Gainesville meeting to address immigration and economy

ATLANTA - The group of Democratic state lawmakers traveling the state, conducting meetings on immigration, will be in Gainesville this week.

The Senate Special Committee on Immigration and Georgia's Economy will stop in Gainesville Tuesday night at 7:00 at the mountains center. Members say business, political and community leaders and faith-based organizations have been invited to share their observations on the impact of immigration and the economy in their communities.

The group organized after an all-Republican panel was formed last year by the leadership in the GOP-dominated legislature and held a number of public hearings on the immigration issue. But leaders of the Democratic panel say they did not form their group because of that.

The hearing will be the second for the committee; the first was several weeks ago in Macon.

The committee is made of of Sens. Curt Thompson, Chairman, Tucker; Gail Davenport, Jonesboro; Jason Carter, Decatur; Emanuel Jones, DeKalb; Doug Stoner, Smyrna; and, Vincent Fort, Atlanta.