Immigration to Georgia
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 GEORGIA IMMIGRATION STATISTICS |
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Total Population: |
9,364,000 (2006) |
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Foreign Born: |
732,000 (2005) |
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Illegal Immigrants: |
FAIR Estimate: 443,000 (2005) |
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USCIS/DHS Estimate: 228,000 (2000) |
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Pew Hispanic Center Estimate: 450,000 (2005) |
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Immigration to Georgia
Georgia is the sixth fastest growing state in the U.S. Within the last ten years, over 1.7 million new residents settled in Georgia. Almost 25 percent of these new residents were immigrants. During the 1990’s, Georgia's foreign-born population increased 233 percent—the second largest percent increase in the country. The total number of foreign-born residents in the state is 577,273. Foreign-born residents now account for 7 percent of the total state population.
Illegal Immigration to Georgia
228,000 illegal aliens resided in Georgia as of 2000, according to INS figures. Georgia has the seventh largest illegal immigrant population in the country. In mid-May 1998, the INS launched operation “Southern Denial” during the harvest of a $90 million onion crop in southeastern Georgia and apprehended 21 illegal alien workers in Glennville. In 2001, an INS investigation found more than 100 illegal aliens working in exploitative conditions in Atlanta area restaurants. Four Chamblee employment agencies imported and routed illegal aliens to Chinese restaurants, where they were kept in crowded, filthy conditions, worked long hours, and received no benefits and substandard pay. To cover their housing and transportation to and from work, a portion of their paychecks was deducted.
Georgia’s public employers and contractors or subcontractors, with 500 or more employees, must register in the federal work authorization program to verify information of all new employees. The provision is effective July 1, 2007, for public employers, contractors, or subcontractors with 500 or more employees; July 1, 2008, for those with 100 or more employees; and July 1, 2009, for those with fewer than 100 employees. This campaign is part of the BASIC pilot program, which aims to crack down on human trafficking.
Sadly, immigrants comprise the vast majority of human trafficking victims. This law carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and makes human trafficking a felony. By lowering the standard authorities must meet to prove suspects are guilty, it gives authorities more leverage to prosecute pimps and johns. Immigrant advocacy groups blasted Senate Bill 529 last year, claiming that the provisions unfairly targeted immigrants - illegal or not. The most widely criticized section of the Bill requires Georgia residents to prove their U.S. citizenship or legal status to get most public benefits, such as food stamps, Medicaid, assistance for paying heating or cooling costs.
Another provision requires all public employers and contractors with more than 500 employees ensure that all new hires are eligible to work. She said she mentioned the problem to Republican state Sen. Chip Rogers in 2005 and was surprised to see an anti-trafficking statute in his immigration bill months later. She and other prosecutors helped mold it to Georgia standards. Its greatest strength, she said, allows prosecutors to piece together a pattern of crimes that otherwise would be handled as isolated incidents. The law has likely been used little since it took effect just a month ago, but there's hope that it could lead to more vigorous rounds of enforcement.
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