Georgia Officials Urge Their Senators to Oppose Comprehensive Amnesty Bill
A number of influential Georgia State Senators wrote their U.S. Senators, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, to urge a no vote on the Senate comprehensive amnesty bill – S. 744. The letter said, “(w)hile we undoubtedly need to address the complex issue of immigration reform, we must ensure we’re doing what’s right for all Americans, especially the people of Georgia.”
The following are additional excerpts from the letter:
“In its current form, the proposed immigration bill would likely come at a high cost to taxpayers, leave unresolved security issues along the border and grant amnesty to countless illegal immigrants. While we wholeheartedly support legal paths to immigration, it is important we are respectful to the countless immigrants who obtained their citizenship through legal channels.
“(W)e have seen no cost estimate on how great a financial burden this bill will place on the State of Georgia and local governments in terms of the increased burden on state and local services. Even Los Angeles County officials in California are expressing concern over additional burdens being placed on local services as a result of the new proposal. Additional burdens on public health care, our education system, and other state and local services will only aggravate already precarious budget issues in our state. The Medicaid liability alone created by instantly creating hundreds of thousands of new enrollees would be sufficient to bankrupt our state.
“We also should be able to expect aggressive enforcement of existing immigration law. Passage of the proposal now pending would do nothing to address these systemic problems and would create an even greater unemployment problem by expanding vastly the labor pool at a time when our economy is beginning a very slow and sluggish recovery process.”
As the letter notes, Los Angeles County officials recently raised concerns about a “major cost shift” to state and local governments under the Senate bill. Those receiving Registered Provisional Immigrant status under the bill may not have initial access to means-tested federal benefits, such as food stamps and Medicaid, but they would have access to any state and local benefits available to those who are “legally present.” Back in May, one Los Angeles county official said, "The one thing that's really clear as day is that the federal government is going to be protecting itself against costs, and we're going to be left holding the bag."
The Glynn County Republican Party in Georgia also asked Sens. Chambliss and Isakson to oppose S. 744 but took the matter a step further. The local Party passed a resolution demanding a no vote on cloture and final passage. Plus, in the letter delivering the resolution, they wrote “should you not vote no on cloture and/or on the bill itself…it is clear that the Glynn County Republican Party will no longer support you and will work to seek your defeat should you seek reelection.”
Read here for more on the State Senators’ letter and here for an article on objections by Los Angeles county officials.