Request for comment sent to Gov. Brian Kemp's office today, Re: SB 379 (2022) #HDCI *Updated with response

*Update: Dec. 5, 2023: I received a response in a Twitter message from Garrison Douglas, Gov Kemp’s Press Secretary at 4:58 PM today.

That reply directed me to OCGA 50-36-1, which is a code section I have been working on since it was introduced as part of SB 529, the ‘Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act of 2006.’ I drafted the first update to that law in HB2 (it’s section 3) in 2009. I worked on this law in 2011 when GA passed HB 87, the “Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011.” I can recite much of the details and requirements in that law from memory.

*Screenshot of Twitter/X message reply from Garrison Douglas, Gov. Brian Kemp’s Press secretary recieved today.*

It is worthy of note that around 11:30 AM today, Dec. 5, I received a call that went to my voicemail from a David Dove in Gov Kemp’s office informing me that I could call him back about the request I had sent to their “comms” office.

I called back multiple times but never got an answer or any voice mail despite the phone ringing about twenty times. I then called the main number for Gov. Kemp’s office (404-656-1776) and spoke to a very nice staffer there. She confirmed that David Dove did in fact work there but she had no phone number or email address for him. I asked her to note that I called. It was quite odd.

I was informed later that David Dove is Gov. Kemp’s Executive Counsel.

I will have much more to say about Gov Kemp’s answer to me very soon. It is posted above as a screenshot from Twitter/X.

Audio of David Dove’s voice mail below.

End of update.

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Original post:

I had to send a second request as I spelled Mr. Isenhour’s name wrong. Sorry!

At about 11:45 AM today the below request for a comment and response from Gov. Kemp’s office was emailed to Mr. Andrew Iisenhour, Gov. Kemp’s Communications Director. I also emailed it to Gov. Kemp and received a reply from him that it had been received. I also tweeted / X’ed this post to Mr. Garrison Douglas, Gov. Kemp’s Press Secretary.

Mr. ~~Eisenhour,~~

(apologies)

Mr. Isenhour,

Focused on illegal immigration in Georgia, I am writing a news/opinion column on the results of passage of SB 379 in the 2022 General Assembly. To insure fairness and accuracy I hope to include a comment from Gov. Kemp’s office.

I see the quote in a Nov. 2022 media release from the governor on the legislation and the HDCI program: “During the 2022 legislative session, Governor Kemp and lawmakers partnered to pass SB 379, representing a historic investment in apprenticeships in Georgia through the HDCI Program. The HDCI Program awards up to $50,000 in funding to Georgia businesses to upskill workers through registered apprenticeships and increase skilled talent within Georgia’s high-demand industries.”

I am hoping for a response to the following request:

Please cite any language or reference to any required verification procedure contained in current laws created by SB 379 that serve to exclude illegal alien employees and employers from participating in and benefiting from the HDCI/apprenticeship program as apprentices, apprenticeship sponsors or apprenticeship employers.

* For clarity and put differently, is there a provision in state law created by 2022’s SB 379 that prevents illegal alien employers and employees similar to the subjects of this press release by the U.S. Attorney in Georgia’s Southern District from accessing the tax-payer-funded apprenticeship program on any level?

If yes, please cite and explain any existing provisions.

I am writing for my own blog and will likely submit a version of my finished investigation column to James Magazine Online and/or Breitbart News. My deadline is Tuesday, Dec.5 2023 at 5:00 PM.

Thank you. Please contact me with any questions.

Go Dawgs!

D.A. King

Marietta

The Dustin Inman Society

ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com

404-

—>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.