Georgia businesses suffering from state immigration law
Georgia's tough new immigration law is hurting the state's agriculture industry.
Story from PRI's The World. Use audio player above to listen to full report.
Parts of a tough new immigration law went into effect last week in Georgia. It's the latest instance of a US state seeking to make it harder for illegal immigrants to live and work within its borders.
Earlier last week, a federal judge blocked some of the law's provisions. But other parts of the legislation are now being enforced, such as the one that makes it a felony to use false information when applying for a job.
Bryan Tolar, president of Georgia Agribusiness Council, is opposed to the bill, and said it has hurt his industry in the past six weeks. "So what we've seen is about a 30 percent loss in that labor force, so we're looking at a $200 to $250 million loss potentially," he said.
Gary Paulk is one of the owners of a family-run blackberry farm in South Georgia. He said he's lost about $200,000 this blackberry season mainly because of Georgia's new law. But what bothers Paulk more than his financial loss, is how the law is punitive.
"Having a fake ID, a first-time offense can be up to 10 years, and $100,000 fine," Paulk said. "I mean that's ... like a felony. A felony to use a fake ID to get a job to support your family."
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 87 into law right when the blackberries were ready to be harvested. At the bill's signing in mid-May, Deal said his aim was to deal with an issue being ignored by the federal government, and to help his state during tough economic times.
"With an illegal population that is estimated to be almost 500,000, the collective financial cost to our educational, health care, and correctional infrastructure is in the billions," Deal said.
Read full story on The World website.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRI's "The World" is a one-hour, weekday radio news magazine offering a mix of news, features, interviews, and music from around the globe. "The World" is a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH Boston. More about The World.
JOIN PRI COMMUNITIES:
Post your comment