Forum focuses on immigration
Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidates all pounce upon illegal immigrants as their hot-button issue during a recent primary debate.
ATLANTA — During a recent Georgia GOP gubernatorial forum, moderators never brought up the topic of illegal immigration, but that didn’t stop Secretary of State Brian Kemp from referring to “criminal illegal aliens” four times while on stage.
“These people are killing our children, either with drugs or with guns or with deadly assaults,” Kemp said during the March 10 gathering in Norcross. “It’s time that we put a stop to that.”
Kemp, whose first TV ad of the campaign begins with him invoking the names of Americans killed by people living in the country illegally, is hardly alone in highlighting the issue.
As seven Republicans jockey for their party’s nomination, illegal immigration is one thing that the leading candidates largely agree on: Georgia may have some of the toughest laws targeting illegal immigration in the country, but it needs to do more, they say. Critics, however, argue that deportation is a federal issue, and tougher laws create an environment in which immigrants are hesitant to report crimes.
Immigration attorneys also question the efficacy of some of the proposals, calling them poorly sketched-out ideas that overlook the complexity of immigration law in an attempt to rile up support from primary voters.
“The current political environment has allowed for the demonization of the immigrant community as a whole,” said Tracie
ICE agents stand outside a home in Atlanta during a targeted enforcement operation aimed at immigration fugitives, re-entrants and at-large criminals living in the country illegally.
Klinke, chair of the Georgia-Alabama chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. “That’s unfortunate because it just creates this atmosphere of fear, which motivates people to vote.”
State Sen. Michael Williams of Cumming wants every Georgia county to join with the six sheriff’s offices in the state that have adopted a program that trains and authorizes local officers to carry out immigration enforcement duties. Currently, 75 law enforcement agencies in 20 states have adopted the program, but no state mandates it.
In March, Kemp unveiled his own proposal to establish a state database that would track crimes committed by people living in the country illegally. He said Texas already has a similar database.
By documenting suspects’ arrest records, physical markings and gang affiliations in one comprehensive database that’s shared with federal authorities, investigators would be better equipped to uncover gang networks and deport criminals, Kemp said.
The Georgia legislature has passed several laws in recent years aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. Among them is a measure to target socalled sanctuary policies.
The state may not have any self-proclaimed “sanctuary cities,” but multiple candidates assert that the metro Atlanta city of Decatur and other communities have adopted illegal sanctuary laws.
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle is among the front-runners to succeed term-limited Gov. Nathan Deal. Last year Cagle filed a complaint File, Bryan Cox / ICE via AP
against Decatur with the Immigration Enforcement Review Board, arguing that the city’s officers are violating the state’s anti-sanctuary law by not detaining immigrants unless ICE issues a warrant. The city says its longstanding policy doesn’t break the law, and the review board hasn’t yet issued a ruling on the issue.
Cagle said his experience going after Decatur separates him from the pack.
“Others can talk about (holding these communities responsible), but there’s only one person who has acted on it,” he said.
Like Tippins, ex-state Sen. Hunter Hill, a former Army Ranger, also points to his experience in the military. Hill said he took an oath to defend the Constitution as a soldier and will protect the rule of law as governor.