ATLANTA - The Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) applauds the ruling a by a federal judge blocking enforcement of parts of Arizona's controversial immigration law.
"With this ruling, Judge Bolton reiterates what we and countless others have said all along: that SB 1070 is unconstitutional and attempts to supersede federal immigration laws," GALEO Executive Director Jerry Gonzalez said Thursday. "This ruling sends a clear message to other jurisdictions considering similar measures. They will be challenged in court, and the costs will be borne by localities least able to afford diverting scarce resources during these
trying economic times."
The remaining candidates for governor in Georgia have said they favor an Arizona-type law here but Gonzalez went on to say that Georgia is not Arizona.
"One clear and distinct example is that Georgia's agricultural industry is critically important to our state's economic recovery. In addition, it is estimated that 40-60 percent of the workforce within the agricultural industry is made up of undocumented workers. I don't believe we would want to outsource our agricultural industry to other states or overseas."
Gonzalez added "It is because of this great economic contribution that politicians should think long and hard about the consideration of an Arizona-type law which would cause economic havoc to our leading industry for Georgia, our agricultural industry. Again, Georgia is not Arizona and we need to keep our agricultural sector vibrant and thriving; undocumented immigrants are a vital source of labor for the industry and politicians should not harm our economy through driving that labor out."
Thursday
October 10th, 2024
10:24AM
