In a speech to the Fannin County Republican Party, Georgia Senator Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) commented on the state’s recently passed illegal immigration reform bill. He addressed tough questions surrounding the bill, including its impact on South Georgia agriculture.

Senator Steve Gooch (image courtesy Georgia Senate website)

Coming into effect July 1st, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011 brings Georgia into a small but growing band of states that are standing up to Washington on this hugely divisive issue. The bill requires businesses to confirm the citizenship status of new hires, and empowers law enforcement to check the immigration status of people pulled over for traffic offenses.

Senator Gooch acknowledged that passing the bill was a bold move in today’s polarized political environment:

…it’s a tough bill, but we believe its going to stand the test of the courts. We took bits and pieces of legislation from other states and adopted our bill…and we fixed some of the problems we saw with the existing bills. – Senator Gooch

The bill’s supporters see it as a means of clearing the state of illegal immigrants, who they argue are taking advantage of Georgia’s workplaces, schools, and hospitals, draining state funds, and taking jobs that could help the state’s unemployed. Opponents of the new laws argue they will be bad for business and bad for the economy.

Liberal opponents of the bill held major protests around the capital and got quite rowdy in the senate gallery. Senator Gooch described the protests:

…we had people in the gallery up above us protesting this bill…they were screaming, shouting, and chanting different…things. Some weren’t too pleasant, and the Capital police had to escort them out of the building. – Senator Gooch

South Georgia farmers, long dependent on Hispanic migrant workers to pick crops, are set to bear the brunt of the bill’s initial economic impact. As Senator Jack Murphy (R-Cumming) remarked, “There’s going to be some pain in this legislation…I wouldn’t want my crops rotting in the fields”.

Gooch went on to explain that Governor Deal has requested a study to investigate potential labor shortages that could arise as a result of the new laws. Gooch plans to wait and see the results of this study before taking a definitive stance on the labor shortage issue:

I understand there are some areas of concern for where they’re (South Georgia farmers) going to find their labor…I haven’t seen proof yet that there is any legitimacy to that; time will tell. – Senator Gooch

Gooch also commented on the Governor’s proposal to use probationers to help fill the farmers’ labor needs:

I don’t know if that’s a good idea or not, but I think it’s a good idea to try it. I say lets see if it works…if they’re (probationers) out there looking for jobs, lets find them for these jobs. I believe that if the illegals are leaving Georgia, that’s going to open up jobs for the rest of us. – Senator Gooch

Senator Gooch emphasized that he believes the bill is a good move for Georgia – despite the opposition he faced on the issue, particularly from big business interests in the Atlanta area.

We stood tall and adopted what we thought was a good, fair bill. – Senator Gooch