ATLANTA – A Georgia bill that was intended as a simple fix for unintended consequences of a 2011 crackdown on illegal immigration is suddenly drawing opposition.
The bill was presented as a solution to complaints from several state agencies that Georgia’s 2011 law was creating extra work and delays in processing public benefits.
But a House committee added key changes last week. Now the bill would effectively deny driver’s licenses to young people who were brought here illegally as children but have been granted temporary permission to stay under an Obama administration initiative. The Georgia measure also would bar illegal immigrants from getting marriage licenses or accessing water and sewage services.
The sponsor says those potential consequences were not intentional but has not said whether he’ll take them out.