Atlanta Mayor Says Locals Must Counteract Georgia's Anti-Immigration Voices
Atlanta Mayor Says Locals Must Counteract Georgia's Anti-Immigration Voices
Speaking to immigrant advocacy groups and business leaders at an AS/COA forum, Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed called to promote the positive impact of immigrants in the city’s growth.
Speaking to immigrant advocacy groups and local business leaders, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said the message at times can be a difficult sell.
“Candidly, folks, being forward-leaning on immigration is a little tougher in the South. We’ll just put it that way to be polite," said Reed Tuesday at lunch hosted by the Americas Society and the Council of the Americas.
In 2011, Georgia passed one of the strictest immigration laws in the country.
At the luncheon, Reed vowed to help promote the positive impact of immigrants.
“When other folks want to engage and pass some legislation that I think is bad for the state of Georgia, we need to make sure there are folks on the other side of that issue who are rooting for immigrants in the city, in the state, and America,” said Reed.
Several metro Atlanta-based groups including Welcoming America and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta have ramped up efforts to engage local elected officials and business leaders on immigration issues....
