ATLANTA (AP) -- Immigration reform might be dead in Washington, but it's only beginning in Georgia. Sunday, more than a year after the state legislature passed a sweeping law to keep illegal immigrants out of jobs, away from taxpayer-funded benefits and more easily within the reach of local police, most parts of the legislation will go into effect.
Supporters say Senate Bill 529, as the law is known, only requires local governments to enforce federal immigration law -- for example, verifying that adults applying for non-emergency public benefits are eligible under federal statutes.
Opponents and immigrant rights advocates, however, say the new law will make immigrants -- legal or not -- more afraid of being scrutinized by government officials and law enforcement just because of the way they look or the language they speak.
The bill's sponsor, Republican Senator Chip Rogers of Woodstock, and other supporters have promoted it as a way to reduce Georgia's appeal for illegal immigrants.