Dustin Inman Society board member Inger Eberhart on Insider Advantage Georgia - SoS candidate Bee Nguyen's "Freedom to Drive Act" for illegal aliens

The below originally ran on the subscription Insider Advantage Georgia website, October 15, 2021. It is reposted here with permission.

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Many thanks to InsiderAdvantage for your recent profile on Rep. Bee Nguyen (Nguyen among a crowded field in Secretary of State’s race). I found it quite informative and provided useful insight into her background. It is vitally important to get an idea of the beliefs and priorities of a potential constitutional office holder.

I would like to add information on Nguyen’s position regarding at least one aspect of illegal immigration that most voters will find relevant in their decision process on selecting a candidate for next year’s Secretary of State race. Including at our pro-enforcement house, she is unlikely to find support from anyone who wants to make Georgia unattractive to illegal immigration and voter fraud.

Nguyen is the sponsor of HB 833 also known as the “Freedom to Drive Act” which would reward illegal aliens who don’t already have a Georgia driver’s license and or state ID Card with a “Driving Card” and/or an official ID card. The official permission to drive and use state ID would apply to virtually all the estimated 400,000 illegal aliens in Georgia as well as any of the hordes of illegal aliens who have been welcomed into the U.S. by the Biden administration and who have Georgia on their mind as a homestead destination.

The 20,000 illegal aliens living in Georgia who are recipients of the Obama era DACA status already have access to the exact same driver’s license the Department of Drivers Services issues to legal immigrants and guest workers here with legal visas.

The official nod for “undocumented workers” to drive lawfully would extend to commercial operations as well.

Dustin Inman Society President D.A. King has warned about this legislation and provided background on the failed attempt by Tennessee to provide security or transparency in almost an identical concept in 2004. “Tennessee ended that adventure after two years and a federal investigation that exposed the extreme level of fraud, bribery and the fact that illegal aliens from other states were flocking to Tennessee to get ‘documented’ Georgia is already home to more illegal aliens than Arizona. Most of us don’t want to make it easier for them to vote,” wrote King.

I join him in noting that “in Bee Nguyen’s proposed change to state law, documents used by illegal aliens on the application for ID and driving credentials could not be used for a state criminal investigation unless there was an order by a federal judge. That includes the application itself.” There is more.

Conservative voters may believe this legislation is far too extreme to be taken seriously by leaders under the Gold Dome. I respectfully urge those who would dismiss the possibility of passage in the GOP-controlled legislature to consider the power of the special interest groups who will push behind the scenes for passage in the name of a “mobile workforce” and “Number One for Business…”

Would Gov. Brian Kemp sign such a bill if it did pass?

Inger Eberhart

Board member, The Dustin Inman Society

Canton, GA.

OCGA 20-3-66 – Determination of in-state resident status of students for tuition or fees

Plea for passage of legislation inaccurate

In an introduction to a recent guest column aimed at pending state higher education legislation on the AJC’S “Get Schooled” blog AJC columnist Maureen Downey leads readers to believe that refugees cannot access instate tuition in Georgia’s public colleges.

In the column (“Afghan women refugees like me want a future in Georgia”) writer Husnia Jamal, apparently a refugee, also laments “But I, like so many other displaced people living in Georgia, found out that I could not access in-state tuition here — no matter how long I live, work, or pay state taxes — because of my immigration status.” As she is migrating to Georgia from Afghanistan, Jamal could also be an ‘SIV’ (Special Visa Immigrant).

A quick look at the Board of Regents webpage on instate tuition eligibility illustrates the truth: ”…lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or other eligible noncitizens may be extended the same consideration as citizens of the United States in determining whether they qualify for in-state classification.” This includes SIV recipients.

Correction requested.

D.A. KING

PRESIDENT, THE DUSTIN INMAN SOCIETY

MARIETTA, GA. 30066

Reply, soon after (thirteen minutes) I emailed my letter for consideration to be published:

Hello D.A.,

This is the passage in full from the reference you cite:

A non-citizen student shall not be classified as in-state for tuition purposes unless the student is legally in this state and there is evidence to warrant consideration of in-state classification as determined by the Board of Regents. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, asylees, or other eligible noncitizens as defined by federal Title IV regulations may be extended the same consideration as citizens of the United States in determining whether they qualify for in-state classification.

As you know from your advocacy, this has long been an issue with public colleges in Georgia. It’s affected straight-A students who arrived here as minors that I know of personally, and who could not pursue a college education in Georgia.

If nothing else, IMHO, the word “may” above (as opposed to say “shall”) leaves ample room for interpretation, good, bad or indifferent, as to who’s eligible for in-state tuition, especially when combined with how the “evidence” mentioned of above is assessed.

So, to my mind, no correction’s warranted to the Op-Ed.

Thanks for continuing to read the AJC.

All best,

Andre Jackson

Opinion Editor

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Andre.Jackson@ajc.com

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