Immigration

Atlanta –  An estimated 5,000 people gathered here Thursday outside the Georgia state Capitol to protest against two Arizona-style bills targeting immigrants.

The "Rally for Truth" was aimed at derailing two Republican initiatives - House Bill 87 and Senate Bill 40 - inspired by Arizona's SB1070 law criminalizing undocumented immigrants.

"It's a process that has barely begun and we have to prepare ourselves to reach the final objective, which is immigration reform," said Adelina Nicholls, executive director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, one of the groups that organized the protest.

Amid shouts of "Si se puede" (Yes, We Can!), activists, religious leaders and politicians urged protesters to keep up the battle against HB87 and SB40.

"We won't remain silent. We deserve respect and dignity as a community because this state doesn't work without immigrant labor," Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, told reporters.

Speakers asked demonstrators to telephone the office of Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal to demand that he veto the bills if they reach his desk.

"We have to ask the governor to please, please veto this proposal," Democratic state legislator Pedro Marin said.

SB40, sponsored by Sen. Jack Murphy and HB87, the initiative of Rep. Matt Ramsey, would criminalize unauthorized immigration and give local police the power to detain people on the mere suspicion that they are undocumented.

The twin bills would oblige Georgia employers to use the federal government's E-Verify system to determine the immigration status of potential employees, though the Senate version would exempt agricultural firms from that requirement.

HB87 also includes one clause mandating sanctions for people who harbor or transport undocumented migrants and another that would make people convicted of identity theft subject to as much as 15 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.

Georgia's powerful farm sector, which generates more than $68 billion a year, has been outspoken in its opposition to the bills, warning of "serious economic consequences" for the state if the measures are enacted.

Several other immigrant-hostile proposals failed to reach the floor in time to be considered before the legislative session ends on April 14.

Among the measures that died in committee were HB59, banning undocumented students from state universities and community college; HB296, requiring public hospitals and schools to count the numbers of undocumented patients and students they serve; and SB104, penalizing day laborers who solicit work on the street as well as those who hire them.