Verification of Residence

Requires that entities verify legal U.S. residence for local, state or federal benefits administered by a state agency or a political subdivision of the state where residence is a requirement and where the individual requesting benefits is older than age 18.

Exempts prenatal and emergency care (same exemptions as federal exemptions for residence verification)
Requires that all individuals receiving state benefits sign one of two affidavits, either stating the individual is a U.S. citizen or a legal alien.
All “legal alien” affidavits must be checked in the federal SAVE program database to verify lawful eligibility for public benefits.
Provision is effective July 1, 2007.

State Contracts

Requires contracts for state agencies, departments and instrumentalities of the state and contracts and subcontracts thereof to use the federal BASIC Pilot program for newly hired employees to verify lawful employment in the United States.

Employer must perform employment check post-hiring;
Effective July 1, 2007 for employers with 500+ employees, effective July 1, 2008 for employers with 100+ employees and July 1, 2009 for employers with less than 100 employees.

Prohibit tax benefits

Specifies that undocumented employee compensation over $600 a year may not be used as an allowable business expense.

Allows Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) to promulgate rules and regulations;
Applies only to those hired after January 1, 2008;
Provision is effective January 1, 2008.

Withholding Tax Requirement

Requires six percent state withholding tax for all nonresident aliens.

Requires six percent state withholding tax for 1099 employees who cannot provide a taxpayer ID number, who provide an incorrect taxpayer ID number or who provide a nonresident taxpayer ID number.
State requirement is similar to federal requirement;
Provision effective July 1, 2007.

Law Enforcement Training

Authorizes the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Commissioner to enter into an MOU with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning the enforcement of immigration laws.

Directs the DPS Commissioner to coordinate with law enforcement entities to choose
appropriate peace officers for training;

States that state law enforcement training is contingent on funding by federal government;
Authorizes the trained law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration and customs laws while performing their authorized duties;
Provision is effective July 1, 2007.

Human Trafficking

Creates the offense of human trafficking and contributing to human trafficking.

Penalty: 1-20 years; 10-20 years if the victim is under age18;
Georgia human trafficking language is similar to federal language;
Provision is effective July 1, 2007.

Legal status verification for those charged with felony or DUI

Requires that jail personnel check the legal status of those who are charged with a felony or DUI and notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if the individual is not legally in the United States.

· Practice already occurring in Georgia state prison system;

· Provision effective July 1, 2007.

Immigration Assistance Regulation

Limits what services a for-profit immigration assistance company can provide and criminalizes certain actions.

Requires that such businesses post signs stating they are not lawyers and cannot provide legal advice.
Restricts these individuals/businesses from using the terms notary, lawyer or attorney in advertising (may use term “notary public” if certified)
Misdemeanor for first offense of non-compliance; high and aggravated misdemeanor for second and subsequent offenses within 5 years.
Provision is effective July 1, 2007.

From the Prince of Darkness…

New national polling data show, to the surprise of many politicians, that the immigration issue is one of the very rare areas where President Bush is gaining rather than losing strength.

The conventional wisdom has been that Bush’s guest worker proposal runs sharply against mainstream Republican opinion and contributes to the president’s loss of party support. However, polls show Republican opinion on the issue is split, as are the Democrats, with a national majority actually backing Bush (while he continues to drop in nearly every other category).

Some Republican members of Congress have reported back from Easter recess to say their constituents are less outraged by leaky borders than the possible loss of immigrant workers, some from their own households.

If everyone agrees about the need to enforce the border, can’t we just pass a bill that does that and come back to the issue of what we do with those who are here later? I mean, it would be nice to see Congress pass something meaningful before November.