Georgia's Illegals Crackdown Faces Challenges

Now that Georgia has joined Arizona in passing laws that crack down on illegal immigration, the state can expect the predictable set of lawsuits, appeals, boycotts, demonstration and counter demonstrations, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to sign a bill that’s modeled after the law in Arizona, parts of which are tied up in a court challenge that’s expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Georgia, the most prominent voice opposing the law is Roman Catholic Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta. Over the last decade, Catholics have joined forces with Southern Baptists and Methodists to advocate on conservative social issues, in particular their opposition to abortion and embryonic stem cell research. However, the religious partners split when it comes to immigration.

“I’m disappointed because much of the rhetoric — and I think a lot of it is rhetoric — is politically motivated and not related to the actual living situations of those who are here as undocumented residents,” Gregory told the newspaper.

“Whenever you get into political rhetoric, you sometimes bring out the worst in people. You appeal to their least noble qualities.”

He expressed his disappointment in the immigration measure that he called “harsh and punitive.”