Media request sent to the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Re: Comment on the Addition of "Apprenticeships" to list of public benefits, OCGA 50-36-1 *Updated with reply

Updated with response from Mark D’Alessio, TCSG Communications Director (note: I have added links to various documents to educate the reader).

The below media request was sent at 11:04 AM July 8, 2024 to various officials and staff at TCSG

mdalessio@tcsg.edu, bsims@tcsg.edu, gdozier@tcsg.edu, jmckoon@tcsg.edu, tharris@tcsg.edu , kkirchler@tcsg.edu , mdollar@tcsg.edu , mpeevy@tcsg.edu

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To whom it may concern at TCSG,

I am writing an educational opinion column focused on the change instituted by lines 197 – 201 inSB 497 as passed in the 2024 legislative session to the Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAPs) operated by TCSG as part of the newly renamed HDAP. Line 201 adds “Apprenticeships” to the list of public benefits in OCGA 50-36-1 (“Verification of Lawful Presence Within the United States”). I have been working with OCGA 50-36-1 since it was created in 2006. Generally, this addition to the law creates a mandate for applicants for the public benefit of “Apprenticeships” to complete and submit applications, affidavits and “Secure and Verifiable ID” while making TCSG responsible to collecting the documents and being registered with the federal SAVE program as a way of verifying eligibility of the applicant in the administration process.

Willful violation of the code section by an agency head can be prosecuted as a high and aggravated misdemeanor.

I did extensive research with assistance from your office in December 2023 and January 2024 on the apprenticeship program and am all but certain that I was informed the TCSG did not require an application for a prospective apprentice as that was done at the federal level. I assume the new law has changed that scenario and that there is now an application process in place in Georgia. I note that the USDOL apprentice application does not require an SSN.

In addition to this request for comment I am submitting an open records request today to TCSG asking for a copy of any application needed to satisfy the new requirement and copies of any documents that have been processed for prospective participants in the apprenticeship program since the law became effective on July 1. My ORR will include a request for copies of applications for participation in the apprenticeship benefit by apprentices themselves, and also employers and sponsors who desire to send employees to be “unskilled” at taxpayer expense and become beneficiaries of state funding to create and expand Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs).

Supra.com has reported that “through RAPs, employers can access support to train skilled workers and meet their workforce needs. Currently, Georgia has more than 10,000 apprentices in RAPs.”

I am also interested in educating readers on the inclusion of H1-B workers in the RAP. Please note that I was assured by TCSG staff earlier this year that “undocumented immigrants” can participate in the RAP and by another staffer that H1-B workers were apprenticeship beneficiaries.

To insure a fair, balanced and accurate write up of TCSG’s adherence to the law and to explain the changes made by the TCSG staff to accommodate the new mandate, I would welcome any input, comment, explanation and description of any newly instituted administrative practices by TCSG in this regard from your office.

I will likely have additional questions on details as follow-up. I would be grateful for your input in my effort to educate readers that includes many Georgia legislators.

I not only write on my own blog (ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com), but also at James Magazine Online, various Georgia newspapers, Breitbart News and The Federalist.

Please contact me with any questions. I look forward to your input. My deadline is Noon, Friday, July 12, 2024.

Thank you for your consideration.

D.A. King

Marietta

404

The Dustin Inman Society

ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com

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Response received from TCSG’s Mark D’Allessio (Executive Director Office of Communications, TCSG) on July 11, 2024 at 2:18 PM

“Hi Mr. King

To administer S.B. 497 the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), Office of Workforce Development (OWD) anticipates carrying out the following procedure in reference to the requirements of O.C.G.A § 50-36-1. We anticipate that this procedure will be included in the High Demand Apprenticeship Program Policy and Procedures document reviewed and approved by the TCSG Board at a later date, but prior to the start of the application period.

For an employer to be eligible for a contract to be executed with TCSG, the employer must submit to OWD the following required documents:

Signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Agreement
Supplier Change Request (SCR)/Vendor Management form
IRS Form W-9
Employment & Training Administration (ETA) Form 671 (for apprentice)
Wage Verification Form (for apprentice)

The following process would be completed by the individual apprentice:

Federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program 

In accordance with Georgia law (O.C.G.A § 50-36-1), the Office of Workforce Development will require apprentices whose employer receive funds from the High Demand Apprenticeship Program to provide the following documents as verification of lawful presence in the U.S:

 At least one (1) Secure and Verifiable document (for apprentice)

o Driver’s License/State ID

o U.S. Passport

o Military ID

o U.S. Permanent Resident Card (Green card), etc.

Signed Verification of Eligibility for Public Benefit Affidavit w/ One of the Three Categories Selected (for apprentice)

o U.S. Citizen

o Legal permanent resident of the U.S

o Qualified Alien or Non-immigrant under the Federal Immigration & Nationality Act

Applicants who identify themselves as Qualified Aliens/Non-immigrants on the affidavit must be verified through the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program (SAVE).

The contract award agreement will be issued to the employer contingent on the documents being submitted to TCSG and successfully passing SAVE verification. Any apprentice that fails to provide documentation or fails to pass verification will be ineligible to participate in the HDAP.

Once the contract agreement has been finalized and all apprentices have been verified, the employer is permitted to participate in the HDAP and receive associated funding per the contract agreement award terms and conditions.

Thank you

Mark”

Mark D’Alessio
Executive Director
Office of Communications

O: 404.679.1617 | C: 770.545.7545

mdalessio@tcsg.edu | TCSG.edu

—>UPDATE: The liberal AJC prints a lengthy correction after demand letter from the Dustin Inman Society. More news on this coming soon.

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Daily Signal News report (‘DEFAMATORY’: Conservative Demands Swing-State Newspaper Retract ‘Hate Group’ Smear’)
on the recent AJC attack here by the great Tyler O’Neil.

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I added educational hyperlinks to the below letter – dak.

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October 18, 2024

VIA U.S. REGULAR MAIL & E-MAIL

Leroy Chapman, Jr., Editor in Chief THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION 223 Perimeter Center Pkwy NE Atlanta, Georgia 30346

Re: Demand for Retraction and Apology

Dear Mr. Chapman, Jr.:

I write on behalf of my client, the Dustin Inman Society (DIS), to demand an immediate retraction and apology for the defamatory statements published in your October 7, 2024, article titled “Democrats in this Georgia district are backing a write-in candidate” by Tia Mitchell.

Through use of internet links, the AJC article wrongfully characterizes the Dustin Inman Society as a “Marietta-based anti-immigration hate group.” This characterization is false, defamatory, and published with actual malice. The Dustin Inman Society pushes for secure borders, is not “anti-immigration” and its proprietors do not hate anyone. Rather, DIS advocates for enforcement of U.S. immigration laws and actively opposes unlawful immigration. This distinction is crucial and well-known to staff at your publication.

I paste the offending paragraph from the AJC story:

“A search of activity under her birth name, Karen Sacandy, which Stamper legally changed in 2019, showed that she previously was aligned with a Marietta-based anti-immigration hate group. The group’s website often linked to Sacandy’s activities, like a letter seeking information about the state’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board and a copy of a letter to the editor supporting legislation to prevent immigrants claiming asylum from obtaining driver’s licenses.”

HEMMER WESSELS MCMURTRY PLLC
250 Grandview Drive, Suite 500, Ft. Mitchell, KY 41017 ● Phone 859.344.1188 ● Fax 859.578.3869

October 18, 2024 Page 2

We note the AJC informs readers that the Dustin Inman Society “often” linked to Karen Sacandy/Kate Stamper activities — but produces only two occasions.

Your story, for which DIS founder and president D.A. King was not contacted, informs readers that Sacandy/Stamper “was aligned” with the Dustin Inman Society. We note that polls show that a majority of Americans oppose the federal offense of illegal immigration. Since the letter posted on the DIS site was a published missive to the editor at the Cherokee Tribune, we must ask: does this make that newspaper a “Cherokee County-based anti-immigration hate group”?

Your characterization demonstrates a reckless and vindictive disregard for the truth, rising to the level of actual malice as defined in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. Actual malice in defamation law refers to publication of a statement with knowledge that it is false or with reckless disregard of whether it is false or not. Your repeated mischaracterization of the Dustin Inman Society, despite having been corrected on numerous occasions, clearly meets this standard.

The Dustin Inman Society’s position on immigration is clear and public:

1. It supports sustainable levels of legal immigration through established channels.

2. It opposes unlawful immigration due to various societal concerns, including: – Strain on public resources and services
– Potential and real public safety issues
– Economic impacts on low-wage American workers and America’s poor

– Challenges to the rule of law

3. The Dustin Inman Society defends legal immigrants when media attempt to blur the difference between them and illegal aliens.

Moreover, the Dustin Inman Society’s board includes lawful immigrants who have navigated the proper channels for authorized immigration. This fact alone should dispel any notion that the organization is “anti-immigration.” As he has informed you multiple times over much of the last two decades, D.A. King’s sister is a real, legal immigrant.

While we acknowledge that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Dustin Inman Society as an “anti-immigrant hate group that denigrates all immigrants,” your article presents the “anti-immigration hate group” characterization as the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s independent assessment and statement of fact.

This smear is not only demonstrably false and ignores Mr. King’s many communications to you advising you of the truth, but also demonstrates an exceedingly unprofessional failure to fact-check and verify information before publication.

We demand that the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

October 18, 2024 Page 3

1. Immediately publicly retract the defaming statement in the October 7, 2024, article.

2. Publish a prominent apology, equal in visibility and placement to the original defamatory article.

3. Cease and desist from further defamatory characterizations of the Dustin Inman Society.

Failure to comply with these demands may result in further legal action. We expect your prompt attention to this matter and await your timely response.

Sincerely,

Todd V. McMurtry

cc: James Abely, Esq.