Georgia police should be allowed to start enforcing key parts of the state's anti-illegal immigration law - including checking the immigration status of certain suspects - now that the U.S. Supreme Court has sustained a similar statute in Arizona, state lawyers argue in filings before a federal appeals court in Atlanta.
A coalition of civil and immigrant rights groups argues just the opposite, saying in a legal brief Friday that Georgia's law, currently on hold pending the appeals court's decision, would interfere with the federal government's authority to set immigration policy and manage foreign relations.
At the center of the dispute is a part of the law that would let state and local police investigate the immigration status of suspects they believe have committed state or federal crimes and who cannot produce identification or provide other information that could help police identify them. Also at issue is a provision that would punish those who knowingly harbor or transport illegal immigrants in the state while committing another crime.
Critics say those statutes - passed by Georgia's Republican-led Legislature last year - are preempted by federal law and therefore unconstitutional. Supporters argue the laws are needed to prevent illegal immigrants from taking jobs from U.S. citizens and burdening Georgia's schools, hospitals and jails. The Pew Hispanic Center released a report last year, estimating that 325,000 illegal immigrants held jobs in Georgia in 2010...
http://bostonherald.com/news/national/south/view/20120710georgia_pushes_for_id_checks_after_arizona_decision
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A coalition of civil and immigrant rights groups argues just the opposite, saying in a legal brief Friday that Georgia's law, currently on hold pending the appeals court's decision, would interfere with the federal government's authority to set immigration policy and manage foreign relations.
At the center of the dispute is a part of the law that would let state and local police investigate the immigration status of suspects they believe have committed state or federal crimes and who cannot produce identification or provide other information that could help police identify them. Also at issue is a provision that would punish those who knowingly harbor or transport illegal immigrants in the state while committing another crime.
Critics say those statutes - passed by Georgia's Republican-led Legislature last year - are preempted by federal law and therefore unconstitutional. Supporters argue the laws are needed to prevent illegal immigrants from taking jobs from U.S. citizens and burdening Georgia's schools, hospitals and jails. The Pew Hispanic Center released a report last year, estimating that 325,000 illegal immigrants held jobs in Georgia in 2010...
http://bostonherald.com/news/national/south/view/20120710georgia_pushes_for_id_checks_after_arizona_decision
Shared using News360 for the iPad. Learn more at http://news360app.com
Victor Cuvo, Attorney at Law
770.582.9904
(sent from new iPad)
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