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.
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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.
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While President Barack Obama met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Tuesday to renew his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, Rep. Lou Barletta, a freshman Republican congressman and former mayor of Hazleton, PA, announced that he would create a new congressional caucus to stop “illegal” (or, preferably unauthorized) immigration into the United States.

Rep. Barletta envisions his initiative as a counterweight to the all-Democrat Congressional Hispanic Caucus that advocates for an overhaul of a U.S. immigration system that mixes enforcement along with realistic pathways toward legalization for certain undocumented immigrants. Known for championing the infamous Illegal Immigration Relief Act of 2006 in Hazelton, the congressman is taking steps to push punitive legislation on a national level. Similar to Arizona’s SB 1070, the Hazelton law targeted the local immigrant population in Hazelton by revoking the business license of employers who hired undocumented immigrants and imposing a $1,000 fine on landlords who rented to them.

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As punitive legislation targeting undocumented immigrants gains traction in the United States—Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 being the poster child—and given Congress’ failure to pass comprehensive reform, local police officers are increasingly authorized to enforce federal immigration laws. Passed almost a year ago, SB1070 in its original form required officers to check on an individual’s immigration status while enforcing non-immigration related laws, provided there is “reasonable suspicion.” But a recent report by the Washington-based Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) shows that more and more cops in Arizona and other states are saying, “This is not what I signed up for.”

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