About HB87

HB 87, “Show Me Your Papers” bill, Is Unconstitutional and Violates Core American Values

HB 87 contains several provisions which raise serious civil liberties concerns, including authorizing the police to investigate individuals’ immigration status in the course of an offense, including traffic stops, where they fail to provide one of the select set of identification documents; creating criminal penalties for any individual that while in violation of another criminal offense encourages an undocumented person to come to Georgia or transports or harbors them once they arrive; providing additional incentives for localities to enter into 287(g) or “Secure Communities”; and requiring private and public employers to use the flawed E-Verify database.

This bill encourages racial profiling, will turn Georgia into “show me your papers” territory, mandates use of error-prone federal database, and will subject the state to tremendous costs.

Encourages Racial Profiling & Will Turn Georgia into “Show Me Your Papers” Territory

  • This bill encourages law enforcement officers to use racial profiling as a tool. This would destroy trust and divert law enforcement resources away from community policing.
  • If implemented, all Georgians will have to carry ID on them at all times in order to avoid being detained while police try to determine their status. This would in effect turn Georgia into a police state.

Subjects the State to Tremendous Costs

  • HB 87 will hurt state and local economies and lead to a tremendous loss in tourism revenues. Arizona’s SB 1070 has cost that state upwards of $140 million in canceled conventions.
  • HB 87 could also subject the state to exorbitant litigation costs at tax payer expense.
  • In the face of a $1.7 billion budget shortfall in fiscal year 2011, the state could ill afford these costs as well as implementation costs which could reach into tens of millions of dollars.

Mandates Use of Inaccurate Database

  • E-Verify databases are loaded with errors. Businesses that use E-Verify report that 10 -15% of eligible workers are deemed ineligible by the system, and the errors disproportionately affect lawful residents and naturalized citizens.

Courtesy of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

For more information, contact Azadeh Shahshahani, National Security/Immigrants’ Rights Project Director American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, ashahshahani@acluga.org