ACTION: Ask Governor Deal to Sign S.B. 160!

Call him at 404 656-1776!

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, May 3, 2013 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim.  We’ve all heard, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat,” and that’s also true in getting bills passed.  An immigration bill fiercely opposed by pro-amnesty groups from La Raza, the Chamber of Commerce and ACLU had to be attached to S.B. 160 to get it passed and sent to the governor.

With H.B. 125 attached to it, S.B. 160 became an extremely important tax-saving plan for Georgians, because it NOW requires proof of legal entry into the United States before anyone can qualify for tax-funded benefits.  EVERY year the upkeep of illegal aliens costs Georgia taxpayers billions of dollars.  For example, the cost of educating illegal aliens is $1.7 billion; $318 million for unreimbursed health care.  They cost the judicial system $195 million; welfare, $77 million; and $138 million in other state and local operating costs.  That totals $2.4 billion every year, an average of $743 per year for each native-born Georgia head of household.

S.B. 160 requires local governments to stop giving sanctuary to illegal aliens and, if they DON’T stop giving sanctuary, they could lose money from the state, plus federal funding distributed by the state, plus financial assistance for postsecondary education.  If S.B. 160 becomes law, applicants for government assistance would have to verify their lawful presence in the U.S. and, if they can’t, they WILL NOT qualify for government grants, public and assisted housing, retirement benefits, state issued driver’s licenses or ID cards, in addition to the 23 other benefits they aren’t eligible for right now.  An original secure and verifiable document signed and sworn by the applicant would be necessary to get a state driver’s license or ID card.

Lawful presence must be proven under the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program and children of illegal aliens would be required to verify their own personal status when they become 18.

Verifiable ID would include an original or certified birth certificate issued by a state, county, municipal authority or U.S. territory and it must bear an official seal.  But a foreign passport, including the Mexican Matricula Consular document, would NOT be accepted.  However, utility services that are basic human necessities, such as water, sewer, electricity, communications and gas, will not be withheld, regardless of their illegal status.  Call Governor Deal at 404 656-1776* and ask him to sign S.B. 160 and please DO NOT veto it!  For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent