ACLU of Georgia Releases Fact Sheets on SB 160 

On Monday, June 10th, four volunteers from the ACLU of Georgia attended the GAWL Girl Scout Project at The State Bar of Georgia. Attendees included Jakeema Bascoe, Lauren Kuzmack, Katherine Chew, and Julia Goode. There were twenty-seven Girl Scouts ranging from middle school to high school-aged girls. The program began with Katie Acree of Carlton Fields welcoming everyone. The ACLU volunteers then gave the Girl Scouts a presentation on "Being Responsible With Social Media." The girls were very interested and asked and answered lots of questions. Next, the ACLU volunteers served on a panel to discuss our education and career goals with the girls. The girls wanted to know what are appropriate pre-law majors in undergrad, what activities will help them get into a good college, how we were able to pass the bar exam, etc. Then, in the afternoon the ACLU volunteers served as coaches for the mock trial portion of the event. The girls were quite animated and really got into their roles! A great time was had by all and they even thanked us for coming with some Girl Scout cookies!

For undocumented students, graduating high school can be cause for anxiety, rather than celebration. Without a Social Security number, finding work and gaining college admission are both high hurdles to clear.

For undocumented students in Georgia, options are even more scarce, as a ban passed by the Board of Regents in October 2010 prohibits their admission to the most selective research universities, including University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Medical College of Georgia and Georgia College & State University.

But the sweeping immigration reform bill passed by the U.S. Senate Thursday could change that.

Among other things, the bill, now moving to the House of Representatives, would create a 13-year legal pathway to apply for U.S. citizenship for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants who are already here.

State Rep. and Chair of the Higher Education Committee Carl Rogers (R-District 29) says that if the bill passes, it could put pressure on the Board of Regents to repeal the ban.

If a "federal law is passed, yes, it will have an impact on all colleges and universities," says Rogers.

Another state representative, Pedro Marin (D-District 96), agreed the "ban on the students will have to be (lifted). It won't have any purpose." That could be years down the road after the bill's adoption, though.

Azadeh Shahshahani, director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia's National Security/Immigrant Rights' Project, says the bill's passage would be positive because eventually "students are going to be able to attend Georgia colleges and universities," including the selective ones.

Since 13 years might be a long time to wait, Shahshahani points to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), passed by the Obama administration last summer, for a more immediate solution.

DACA offers applicants, who were brought illegally to the U.S. by their parents years ago, temporary relief from deportation, in the form of two years of recognized lawful presence so they can continue their education. DACA has opened doors for some students, but it's not without problems. For example, deferred action can deny any applicant within qualifications, some may be terminated at any time without justification, and others may be deported simply for applying.

In February, Shahshahani wrote a letter to University System of Georgia's Chancellor Hank Huckaby, urging him to allow students with DACA clearance to attend the banned institutions.

A final answer has not been made clear yet.

Rolando Zenteno Ramirez, a student at Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, Ga., says that the Board of Regents sent out an e-mail to the whole university system saying not to allow undocumented students into the top five, though deferred action grants them legal presence.

Ramirez was recently arrested with two other students while protesting at a Board of Regents meeting.

Last year, the Georgia Senate proposed a bill, SB 458, which would have expanded the ban to all public universities colleges, and technical schools, a policy resembling those in South Carolina and Alabama.

The bill didn't pass "due to the great mobilization of students, speakers and community members from across the state" who rallied against it, says Shahshahani.

Several organizations such as Georgia Undocumented Youth Alliance and other student groups have stood with these students in trying to have the ban lifted.

One group of professors banded together to form Freedom University, which provides college-level courses to all academically qualified students, regardless of immigration status.

A student of Freedom University, Martín López-Galicia, says he had discounted the idea of going back to school before attending classes there. He was recently accepted to Syracuse University after being encouraged by his professor.

"I never had a dream school," López-Galicia says.

In regards to the pending bill, López-Galicia is pessimistic for several reasons. He argues the number of unauthorized immigrants who could apply for citizenship would be significantly less than 11 million due to the restrictions it outlines. He points toward simpler solutions such as granting the right to obtain a driver's license. Plus, he says, 13 years is a long time.

"Why have to wait?" he says.

Both students agree the comprehensive reform would not likely be as life-changing as being able to pay in-state tuition, which Georgia prohibits.

While Marin concurs the number affected would be less than 11 million, he believes the reform bill is "going to [fix] immigration for generations to come."

Margaret Farmer
Law Clerk

The weekend of June 14th I was fortunate enough to be attending the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy National Convention in Washington D.C. The conference was enlightening and incredible. Senator Elizabeth Warren was keynote speaker at the gala dinner and wowed us with her enthusiasm and statistics, focusing on the level of pro-corporate representation in the federal judiciary, with over 75% of Senate appointed federal judges coming in from corporate law backgrounds. 

I sat down for lunch, and I became a bit nervous as I recognized the man next to me as Burt Neuborne from the earlier First Amendment panel. He asked how I became involved with ACS and I told him that my work with the FSU ACLU board had led me to co-host events with them. He said, "oh, you're on the FSU ACLU board? That's great! I am former national legal director of the ACLU and here next to me is the current legal director!" And sure enough sitting down next to him was Steven R. Shapiro who had spoken on the morning's opening panel on voting equality. Well, now I was really nervous. Luckily sitting next to me on the other side was my friend Florida ACLU staff attorney Julie Ebenstein, in case the legal discussion at the table got to intense and all I could do was nod. 1L year did not prepare me for this. The Honorable John Paul Stevens came up to speak and he was very impressive. He mentioned the Slaughterhouse cases...this was starting to feel like another Constitutional Law final where my mind was blanking.  I remembered and laughed at the right times at Justice Steven's jokes (I think.) I was happy it was starting to feel like an ACLU conference at my table, and was so pleased to see how much people from the two organizations were working together. I asked Mr. Neuborne about his time as legal director of the ACLU and he said it was probably the most exciting and greatest time of his life. That was really nice to hear.

I had met an ACLU intern from the Southern California office at lunch the day before, and we had agreed that interning for the ACLU at our respective offices was probably the most exciting, enjoyable, and rewarding work that we've ever done. Oh look, and here comes another man sitting down at my table with the ACLU on his name tag...

The ACLU of Georgia joined a large group of progressive leaders and advocates at the American Friends Service Committee Building in downtown Atlanta on July 1st to discuss a humane alternative to the Atlanta City Council's proposed banishment ordinance, which would forcibly expel sex workers from the City of Atlanta.  The event was sponsored by Solutions Not Punishment (SNNaPCo), which was formed in response to the prostitution banishment ordinance proposed earlier this year.  Realizing the ineffectiveness and ineptness of this move, concerned individuals came out in numbers, prompting the City to create a Working Group on Prostitution ("WGOP") instead.  The WGOP is made up of individuals appointed by the city, and SNaPCo is working with WGOP to develop an alternative proposal that will offer more treatment options instead of purely punitive measures.  SNaPCo is now made up of over 50 individuals representing over a dozen organizations working in the Atlanta area.

SNaPCo gathered the community together to present their own alternative proposal for dealing with street-level prostitution in Atlanta. The community advocates modeled their proposal on the very successful LEAD program of Seattle, which is also a pre-booking diversion program where prostitutes avoid criminal charges in exchange for attending different types of rehabilitative programs. These programs have been very successful, and many of the organizations already work in the areas of drug rehabilitation, mental health services, shelters, LGBT outreach, and other health services. They are well-poised and informed on this initiative, and the ACLU is supportive of their efforts to remove prostitutes from the criminal justice system and into a network of rehabilitation and care that can more effectively improve their lives and the health of their communities.

How much privacy should we trade for greater security? The recent Boston bombings and revelation about the NSA's massive phone call monitoring program have given this question renewed relevance.

More video cameras like the ones that identified the Boston bombers could help stop more terrorists, but they could also lead to government abuse.

-What is an appropriate balance between privacy and security?

-Has the government overreached the 4th amendment, which supposedly protects us from unreasonable search and seizure?

A recent poll by the Washington Post shows that most Americans "support the blanket tracking of telephone records in an effort to uncover terrorist activity."

Azadeh Shahshahani, National Security/Immigrants' Rights Project Director for ACLU of Georgia will be presenting at the beginning.