GA Senate Wants Counties to Join Illegal Immigration crackdown

By Jonathan Shapiro

Atlanta – The state senate has passed a bill that encourages counties to join a federal program aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants.

287(g) is a federal program that trains and empowers police to enforce immigration law in local jails. The bill offers participating counties a 20 percent bonus toward the cost of processing suspected undocumented immigrants. Republican Senator John Wiles of Kennesaw sponsored the bill and says the program streamlines status checks and deportations of illegal immigrants.

"If you commit a crime in a county that has 287(g) and you're not here legally your status will be checked and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be notified," says Wiles. "These are people who have broken our laws to get into the United States and then have broken our laws and ended up in jail."

Currently, four counties in Georgia - Hall, Whitfield, Cobb, and Gwinnett - are participating in 287(g) and will benefit if the bill becomes a law.

While supporters of the bill say it makes communities safer, Azadeh Shahshahani of the ACLU argues it actually does the opposite.

"They're so afraid of contacting the police because of the fear of being placed in deportation proceedings, when they have been a victim of a crime or they have witnessed a crime or there's a public safety issue, they're afraid to contact police," says Shahshahani

She says 287(g) is creating a tense atmosphere between Hispanics who are here legally and local law enforcement.