The fight over Georgia’s illegal immigration laws has now entered a new round. Advocates on both sides are taking their cases to Governor Nathan Deal. He’s considering whether to sign a bill that adds new rules to a list of restrictions that passed two years ago.
This all started when professional license holders–nurses, for instance, and others–complained of big backlogs and long delays at license renewal time, because of the paperwork rules in the comprehensive immigration law the Legislature passed in 2011. This year, lawmakers introduced a bill to fix the problem. It said professionals only have to provide citizenship affidavits when they first get their licenses.
But backers of tougher immigration laws added other provisions; including a ban on drivers’ licenses for people who are here illegally, and a rule that says a foreign passport can’t be used to receive public benefits–from public housing to retirement benefits–unless an applicant also shows one of several U.S. documents proving he or she is here legally.
Senate Bill 160 passed, and was sent to Governor Deal. But Helen Kim Ho, executive director of the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center, wants him to veto it. She argues the definition of public benefits is so broad, and the list of acceptable I.D. papers so narrow, that this will hurt many foreigners who are here legally…but might not have exactly the right supporting documents. She says a legal resident could also encounter officials who might not understand all the nuances of the legislation.
9(MDAxODM0MDY4MDEyMTY4NDA3MzI3YjkzMw004))
