In less than two months, House Bill 87—Arizona-style immigration legislation signed into law on May 13 by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal—goes into effect. As of July 1, businesses with more than 10 workers will be required to use the federal E-Verify system to confirm employees’ work eligibility; state and local police will be permitted to inquire about the certain suspects’ immigration status; and people who apply for public benefits, including food stamps and public housing, will be required to prove they are living in the United States legally. Uncertainty about the measure’s effect on Georgia’s economy and whether it will lead to an exodus of Hispanic immigrants out of the state has some Georgia residents on edge.

According to the 2010 Census, Georgia’s Hispanic population doubled over the past decade. The state is now home to more than 850,000 Hispanics, representing almost 9 percent of the total population. According to Gov. Deal, a Democrat-turned-Republican, 500,000 of Georgia’s immigrants are undocumented. He has argued that they are a drain on public services and—by taking the few available jobs—are partly responsible for the already-high 9.9 percent unemployment rate. Gov. Deal’s message resonated with conservatives across the state, particularly in suburbs of metropolitan centers like Atlanta.
(more…)

Arizona is at it again; this time, taking construction of the border fence into its own hands. Arizona lawmakers are set to “complete that danged fence” with private money as Governor Janet Brewer signed into law Senate Bill 1406 on Monday, May 2. The law allows for the state to raise private funds online to build a fence on the Arizona-Mexico border.

This is not the first time Arizona has sought private funds to support its immigration agenda. To defend the controversial SB 1070, Arizona has already raised $3.7 million to pay for legal fees through www.keepAZsafe.com.

(more…)

Chipotle Mexican Grill has been the subject of an ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation over the past several months. ICE agents—many dressed in plain clothes—have visited between 20 and 25 restaurants in Atlanta, Washington DC, and Los Angeles to interview managers and supervisors about hiring undocumented immigrants.

The investigation is already taking a toll on the fast food giant and its employees. Chipotle fired more than 400 workers in Minnesota in December 2010 due to an ICE audit looking into employees’ working papers. This past March, Chipotle fired 40 more workers in Washington DC. Now the U.S. attorney’s office has gotten involved, thus raising the case to the highest level of scrutiny under immigration law. Chipotle’s CFO said today that the ICE probe has sharply increased the company’s legal costs.
(more…)

On the heels of President Obama’s renewed call for immigration reform yesterday, Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) re-introduced the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act today. The legislation offers undocumented young people who grew up in the United States an earned path to citizenship through military service or two years of college attendance. It is being re-introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA).

The DREAM Act failed in the lame-duck session of Congress last December when it fell five votes short of the 60 needed to invoke cloture and proceed to debate. This vote was a clear sign of the increasing partisan divide on immigration-related issues as the large majority of those voting against the bill were on the Republican side.

(more…)