Burning Atlanta

The standard whining and hand-wringing from the snot-noses but some of those laws passed last year are about to kick in. With a little effort they'll, also, kick the illegals out.

Boo-Hoo

"We need to show our presence, our worry in continuing with policies that have grave consequences," said Adelina Nicholls, one of organizers of last spring's marches and boycotts who went to the Capitol to rally support against the new proposals.

The activists' main target is a bill, which the Senate approved last month, that would boost the penalties for driving without a license to imprisonment ranging from at least two days on the first offense to at least one year on the third one. Authorities would also have to check the immigration status of those arrested for driving without a license.

"We're creating criminals," said Teodoro Maus, another activist and former Mexican consul in Atlanta, adding that the state shouldn't make immigrants felons for not having a license when they can't have one unless they can prove they're here legally.

No, we're not creating criminals, they ARE criminals. You lying sympathy seeking, alibi hunting, piece of puke.

Activists say this flurry of bills, now pending in the House with a few days left before the end of the session, puts Georgia again at the forefront of states toughening their stance against illegal immigration without waiting for federal reform.

Last year's law, which made international headlines, included provisions to sanction employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and deny some state services to adults who can't verify that they're in the country legally.

Most of those provisions are going into effect this July, though it's unclear how they would be affected if Congress passed an immigration reform. Some activists say that the immigrant community is too afraid about the upcoming implementation of the Georgia law to take to the streets.

"Now they need protection," Maus said.

No, they need to get the hell out. What part of "LEAVE" don't you understand?