Anxiety of foreigners over Georgia immigration law

United States, 20th April: Uncertainty and anxiety is written large on the faces of immigrants and the pro-immigrant organizations in the US following approval of Georgia immigration bill.

As per the immigration bill, living in Georgia as an undocumented immigrant is a criminal offence.

Obviously, this has added to the woes of thousands of immigrants living in the US without having legal authority to do so.

Immigrant organizations, leaders join to highlight the issue of undocumented immigrants--No wonder, several pro-immigrant organizations along with religious leaders are proceeding on a pilgrimage to highlight the concerns of undocumented immigrants in the state.

According to a founder of Alterna- a Mennonite missional community, La Grange, Anton Flores-Maisonet, the apathy of undocumented immigrants in Georgia must be brought to the fore since they happen to be the weakest.

There is a need for reconciliation, not for division among the people, he maintained, while referring to the recently approved HB87 Georgia immigration bill which is also being referred to as nothing but a clone of SB1070, the much criticized controversial Arizona immigration law.

The aim of pilgrimage beginning in Alpharetta and ending in Marietta tomorrow is to reiterate the values of hospitality and faith, the pillars of Christianity, and upheld these towards the suffering immigrants in the US.

The Georgia immigration bill, if approved, would make it illegal to provide basic services including school, church or hospital care to the undocumented immigrants in the US state, stated a member of Smyrna’s St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, P.J. Edwards.

Views and reactions of undocumented immigrants- Georgia has been witnessing innumerable rallies against the HB87 for the last couple of months and these are a clear indication of the likelihood of a strong backlash against anti-immigrant rhetoric from the immigrants and their allies in Georgia and neighboring regions.

Determined and courage of undocumented aliens--Undocumented immigrants are determined to stay rather than escape from the harsh decisions in Georgia. There are several incidents to prove this. Consider, for instance, the vigil march organized by around dozen undocumented immigrants just outside the building of Georgia Capital last week even as the Georgia legislators were discussing over the HB87. The message seems to be clear, undocumented immigrants are firm to fight for their rights in the US.