Committee probes illegal immigration in Ga.

ATLANTA — A state special committee on illegal immigration reform met recently for the first time.

In an op-ed, state Rep. Matt Ramsey, R-Peachtree City, and state Sen. Jack Murphy, R-Cumming, the committee’s co-chairs, said “the General Assembly will not simply wait and hope for the U.S. Congress or federal courts to act to address this pressing issue.”

“The charge of the committee is to review existing local, state and federal laws and identify statutory and enforcement gaps concerning illegal immigration that are within the legislative power of the Georgia General Assembly to address,” the lawmakers wrote. “We intend to engage in a thorough and inclusive process and consider viewpoints from all along the ideological spectrum.”

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, estimates suggest.