Illegal immigration and immigration law reform have become increasingly important election-year topics with significant controversy attached. Georgia’s 2011 law, HB 87—which was inspired by Arizona’s strict 2010 immigration measure—is aimed at stopping illegal immigrants from taking jobs from U.S. citizens as well as ending taxpayer support for government contractors who hire illegal immigrants. The Atlanta metro area is constantly growing, and the issue of employment and the legal policies involved in ensuring employment is lawful are ever-present. Georgia has adopted pieces of Arizona’s immigration law, the constitutionality of which has been questioned on multiple occasions despite the Supreme Court’s recent ruling. Some counties and cities in Georgia, including Fulton County and the city of Chamblee, are having a hard time with the state’s year-old immigration law and have not been complying with E-Verify, a mandatory online database that employers must use to ensure their workers are legally able to work in the United States.

Cobb County, on the other hand, is ahead of the game when it comes to taking steps toward successful immigrant employment procedures. It was the first county government in Georgia to implement the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Mutual Agreement Between Government and Employers (IMAGE) and continues to demonstrate proper use of E-Verify. But even while Cobb is making these adjustments, updates and changes to the law are constantly ongoing. How do these new immigration employment procedures affect Georgia’s job climate, and what does it mean for Cobb County?

Arizona’s Controversial Law

In April 2010, Arizona Senate Bill 1070 was signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer. The broadest and strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in recent U.S. history, the law includes what is known as the “show me your papers” treatment, which enables law enforcement to demand the citizenship papers of suspected offenders and grants the ability to detain them if papers are not present. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is petitioning to have the bill shut down completely, as they argue it invites racial profiling by law enforcement against any persons of color, which they maintain violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. Another controversy arose in late July when the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona submitted a public records request to acquire thousands of emails that they claim prove this controversial immigration law is racially motivated. The emails are from the author of SB 1070, Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, who has since been recalled.

Though the Supreme Court OK’ed it in June, many other groups have actively opposed the enforcement of the “show me your papers” treatment, including a coalition of civil rights groups, religious leaders and business organizations. Even while confirming the constitutionality of the law, the Supreme Court  expressed hope that it can be enforced lawfully and harmoniously.

Georgia’s Year-Old Law

Many states, including Georgia, have adopted parts of Arizona’s law—meaning the Georgia police now have the authority to demand immigration documents from individuals they suspect of being in the country illegally and then detain them for possible violations. Arizona continues to draw controversy that could eventually affect the law’s status, which in turn would affect Georgia’s law. HB 87, which took effect on July 1, is part of the Georgia law that creates a new criminal offense (aggravated identity fraud) for anyone willfully using fraudulent documents to get a job. The author of HB 87 is State Rep. Matt Ramsey, and he explained to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) that the goal of the bill was “to eliminate incentives for illegal aliens to cross into [Georgia]” and that he “will take legislative action if necessary to carry out our intent, which is to protect Georgia’s taxpayers from the social and economic consequences of illegal immigration.”

Despite the ever-changing climate surrounding this controversial law, compliance has been consistent in Cobb County. Joining forces with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Cobb applied for 287(g) programs back in 2006, which team federal officials with local police to enforce immigration laws. Under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, ICE provides state and local law enforcement officers with the training and authority to identify, process and detain immigration offenders, when appropriate. This can happen at any time during their daily law-enforcement activities.

Sheriff Neil Warren of Cobb County, who was recently voted onto Fox News’ top 10 list of the nation’s toughest immigration sheriffs, felt strongly about implementing the 287(g) programs. “I started trying to get 287(g) in 2004 when I became sheriff,” he says. “It took me almost a year and a half, two years to get the agreement. We were the first in the state of Georgia, and at that time we were seventh or eighth in the country.” The sheriff says the program has helped to decrease the number of criminals in the county detention facility. “Before 287(g), at any given time we would have somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 to 600 foreign-born nationals booked in our facilities,” he explains.
“Right now we’re down to about 250.”

Immigration and Georgia Jobs

In 2011, a labor shortage in Georgia resulted in an estimated $140 million in agricultural losses and has vastly affected the hotel and restaurant industries. In June 2011, a survey of 230 Georgia farmers was conducted by Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, the results of which showed that the farmers expected to need more than 11,000 workers to carry out the rest of the season after their illegally hired workers left Georgia—and not every farmer in the state responded to the survey.

Cobb County District 2 Commissioner Bob Ott, who pushed for the county to join the program, told The Augusta Chronicle that the goal isn’t to get people deported. “It’s all about jobs for the folks in Georgia and Cobb County,” he said. “It really comes down to just making sure that the limited number of jobs that are out there are going to the people that are entitled to have them.” A July 2011 Businessweek story reported that, in 2009, there were 425,000 illegal immigrants in Georgia, making up 4.3 percent of the state’s population. The Pew Hispanic Center estimated that 325,000 illegal immigrants held jobs in Georgia in 2010. Georgia’s unemployment rate is currently at 8.9 percent, above the national average of 8.2 percent.

The effect of immigration laws on jobs statewide has yet to be seen, since so much remains unresolved. Charles Kuck, past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the managing partner of Kuck Immigration Partners LLC-The Immigration Law Firm, says the Supreme Court ruling sets up grounds for future lawsuits, and he expected a federal appeals court would rule Georgia’s illegal immigration law unconstitutional in August or September. “Already in Georgia under the Obama administration, anybody who’s arrested and brought to jail has their immigration status checked. HB 87 has nothing to do with that, that’s federal law, and that’s happening in Cobb County,” says Kuck. “There is no magic phone number to call from the side of the road to say, ‘Hey, is this guy who has a license legal, do you want him, do you want to hold him?’ So really this whole idea of ‘show me your papers’ is irrelevant. It’s absolutely irrelevant and will do nothing to enforce U.S. immigration law.”

Sheriff Warren stands by the 287(g) program over HB 87’s “show me your papers” portion as a solution to illegal immigration issues. “Right now I couldn’t tell you that HB 87 has done anything for law enforcement other than keep some folks that were hiring illegals for the cheap labor,” he says. “That may have kept them from committing a crime.”

Understanding E-Verify

E-Verify, part of HB 87, is a free online program employers must use after they have completed the I-9 worksheets for new employees to ensure they are legally able to work in the U.S. Many Georgia agencies have failed to comply with this key part of the state’s year-old anti-illegal immigration law, which puts them at risk of losing access to state loans and grants. This state funding helps cities and counties in Georgia maintain their jails, boost employment and encourage commerce. All but the smallest private employers and government agencies are required to use this federal work authorization program. In a recent investigation, the AJC found that certain areas and organizations in Georgia, including Chamblee, Sandy Springs and the DeKalb County Housing Authority, didn’t file the required reports to confirm that they and their contractors are using E-Verify.

Because of the way that state and federal records are kept, it is impossible to confirm that all private employers required to use E-Verify are doing so. The state has no way to check compliance because there is no money for performance audits. In addition, some local governments charged with enforcing the law do not fully understand how to follow it. Sandy Springs, one of the state’s largest cities with more than 94,000 residents, sent a letter this year to 6,700 businesses that included inaccurate information about the E-Verify requirement. “The state did no outreach with the cities and counties to tell them what to do and to get it done, there were no internal checks to be done, there was no way to reach out,” says Kuck. “This is what happens when you pass a bill and you have all this compliance and you have no funding with which to do it.”

More than 18,800 public and private employers in Georgia are enrolled in E-Verify according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) records; however, state Labor Department officials told the AJC they cannot confirm they’re complying because the databases include different information, which eliminates the possibility of cross-checking. According to records from the state Department of Audits and Accounts, 1,176 of the 2,324 local and state government agencies did not file reports by the Dec. 31 deadline—numbers that may include employers who are exempt. City and county officials have blamed the missing reports on dozens of issues, from unfamiliarity with the law to heavy workloads. Stewart County, home to the state’s largest detention center for illegal immigrants, blamed staff turnover for their failure to file their report on time. “I don’t think anyone that worked on HB 87 believed there would be universal compliance in the relatively short time it has been in effect, given how sweeping and comprehensive the changes are in that law,” Ramsey told the AJC.

Adding to the inconsistency of the E-Verify filing is the fact that 620 agencies reported not having any public works contracts to report while the 488 agencies that did file had varying levels of thoroughness. Cobb County officials reported business with more than 120 contractors, while Fulton, the state’s most populous county, only identified one.

E-Verify’s Unintended Effect

One bit of fine print about the E-Verify law is that it requires companies that have more than 10 workers and fewer than 100 to use E-Verify. The law exempts scores of small cities from its requirements, but this exemption may be too broad. The exemption essentially says that government employers with fewer than two employees don’t have to comply with the E-Verify requirements. According to the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), more than 80 cities in Georgia have companies and organizations with one or no employees, which caused the lawmakers to create the exemption. Others operate with the help of volunteers and contractors, and officials from the GMA said these contractors were not meant to be exempt from the E-Verify requirement.

Ramsey told the AJC that HB 87 went through numerous drafts in both the House and Senate in 2011. “I believe all contractors doing work on government projects in Georgia should be using E-Verify,” Ramsey said. “To the extent the law is being interpreted to the contrary, we will seek to make legislative revisions to ensure that intention is carried out in Georgia law.”

Ahead of the Game in Cobb

Commissioners in Cobb County recently approved IMAGE for the county’s government. IMAGE is conducted by the Department of Homeland Security to combat unlawful employment and reduce vulnerabilities, such as improper hiring procedures and fraudulent documents, that help illegal aliens gain employment. This program provides verification that every county employee has a legal right to work in the United States, and Cobb is the first county in the state to approve it. As part of the program, the USCIS provides education and training on proper hiring procedures, detection of fraudulent documents and the importance of avoiding discrimination in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. For employers, the main difference between IMAGE and E-Verify is that E-Verify is a free database you can use yourself, whereas IMAGE is an extra step beyond E-Verify that will help employers avoid fines if a violation of the immigration law has occurred.

For private employers, Kuck insists E-Verify is the better route than IMAGE. He is an E-Verify employer and says it is not hard to use. “IMAGE is run by ICE as kind of a glorified E-Verify program where ICE becomes your human resource department,” he says. “As a lawyer, I would never recommend an employer to enroll in the IMAGE program. You’re putting government in your hiring process. Directly. Daily. I thought government was supposed to be out of our lives.”

As recently as July, a federal appeals court in Atlanta rejected efforts aimed at shutting down programs that give Cobb County and state police immigration enforcement powers. In 2008, after employing 287(g), Cobb transferred more than 2,700 inmates to federal agents for deportation. Since 2006, more than 14,800 people have been deported or allowed to leave the country voluntarily as a result of Georgia’s five 287(g) programs in Cobb, Gwinnett, Hall and Whitfield counties. Sheriff Warren reports that 14 to 16 officers in Cobb have been ICE certified to participate in the 287(g) program. “It’s based on their performance and their leadership skills. The point of this is what I like to call investigative work,” he explains. “You have to have the experience of working in a jail, the experience of the booking procedure, the technology. We try to use some of our most experienced deputies that we feel will do the best job. Of course, the [training] ICE put them through is pretty intense and pretty in depth. It takes a good, experienced deputy to comprehend the training.”

Cobb Jobs

Cobb holds more than 7 percent of all jobs in Georgia, and a new study done by Georgia State University (GSU) estimates that 31 percent of Cobb jobs are premium high-paying jobs. Released by the Fiscal Research Center of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, the study uses the latest data reported in the Georgia Department of Labor’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages to show the distribution, type and quality of jobs weighed. The premium job category is defined as having an annual average wage of more than $50,000.

The city of Marietta alone contains 1.42 percent of all jobs in Georgia and 18.1 percent of all Cobb County jobs. Fulton County has the highest percentage of jobs in Georgia, with 14.83 percent, and Cobb County is in second place with 7.19 percent. According to the GSU study, premium jobs make up 31 percent of the Cobb workforce, while mid-range and low-paying jobs total 33 and 36 percent, respectively. When analyzing the workforce makeup of Cobb, Kuck feels HB 87 is not needed here of all places. “Do you really think somebody who’s undocumented is applying for a job with Cobb County? [HB 87] is a solution without a problem, and therefore it’s meant for political purposes only,” he says.

The outcome of Georgia’s immigration law is still in a state of flux as legal debates and lawsuits over the constitutionality of HB 87 and the 287(g) programs continue, but it seems at the very least that E-Verify is here to stay. With more government outreach surrounding employer responsibilities and the E-Verify hiring process, employers in Cobb and other counties may have better luck reporting their contractors legally. How the laws will affect Georgia’s farming and hospitality industries remains to be seen, but, for the time being, Cobb County seems to be insulated from the worst of the fallout.

Cobb County schools are meeting the challenges of keeping up with new technology by thinking outside the box. Instead of banning cellphones from campuses, schools are embracing mobile devices and laptops to help stretch their technology dollars and provide students with a more modern approach to education. They are beginning to emulate post-secondary institutions by encouraging students to bring personal devices to the classroom, learn by collaboration and spend more one-on-one time with teachers.

Three Cobb County middle schools have launched a pilot program called Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to help keep up with technology in a time when funds are limited and technology is evolving at warp speed. They’ve also begun using a concept called the flipped classroom, where teachers share lessons via video in an effort to help them spend more valuable classroom time working one-on-one with students on their assignments.

Tapping into Resources to Keep Up with Learning

“Trends are telling us that we cannot afford the model for public education that we have now,” says Dr. Michael Hinojosa, superintendent of the Cobb County School District. “We are going to have to change and adapt. The flipped classroom and Bring Your Own Device are just two examples of how we can do things differently by utilizing technology at low cost, with the goal of further engaging students.”

Daniell, Floyd and Lost Mountain middle schools began implementing this new approach with the start of the 2012–2013 school year in August. “Teachers and staff are very excited to have the opportunity to bring these tools into the classroom,” says Candace Wilkes, principal at Lost Mountain Middle School. “They give students and educators access to a wealth and depth of information and knowledge that is not readily available without having them in the classroom on a regular basis. They allow us to engage in topics and find the most up-to-date information in real time.” The program at Lost Mountain focuses on the eighth grade advanced content classes. “These young people have used computers and other digital devices most of their lives,” notes Wilkes. “It’s what they know and how they communicate. It will make engaging and connecting with them much easier.”

Currently, students in middle schools share desktop computers at designated times. Having the ability to use their own laptops or mobile devices will further engage them in learning. Floyd Middle School Principal Teresa Hargrett says she sees this new program as a way to tap into the wealth of information. “We understand that students learn in a variety of ways and must be users of information that is so abundantly available,” Hargrett says. “Technology brings a greater depth of knowledge for students that may not be available in dated textbooks.”

Teachers spent this past summer preparing for the BYOD program. They attended workshops and learned how to integrate technology into lesson plans, shared teaching strategies with peers and peer experts and developed their programs for the current school year. They repeatedly worked with the technology to familiarize themselves and become well versed in how the devices work and how they can be assets to teaching.

Technology at Private Schools

Private schools, where funds are more readily available due to endowments and annual fund drives, are also embracing technology to aid in teaching and interactive learning. Schools like Mt. Bethel Christian Academy and North Cobb Christian School expose students to technology early on through computer labs or computer carts. By the middle school grade levels, students at North Cobb Christian have a Bring Your Own Device program with laptops, Kindles, Nooks or iPads. At Mt. Bethel, the school provides middles school students with their own laptops that they can take home.

“All middle school students have their own laptop that they use and care for daily, both at school and at home,” says Jim Callis, head of Mt. Bethel Christian Academy. “As a preparatory school, we teach our students that there is not a formal boundary between the classroom as a learning environment and the world. We understand that our students are being raised in a world that is increasingly infused with technology. This isn’t a new trend and it isn’t going away.”

Megan Strange, middle and upper school principal at North Cobb Christian, sees technology in the classroom as a necessity. “Technology can help students excel in a number of 21st century learning skills—collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking,” she says. “Our hope is that our students will have a seat at the table of influence in their communities as they grow up. For them to make wise decisions, they must have all the information readily available. Technology makes this happen in a way that has never been available to prior generations.”

The ways in which different private schools use technology may prove to be instructive for Cobb public schools. For example, middle school students at Whitefield Academy bring laptops and cellphones to class only at certain times. “We are engaging in significant, in-depth research on the topic of allowing more access for students during the school day,” says Kevin Bracher, academic dean at Whitefield. “We are taking great care to be extremely intentional in this area because we have seen endless examples of technology being used in schools without enough forethought and research. We are committed to making sure that every dollar spent on instructional learning is a dollar toward improved student learning.”

David Lowery, director of marketing and public relations at Mount Paran Christian School, sees technology as an inevitable progression in the educational arena. “Technology is a tool—a means to an end,” says Lowery. “Technology is going to be almost seamlessly integrated into students’ lives. Increasingly, the use of classroom technology is supporting the enhanced personalization of the learning process.”

Lowery agrees that current access to information is unprecedented. The school’s concern, he says, is that the students are able to differentiate between information that is applicable and accurate and information that is not. “We have an even greater responsibility to help students discern what information is valid and what isn’t,” he says. “We must commit ourselves to equipping our students with the ability to think deeply about the messages they are taking in, and then to discern what is valid and what is not.”

Preparation for the Real World

“Using technology serves as an advantage to students,” says David Nelson, principal of Daniell Middle School. “The job skills and the world we lived in 20 years ago are markedly different from the world today’s students are growing up in and will be working in. From typewriters to desktops and smartphones to social media, the world is constantly changing.” Nelson says Daniell strives to teach students how to be successful in high school and, subsequently, to be life-long learners. He believes that in order for educators to be effective, they have to teach students how to integrate new thoughts into their existing behaviors, while also developing the skills to defend their positions and evaluate their own thoughts.

Some critics of technology in the classroom think that allowing digital devices encourages time-wasting or plagiarism, but schools are trying to get ahead of that possibility. With more interactive learning, teachers no longer stand behind podiums and lecture. They move about the classroom and can observe how their students are using technology for meaningful applications. “If we allow students to bring these tools into the school setting, we need to make sure we take the time to teach them to be conscientious digital citizens,” Wilkes says. “Significant time is being spent addressing issues of plagiarizing, appropriate interaction with others and how to tell if websites are reliable.”

Mt. Bethel’s Callis explains that when students bring technology into the classroom, they better replicate the real world. “Computer use is more integrated and organic,” he says. “We’re putting technology where the kids are and this allows our teachers to enrich and extend the learning experience. It’s especially good in a question-response setting because students can text in their answers and receive their scores in real time.”

Today’s students, whether they’re bound for college, technical school or employment, need the exposure to technology in the way that Cobb schools are introducing it in the classroom. “The use of a myriad of technological devices helps make learning more relevant to students,” Nelson says. “By using technology and creating a performance-based product, students are able to begin acquiring the skills identified by business leaders which are needed in the 21st century workforce.”

Today’s educators are realizing the need to examine new learning techniques, and they are approaching them with their eyes wide open. “We will try these initiatives on a very small scale to see how well they work and what challenges they present. They may not work out, but we won’t know that until we try,” Hinojosa says. “On the optimistic side, these initiatives have the potential to fundamentally change the way we deliver instruction to students and put us in better position to lead the future of education.”

From walks to gala fundraisers, there are many ways to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October. Two of the more unique ways that Cobb has to offer this year are put on by the Foundation of Emory-Adventist Hospital at Smyrna: a ladies’ tea on Oct. 25 called A Celebration with Courage at the Gardens of Kennesaw Mountain and the Bodies of Courage exhibit at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art. Both events support the Foundation’s efforts to raise money for new patient beds.

Linda McDonald, a three-time cancer survivor, author and teacher, will give a presentation at the tea. McDonald has conducted workshops and clinics for organizations such as the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, National Endowment for the Arts and has served as a U.S. delegate to the World Health Organization Congress on Aging, Physical Activity and Sports. She is also the author of the children’s book “Dancing Cancer.”

On the evening of Oct. 25, there will be a reception to celebrate the Bodies of Courage opening. The exhibit of works by artist and photographer Lisa Scholder, which has been on display in Tampa since January, features breast cancer survivors as the canvas. Her brightly colored paintings highlight the beauty of each woman’s body. The project has helped build bridges between different support organizations across the country. Peggie Sherry, founder and CEO of Faces of Courage, a nonprofit organization in Florida that provides free outings and overnight camps for women, children and families touched by cancer and blood disorders, worked with Scholder to find models for the project. “Bodies of Courage is an ‘arts in medicine’ project that we hosted with our women’s program,” she explains. “The Foundation of Emory-Adventist Hospital at Smyrna heard about the art exhibit and felt that sharing it with their community, especially during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, would bring attention to women’s health and wellness while raising awareness of the hospital and their programs,” Sherry says.

In addition to helping Scholder find models, Sherry eventually became one herself. “Since all of the models are my campers, I would never ask anyone to do something I was not willing to do myself—especially as intimate and revealing as this art project was,” she explains. As a two-time breast cancer survivor, Sherry also works as a motivational speaker to share her story with those who have been recently diagnosed.

In bringing what she describes as “a camp art project that got out of control” to Georgia, Sherry hopes that the powerful stories of those cancer survivors willing to bare their souls and their scars will inspire others to live life to the fullest. “As people view the images it allows for conversation about breast cancer; the importance of self-exam; the need for annual check-ups; our responsibility in maintaining our health and being proactive in preventing the disease,” she explains. “The models’ stories remind us how quickly life can change and how three words, ‘You have cancer,’ can turn your world upside down, never to be completely righted again.” These two events, combined with many others around the county, bring together survivors and supporters in an effort to end breast cancer forever.

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Breast Cancer By the Numbers

6,000: The number of women per year who are diagnosed with breast
cancer in Georgia.

24.83 per 100,000 people: The breast cancer mortality rate in Cobb County.

34.1%: Women in Cobb County who have not received a mammogram in the past year.

In the 10-county area served by Susan G. Komen for the Cure Greater Atlanta, Cobb ranks fifth for percentage of late stage diagnosis and has the fourth highest mortality rate.

(Information courtesy of Cobb & Douglas Public Health and Susan G. Komen for the Cure Greater Atlanta.)

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Here are just a few of the ways Cobb is commemorating Breast Cancer Awareness Month:

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 5K, Marietta Square
10/27, 8:00 a.m.
Sponsored by the American Cancer Society.
To register or to get more information, go to stridesatlanta.org/Marietta

Paint the Town PINK Gala, Renaissance Waverly Hotel
10/27, 6:30 p.m.
This gala is sponsored by the Mary L. & Walter Johnson III Foundation, Inc.
For tickets, visit paintthetownpinkgala.eventbrite.com

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