Ask Candidates about Driver’s Licenses

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, November 2, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

With the election only four days away, please remind candidates that driver’s licenses must be redesigned to differentiate between U.S. citizens and non-citizens, since driver’s licenses are used for voter ID.

No matter how long foreigners have been living legally in this country, they cannot vote unless they have taken the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States.  That’s when they swear allegiance to U.S. laws and the Constitution.

Individuals who enter the country legally may use their foreign driver’s license for doing business or touring the state, but if they become legal Georgia residents, they must get a Georgia license within 30 days.  To qualify for a driver’s license, individuals must be U.S. “citizens” or “lawful” visitors who become “lawful” residents.  Georgia law does not authorize driver’s licenses for illegal aliens, although some may have been issued.

However, Georgia law does allow driver’s licenses to be issued to foreigners who are in this country lawfully.  The problem is: their license looks exactly like those issued to U.S. citizens, except for two words, “term-limited,” that are printed on non-citizen licenses.  Both licenses are so similar that registrars could easily overlook the words “term-limited” and register non-citizens, who could vote, if poll workers don’t see those words, either. Continue reading →

Georgia’s NOT “Like Nazi Germany!”

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, April 20, 2018 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

They were discussing S.B. 452 when the Republican vice-chairman of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee said, “This isn’t Nazi Germany – we are not asking people to carry their papers around on them at all times.”

He’s right, this is not Nazi Germany, but he was wrong to change the word “shall” in S.B. 452 to “may,” because shall is a requirement; may is permissive, and requires nothing. After gutting shall from the bill, the vice-chairman explained it this way, “In section one we did change a ‘shall’ back to a ‘may.’ There were some concerns within the business community with international companies. A CEO or somebody might be here with a foreign driver’s license and if they were pulled over for some reason and if they didn’t have their visa on them … we want to allow for the police officer to maintain some discretion there.”

S.B. 452 is the Ensuring Necessary Deportations Act that would have allowed peace officers to investigate and learn the immigration status of criminal suspects. It, also, required sentencing courts to determine the defendant’s legal status and send the result to the Department of Homeland Security. It would have required local law enforcement to comply with federal law and cooperate with ICE by detaining, arresting and transporting the criminal. Continue reading →

Will Non-Citizens Govern Georgians?

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, February 24, 2017 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

I have two serious questions for you. The first: Will someone who is not a U.S. citizen be allowed to govern in Georgia? The second: Should any citizen of the United States or Georgia be governed by someone who is not a U.S. citizen?

Those questions may be decided this session. On January 11th, Republican Representative Brad Raffensperger introduced H.B. 33 to add a new section to three Georgia Code Titles: 36, 45 and 50, to authorize non-U.S.-citizens to be appointed to local public authorities that make policy, spend public money, levy taxes, or assess, impose, or collect fees or charges.

H.B. 33 would authorize six groups of non-citizens to serve in local government: (a) nationals of the United States, (b) lawful permanent residents, (c) aliens with lawful status in the U.S., (d)legal residents of Georgia, (e) active members of the U.S. military, or (f) members of the soldier’s immediate family to hold public office in authorities, school districts, commissions, councils and boards.

The IRS defines those terms as follows: An alien is someone who is not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national. A U.S. National is a person who owes sole allegiance to the United States. That includes U.S. citizens, and individuals who are not U.S. citizens. A U.S. Citizen is someone born in the U.S.; a person whose parent is a U.S. citizen; a former alien naturalized as a U.S. citizen; and individuals born in Puerto Rico, Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Continue reading →