PERCENTAGE OF HISPANIC STUDENTS• Dalton City: 68 percent• Whitfield County: 38 percent• Calhoun City: 30 percent• Murray County: 20 percent• Gordon County: 15 percent• Catoosa County: 3 percent• Walker County: 2 percent• Dade County: 1 percentSource: Georgia Department of EducationIMMIGRATION LAWParts of law now in effect:• People who use counterfeit or false information to get a job in Georgia can be charged with aggravated identity fraud and face up to 15 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.• A seven-member Immigration Enforcement Review Board is established to investigate complaints about implementation of HB 87 and sanction agencies or employees failing to implement the law properly.• Every public employer shall register and participate in the federal work authorization program to verify employment eligibility of all newly hired employees.Parts blocked by a federal injunction:• People who, while committing another criminal offense, knowingly and intentionally transport or move an illegal immigrant can be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to 12 months in jail and a $1,000 fine for the first offense.• Law enforcement officials can ask to verify a person’s immigration status and use any reasonable means to determine that status if that person is believed to have broken a law.
Although a federal judge temporarily has blocked some of the more controversial components of Georgia’s tough new immigration law, some anxious Hispanic families already have left North Georgia, leaving school officials wondering about the impact on fall enrollment.
There is no way to know how many students in North Georgia school systems are in the country illegally, but school officials suspect that some of their Hispanic students and families will leave the state to avoid the possibility of deportation.
“In fact, some teachers feel that the enrollment is going to be down,” said America Gruner, president of the Dalton-based Coalition of Latino Leaders.
“A lot of people got afraid and they didn’t wait, so as soon as the school year finished, they left already or they’re leaving. They’re selling their furniture at the flea market and preparing to leave.”