With pandemic restrictions at the southern border scheduled to expire on Thursday, Republicans in the U.S. House are pushing forward with an immigration and border security proposal. It includes border wall funding, money to hire more patrol agents and new restrictions on asylum seekers hoping to enter the country.
The legislation would also require more businesses to electronically verify that their employees have permission to work in the U.S. Businesses and the agriculture industry have often lobbied against E-Verify programs.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that about 40% of the nation’s farm workers don’t have legal immigration status. Conservative Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky said he will vote against the measure because of the E-Verify provision.
“Republicans are about to make a huge mistake,” he wrote, comparing electronic verification to vaccine mandates.
So far, it appears that Republicans in Georgia’s delegation are willing to support the package, which is unlikely to receive serious consideration in the Senate. And President Joe Biden’s administration has vowed to veto the legislation.
U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, described the bill as a “step towards fulfilling the promise we made in the Commitment to America to build a nation that’s safe” in an email to constituents.
Several members of Georgia’s delegation posted on Twitter that it was time for Congress to address the immigration crisis.
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
“We have a national security and humanitarian crisis unfolding at our southern border,” U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta, wrote on Twitter. “The end of Title 42 on Thursday will only make matters worse.”
Title 42 was a policy enacted during the coronavirus pandemic that allowed the U.S. to turn away people seeking asylum at the border. It ends on Thursday, and the Biden administration has sent 1,500 troops to Texas to help deal with a surge in immigrants. The White House also implemented new limits on asylum seekers, even over the objections of some Democrats and migrant organizations.
The House GOP immigration measure will be heard by the Rules Committee this afternoon and is expected on the floor as early as Wednesday. The Biden Administration sent a memo Monday outlining why the president would veto the package if it makes it to his desk in its current form.
“While we welcome Congress’ engagement on meaningful steps to address immigration and the challenges at the border, this bill would make things worse, not better,” the statement said.
We have a national security and humanitarian crisis unfolding at our southern border. The end of Title 42 on Thursday will only make matters worse.@HouseGOP's Secure the Border Act fulfills our promise to secure the border and combat illegal immigration. pic.twitter.com/drhmKtr6Lr
— Rick W. Allen (@RepRickAllen) May 8, 2023
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Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC
Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC
KEMP WATCH. Is Gov. Brian Kemp keeping the door ever-so-slightly open for a 2024 run?
A few weeks ago, he appeared to definitively rule out a White House bid in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
But attendees of a private Kemp donors retreat at the exclusive Sea Island resort reported to us that he gave them a slightly different answer — that a final decision will be up to him and his family.
One said that it was “not in-line with the “I am not running’ declaration” that Kemp made in March. Another noted it was a different stance than expected.
Two of Kemp’s allies acknowledged the governor made more nuanced remarks than usual, but they noted he’s still not taking any concrete steps toward running for president or building a national team.
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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
VOTER CHALLENGE. The Cobb County Board of Elections voted 5-0 on Monday to dismiss a challenge to the voting eligibility of Nathaniel Darnell, a leader of the ultra-conservative Georgia Republican Assembly.
Our colleague Mark Niesse reports Darnell had been accused of violating state law in six elections since the 2020 presidential election by using an address in Powder Springs, where he allegedly no longer lived since getting married earlier that year.
But Darnell told the elections board that he still lives at his registered address — not at a different home where his wife is registered to vote. Darnell said the newer house is being renovated, and he intends to use it as a rental property. Both residences are in the same voting precinct.
The board, which includes four members appointed by Democrats and one by the Georgia Republican Party, threw out the case for lack of probable cause.
The Cobb County resident who filed the challenge, Bill Simon, said he’s considering whether to ask a prosecutor to investigate whether Darnell voted illegally.
“It’s highly disconcerting,” Simon said. “It appears they’re living there. How can his wife live there if it’s being renovated?”
Darnell faced backlash from Republicans in January when he spoke at an anti-abortion rally to thank God for the death of House Speaker David Ralston.
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Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
SUING THE DA. Athens District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez was in court Monday, but as a defendant rather than a prosecutor, the Athens Banner-Herald reports. She’s the subject of a suit from a local Athens business owner who alleges the DA is failing at even mundane tasks as the region’s senior prosecutor.
In addition to several high-profile cases that did not end with convictions, more than 30 assistant DAs have left the office since Gonzalez took over the role in 2021.
The business owner, Jerrod Miller, filed a writ of mandamus against Gonzales, which would not remove her from office but could compel her to perform her duties. At the Watkinsville hearing Monday, Senior Superior Court Judge David Emerson said he would soon decide whether a trial should go forward at all.
Gonzalez is the same prosecutor Republicans cited earlier this year as an example for the need for the state’s new prosecutorial oversight council.
An attorney for Gonzalez argued Monday that the suit amounts to harassment from an unhappy constituent.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will meet with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell at the White House to talk about the debt ceiling.
- The U.S. Senate has confirmation votes lined up while the House has on its agenda several climate and science-related measures.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
GUN CONTROL. Democrats at all levels of government are pushing for new gun safety measures as shootings with multiple victims continue to draw nationwide attention.
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath joined with fellow Rep. Robin Kelly of Illinois and Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey to lead a group of 90 lawmakers in writing a letter to White House officials urging federal actions to close the so-called background check loophole.
The Democrats’ letter asks Attorney General Merrick Garland and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director Steve Dettelbach to implement federal rules that ensure people purchasing firearms in private sales undergo background checks.
McBath, D-Marietta, also held a briefing in Duluth on Monday to celebrate $100 million in Department of Justice grants to help communities address gun violence.
Meanwhile, Democrats in the Georgia House plan to hold a news conference on Wednesday to urge Republicans to convene a special session to consider gun control legislation. That request is unlikely to be granted with GOP lawmakers more interested in recent years in approving bills that expand access to firearms.
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Credit: Mary Altaffer/AP
Credit: Mary Altaffer/AP
DOUBLE BILLING. The treasurer for Kanye West’s still-active presidential campaign account, which he used for a quixotic run in 2020, resigned Monday after alleging a campaign adviser had possibly broken election laws. (The rapper is also known as Ye.)
Patrick Krason served as West’s treasurer for about five months. In his resignation, he accused far-right activist Milo Yiannopoulos, who is a top advisor to West, of falsified invoices and unlawful expenditures, Politico reports.
Krason’s letter alleges Yiannopoulos billed both West’s campaign and that of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, for whom Yiannopoulos previously served as an intern, for the same expense. There are payments directly to Yiannopoulos in West’s campaign finance records, but not in Greene’s.
Yiannopoulos denied any wrongdoing to Politico, saying the allegation was “ridiculous and easily disproven.”
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. It’s time to meet Bailey Vu, the little dog whose person, Baoky Vu, made big headlines in 2020.
Baoky Vu was a Republican member of the DeKalb County Board of Elections and a rare GOP voice willing to speak out against former President Donald Trump.
He reports that Bailey “missed the 2016 Election but was around in 2020 to warn me about the assault on democracy.” It’s always nice to have a guard dog, especially one this cute.
Send us your pups of any political persuasion — and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
