Illegal aliens outnumber lawfully-present immigrants in Georgia by a large margin. According to a 2018 report from the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI), 377,000 illegal aliens live in the Peach State compared to 260,000 legal immigrants with green cards. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has Georgia’s illegal-alien population higher at about 422,000, meaning there are almost as many illegal aliens as the state’s 427,000 naturalized citizens.
GBPI is a pro-amnesty organization in the state that pushes for illegal aliens to be treated as if they were lawful residents. The organization argues in the report that detainers and 287(g) agreements are a drain on Georgia’s economy. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issues detainer requests so that local law enforcement will know to hold criminal aliens until ICE can arrive. ICE also utilizes the 287(g) program to train local law enforcement in handling federal immigration laws. Several Georgia counties are part of this program.
The GBPI report states that a little over $8.3 million in taxpayer money is spent annually on detainer requests in the Peach State.
However, GBPI is not explaining the full story. Not once does the organization mention in the report the full annual cost the state pays for illegal immigration. According to FAIR, Georgia suffers from the seventh largest illegal-alien population in the U.S., and that adds up. Illegal aliens and their children cost Georgian taxpayers nearly $2.5 billion each year. This includes education, medical costs, and the usage of welfare programs. So, if these immigration enforcement programs reduce the cost of illegal immigration by even 1 percent, they become a bargain.
But this enforcement is not just all about the cash involved, either. By encouraging counties to not honor retainer requests, GBPI is advocating for the release of potentially dangerous criminal aliens back into the public. This has already led to preventable tragedies in the past. San Francisco law enforcement ignored a detainer request for the illegal alien who eventually killed Kate Steinle a few years ago. Last year another illegal alien allegedly murdered three people in Missouri after his detainer request was ignored in New Jersey.
The fact that Georgia has more illegal aliens than legal immigrants is a serious problem, and travesties similar to those previously mentioned have already occurred in the state. It is concerning that organizations like GBPI are attempting to convince the public that illegal immigration is actually beneficial and that illegal aliens are just victims of their circumstances. In reality, detainer requests and the 287(g) program serve to protect American citizens and help to alleviate the costs associated with illegal immigration.
17 Comments
So, this blog and its multiple versions is a topic of much conversation here in Georgia. Profiled by the AP, NYTIMES and the Atlanta Journal Constitution. here, D.A. King has been the amazingly energetic and always accurate leader and writer on immigration matters.
King wrote about this comparison and the GBPI opposition to enforcement in August. He noted that according to data, “Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than GREEN CARD HOLDERS.” A comparison that does NOT included all legal immigrants as FAIR has done here. Mara Gomez has it exactly right in her explanation. If we add green card holders to immigrants who have been naturalized (become US citizens) there are more legal immigrants than illegal aliens. The original version of this blog had King’s recognition wrong. The GBPI article that is still linked in this blog has the easily read three-segment pie chart that makes this very clear.
It is surprising this was not immediately grasped by the writer or at least his editors.
There is still a paragraph that needs the edits and corrections already made (without any note from the editors) and…the headline that is still unchanged is totally inaccurate. It looks like clicks were primary to the post and accuracy and facts were a second thought.
D.A. King has every right to be upset over the lack of attribution to his August piece on Insider Avantage Georgia that exposed GEOGIA BUDGET AND POLICY INSTITUTE and the fact that this entire fact about more illegals than GREEN CARD HOLDERS has been quite visibly posted on his new website ImmigrationPoliticsGA and that website’s Facebook page since December.
FAIR has lost some trust here. Spreading inaccurate “facts” to readers who know nearly nothing about immigration is not helping anyone. Including FAIR.
Changing the headline is not going to happen. But as long as this is online with the text arguing with the headline, the less credibility this blog will have.
SIDNEY FINCH, ATLANTA
Heads up, FAIR editors! You missed a paragraph that still contains the original inaccuracy.
“The fact that Georgia has more illegal aliens than legal immigrants is a serious problem, and travesties similar to those previously mentioned have already occurred in the state. It is concerning that organizations like GBPI are attempting to convince the public that illegal immigration is actually beneficial and that illegal aliens are just victims of their circumstances. In reality, detainer requests and the 287(g) program serve to protect American citizens and help to alleviate the costs associated with illegal immigration.”
Too funny.
I don’t give a big rats ***, ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL and an ILLEGAL ALIEN is here ILLEGALLY and therefore a CRIMINAL and should be DEPORTED IMMEDIATELY NO QUESTIONS ASKED, its BULL? to allow a CRIMINAL FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY to be allowed to stay here !!! It is even a bigger bunch of BULL? that the CITIZENS of this COUNTRY SHOULD BE FORCED TO SUPPORT THESE CRIMINALS IN EVERY WAY when our own CITIZENS AND VETERANS are HOMELESS AND HUNGRY AND IN NEED OF MEDICAL CARE, FREE HOUSING AND FREE FOODSTUFFS, A DAMN CHECK, EVEN UNEARNED INCOME CREDIT EVEN THOUGH THEY PAID NO TAXES EVER ARE ALLOWED TO STAY IN THIS COUNTRY WITH NO CONSEQUENCE !!!
BE FAIR TO THE TRUE AMERICAN CITIZENS WHILE SAVING THE TAXPAYERS BILLIONS (“BUILD THE DAMN WALL, THEN DEPORT EVERY ILLEGAL LIVING IN THIS COUNTRY AND GIVE THESE FREE BENEFITS TO REAL AMERICANS “)
Just to be clear, green card holders are legal US RESIDENTS, not necessarily immigrants. In any case, thats not the issue, the issue is who is here legally and who is here ILLEGALLY, which should be self explanatory to anybody with even half a brain. That condition, apparently, half the US population of voters do not meet.
Just to be clear, you have no idea what you are talking about. “Green cards” describes Lawful Permanent Resident – immigrants. Non immigrant (temporary) visa holders are here legally, but they are not immigrants and as such, have no green card. US citizens are here legally but they have no green card and do not require one. You may want to resort to Googling before you post on facts you d/n understand.
Naturalized Americans are immigrants. The original post here was wrong. It was edited without a note it was corrected.
What are their crimes? If there only crime is being illegal, that doesn’t seem to be much of a serious crime.
You ask what are their crimes? First of all, when you cross the border you just broke our laws. What in the world are you smoking!!! You really must take off those rose colored glasses your wearing and face the true facts. Just look at the list of Americans who have been killed by illegals, the list gets bigger every day.
Which law can you brake and get away and not be considered braking the law? So if braking our immigration laws is not a serious crime. Using your reasoning then shoplifting should only be braking the law if one stole over 100 dollars worth of items, anything less would not be considered shoplifting.
How about Social Security fraud, ID theft, fraud on employment applications? NBD? FYI crossing border illegally is a crime. Maybe the illegals will not steal your identity. Maybe an illegal alien will not kill a family member. Google Dustin Inman.
MARA is correct. Entering illegally is just the beginning. Working requires identification, which is stolen (by necessity, yet still a crime) not to mention the various kinds of fraud from tax to election to theft of benefits (which might be arguable, but since it is our money the counter-argument is quite persuasive).
Not to mention the ID theft, rape, murder, DUI, property damage, assault and overuse of our infrastructure without paying the taxes necessary to make improvements on that infrastructure.
FAIR omits post here that explain why this is false. Ichh…
Nice try, troll. That’s not remotely true. It’s left wing sites that censor.
The original post was wrong because Ga does not have more illegals than legal immigrants – which has been changed to reflect green card holders compared to illegals not all legal immigrants, which would include naturalized citizens. Neither did they provide attribution for that finding to the original work of D.A. King in GA. See ImmigrationPoliticsGA . COM .
Troll? Is a proud legal immigrant.
This is inaccurate.
Then explain why and what the real figures are and where they come from.
The Illegals Hatch Babies They Can’t Afford in America Like Crazy
Then the illegals expect us to pay for their care..
Media doing their usual lying by “fact checking” Trump’s speech. In other words, they are using all the left wing spin sites. What he said about the large number of women migrants being sexually assaulted on the journey through Mexico is absolutely true. Amnesty International has been saying that for many years.