The
Georgia state legislature recently passed a bill that would require
employers to use a federal database to make sure new hires are in the
country legally. The bill has provisions similar to Arizona’s
widely protested SB 1070 and would allow police officers to detain
migrant workers and verify immigration status of people suspected of
being undocumented. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal initially stated his
intentions to sign off on the bill, but has since vacillated due in
part to the negative political fallout that followed passage of SB
1070 in Arizona.
Community
organizations that fight for workers’ rights and others strongly
oppose the bill. Farmers who rely on immigrant labor are concerned it
will be costly to implement the E-Verify system.
Employers, large and
small alike, take advantage of immigrant labor to boost profits. For
them, the purpose of such laws is to marginalize immigrants and leave them no recourse but to accept work for the lowest wages under the
harshest conditions.
