State Senators want anti-illegal immigration legislation

ATLANTA – A handful of Republican state senators said today they plan to introduce legislation they say “will provide for greater enforcement of federal illegal immigration laws in Georgia.”

“The United States is a land of opportunity for all who want to come here and contribute to our society in a lawful manner,” state Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, said in a statement. “We welcome anyone who wants to become a legal resident of the United States to achieve the American dream.

“The fact remains that those who are reside illegally are breaking the law and utilizing resources that should be for those who obtain legal residency,” Mullis added. “Businesses, local governments and our university system must comply with federal and state illegal immigration laws to relieve wasteful spending and get legal residents and Georgians back to work.”

The group’s statement did not provide any additional details about the potential legislation.

Nationally, illegal aliens cost taxpayers $113 billion per year, according to a new report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Illegal aliens cost Georgians $1.6 billion – or more, depending on the estimate – every year, according to Mullis.

“The report examines virtually every federal, state and local government program to determine the impact of illegal immigration on the bottom line,” Dan Stein, president of FAIR, said in a news release. “That bottom line – $113 billion a year, and growing – makes our nation’s failure to control illegal immigration one of the largest preventable burdens borne by American taxpayers.

“If political leaders in Washington and state capitals want to understand why the American public is demanding enforcement of our immigration laws, The Fiscal Burden of Illegal Immigration on U.S. Taxpayers, provides 113 billion good reasons,” Stein added.