Believe In America.com

butterbean · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 2269

State Sen. John Douglas is itching to do something about illegal immigration.

But the Republican from Social Circle has a problem. Lawmakers in Washington, D.C. — not Atlanta — control the guts of U.S. immigration policy.

"We can only put Band-Aids on a gaping wound that the federal government could close," Douglas said.

Yet less than a year after passing one the nation's toughest state crackdowns on illegal immigration, Douglas and his colleagues are at it again. They've introduced at least a dozen measures that are either fully or partially aimed at illegal immigrants so far in this year's General Assembly.

In essence, they're emptying out the Band-Aid box.

Some are the see-through kind, clearly meant to put a patch on a broken immigration system. Others are more opaque public safety measures that don't mention illegal immigrants but would affect them most.

One bill would require Georgians to prove they are U.S. citizens when registering to vote. Several proposals target the document fraud that can give illegal immigrants access to Georgia roads and health clinics. Another measure would make driving without a license a felony on the third offense.

Opinion polls consistently show immigration as a top concern of Georgia voters, said Matt Towery, a former Republican state representative who now owns an electronic media and polling company called InsiderAdvantage.

continued:
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/legis07/stories/2007/02/10/0211metimmbull.html