Senate alters, OKs immigration crackdown bill (Georgia)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia’s Senate on Monday approved an Arizona-style crackdown on illegal immigration amid threats of economic boycotts and petitions from thousands of critics who oppose the legislation.

By a vote of 39 to 17, the Senate approved House Bill 87 after nearly three hours of debate and a lengthy and sometimes confusing discussion about several amendments.

Among other things, the Senate eliminated a provision in the bill that would have required many private businesses to use a federal work authorization program called E-Verify. That program helps businesses confirm their newly hired employees are eligible to work in the United States.

The bill now moves one step closer to Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk for his signature, but the process is far from over. Because the Senate substantially amended the bill, it must now go back to the House, which has been pushing for a tougher crackdown to include the E-Verify requirement for private businesses.

Read more: http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/senate-alters-oks-immigration-905568.html

[Skip Intro]

1. Sloppy journalism. "immigration crackdown" vs "crackdown on illegal immigration"

One is from the article title, one is from the first sentence. Makes me not want to read any further, really, since they can't seem to get that basic distinction down right off the bat.

[The Northerner]

2. +1

[EFerrari]

3. Not really because all immigrants will be subject to the crackdown.

The idea that somehow only undocumented immigrants will be "punished" isn't how this process works. Everyone immigrating here from south of our border will have to deal with this.

[Lance_Boyle]

4. Not sloppy - it's quite intentional.

The same tactic is used on DU a lot, too. Oppose illegal immigration? Then you must be "anti-immigrant." Calling them on this is usually met with cries of racism and teabaggery, and sometimes the odd bumper sticker slogan like "no one is illegal."

[pampango]

8. John Lewis didn't use "teabaggery", but did use the other terms in his remarks.

"Last month, civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, an Atlanta Democrat, joined thousands of people protesting the legislation outside the state Capitol. Quoting the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis expressed solidarity with Hispanic activists and said he was willing to go to jail with them in the fight against the state’s proposed immigration enforcement measures.

“We are all brothers and sisters. It doesn’t matter whether we are black, white, Latino, Asian-American, Native American. (alleging racism in the bill) We are one people. We are one family,” Lewis said, eliciting cheers. “We all live in the same house. If any one of us is illegal, then we all are illegal. There are no illegal human beings.”'

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/civil-rights-activists-join-904550.html

[Lance_Boyle]

9. John Lewis needs to worry about the CITIZENS he represents

and let someone in the illegal aliens' countries-of-origin worry about their citizens who are here illegally.

[pampango]

10. John Lewis seems to disagree with you about whom he should be concerned about, but feel free

to tell him whom you believe Mr. Lewis SHOULD worry about. Over the course of his life he does not seem to have spent a lot of time worrying about what other people thought should be important to him. Maybe he just needs a little more guidance from thoughtful DUers now than he did during the Civil Rights era.

[WatsonT]

5. Yep

the subtle substitution of "immigrant" for "illegal immigrant" is just outright propaganda.

If anyone tried to claim "cops cracking down on drivers" and never mention that they're cracking down on drunk drivers people would be pissed at the misrepresentation.

[COLGATE4]

6. I guess that Georgia has run out of ways to make life miserable

for African Americans, so they've got to have a new group to harass.

[pampango]

7. Indeed which leads to: "Civil rights activists join fight against immigration bills"

http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/civil-rights-activists-join-904550.html

Seeing some parallels to their own struggle, veterans of the civil rights movement from the 1960s have joined the fight against Arizona-style legislation targeting illegal immigration.

Such legislation, civil rights activists warn, could bring about the same kind of discrimination and racial profiling African-Americans struggled against decades ago. They have been delivering fiery speeches against House Bill 87 and Senate Bill 40 and marching alongside Hispanic activists in Georgia and in other states in recent months.

Last month, civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, an Atlanta Democrat, joined thousands of people protesting the legislation outside the state Capitol. Quoting the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis expressed solidarity with Hispanic activists and said he was willing to go to jail with them in the fight against the state’s proposed immigration enforcement measures.

“We are all brothers and sisters. It doesn’t matter whether we are black, white, Latino, Asian-American, Native American. We are one people. We are one family,” Lewis said, eliciting cheers. “We all live in the same house. If any one of us is illegal, then we all are illegal. There are no illegal human beings.” The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and the Rev. Joseph Lowery’s Coalition for the People’s Agenda also have been outspoken against these bills.

[ecstatic]

11. I'm truly disgusted by this. It breaks my heart

not to mention, I wonder if I need to carry my passport around with me, just in case a cop thinks I have a foreign accent.