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Report:
Georgia
leads nation in illegal immigrant growth
By CARLOS
CAMPOS , JIM
THARPE
The
Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/18/06
Georgia
has the fastest-growing illegal immigrant population
in the nation, more than doubling in the last five
years, according to a federal
report released Friday.
From
2000-2005,
Georgia
's population of illegal immigrants jumped to an
estimated 470,000, an increase of 114 percent, a U.S.
Department of Homeland Security report said.
The
increase far eclipsed the state with the next-fastest
growth �
Arizona
� which had an increase of 45 percent.
Georgia
's
growth put it in an elite category, trailing only
California
,
Texas
,
Florida
,
New York
,
Illinois
and
Arizona
in total numbers of illegal immigrants. The report
estimates there were almost 11 million illegal
immigrants living in the
U.S.
by January 2006. The majority of the immigrants, about
6 million, are from
Mexico
.
El Salvador
,
Guatemala
,
India
and
China
follow with the most, making up about 13 percent of
the illegal immigrant population.
Estimating
the numbers of illegal immigrants is
"challenging," the report by the
department's Office of Immigration Statistics notes,
due to the lack of concrete data that exists on the
population. Estimates of the illegal immigrant
population throughout the
U.S.
vary widely, often according to who's compiling the
numbers.
Congress
remains in a stalemate over illegal immigration
reform, still unable to resolve key differences in
House and Senate versions of a bill. As a result,
states have been addressing the issue on a local
level.
Earlier
this week, Gov. Sonny Perdue rolled out a campaign ad
touting his role in passing the Georgia Security and
Immigration Compliance Act. The measure, passed by the
Legislature this year, seeks to prevent illegal
immigrants from getting public benefits to which
they're not entitled.
"This
report confirms what Gov. Perdue already recognizes,
that the state of
Georgia
is heavily impacted by illegal immigrants," said
Perdue spokeswoman Heather Hedrick. "This is
precisely why this year we enacted bold legislation
that will stem the flow of state resources to those
who are here illegally."
Advocates
for undocumented workers in
Georgia
said they are concerned the numbers will provide
further fodder for elected officials already
capitalizing on the issue.
"It's
clear the current governor and particularly members of
the Senate have decided people who are building our
buildings and powering our labor force are a criminal
element here," said state Sen. Sam Zamarripa
(D-Atlanta), who worked to soften the impact of the
legislation. "They [state politicians]
grandstanded on it last year and they'll probably
grandstand on it this year."
D.A.
King of
Marietta
, an anti-illegal immigration activist, said he was
not surprised by Friday's numbers, but believes they
are grossly underestimated.
"I
believe the number to be well in excess of 20 million
[in the U.S]," said King, president of The Dustin
Inman Society.
A
Zogby International poll conducted for the
Journal-Constitution in late December showed that 80
percent of Georgians wanted the state Legislature to
tackle illegal immigration.
The
figures released Friday could further galvanize public
opinion against illegal immigration, said King, who
lobbies for tougher anti-illegal immigration laws.
"This news will only increase the already high
number of people in
Georgia
who have had enough of illegal immigration in our
state."
Tisha
Tallman, regional counsel for the Southeastern
division of the Mexican American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund, said the nation is currently
enveloped in an "anti-immigrant" climate.
"That's
not unique to
Georgia
," said Tallman, who worked against passage of
the state legislation. "However,
Georgia
decided to be the most vocal and to be the first to do
something on the state level."
Tallman
said the current immigration problems fall largely on
the back of Congress, which has not dealt with a
long-developing situation.
"The
issue we need to stay focused on is urging Congress to
come to a comprehensive solution on this very
important issue," she said.
�Read the report.
(PDF, 200k)
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