdown. Senate Bill 160 would prevent immigrants who are here illegally from getting state driver’s licenses and other public benefits.
At the same time, the federal legislation goes further than Georgia law in some areas. For example, after a five-year phase-in period the bill would require all employers nationwide to use an online federal work authorization program called E-Verify. Georgia’s law exempts private employers with fewer than 11 workers.
Further, the Senate plan would make it possible for employers in Georgia and other states to hire more temporary skilled foreign workers through the nation’s H-1B visa program. Atlanta’s demand for such workers is among the highest in the nation, public records show.
The Senate legislation would raise the nation’s annual H-1B visa cap from 65,000 to 110,000, though it could go as high as 180,000, depending on demand and economic conditions. An additional 25,000 would be available for workers who earn certain graduate degrees here.
Additionally, the Senate plan would make it easier for farmers in Georgia and other states to hire foreign laborers. A new visa program would replace the nation’s existing H-2A guest worker program, which Georgia farmers say is cumbersome and costly.
In 2011, researchers identified a shortage of 5,244 farm laborers and $74.9 million in losses from seven crops in Georgia after the state enacted its stringent immigration law.
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