DPG Latino Caucus on GOP’s Dangerous and Out of Touch Remarks on Undocumented Immigrants

Release:  Wednesday, July 8, 2015                                                                                      

Democratic Party of Georgia Latino Caucus on GOP’s Dangerous and Out of Touch Remarks on Undocumented Immigrants

Atlanta, GA – DPG Latino Caucus Chair Antonio Molina issued the following statement in response to Republican Senator Josh McKoon’s call for a ban on undocumented immigrants from practicing law or teaching in Georgia’s public schools.

“No one needed a press conference to learn that Josh McKoon and members of his Party are hostile toward the Latino community. What we did learn today is that there’s always a new low for them to sink to. Immigrants have contributed to our nation’s culture and economy for more than 200 years; and our state leaders should work together to bring the undocumented out of the shadows and into our workforce.

“But it certainly seems that McKoon and the GOP would rather pander to the Donald Trump wing of their Party than do what’s right. They chose the path of fear, profiling Latinos and labeling us as a problem.

“While Republicans would rather tear families apart and divide our state with offensive rhetoric, Democrats will continue to stand up for all families and seek ways to offer hardworking immigrants a path to citizenship.”

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Background

AJC – Senator seeks harsher sanctions against illegal immigrants in Georgia

The call for action against those McKoon calls “illegal aliens” — a term many Latinos consider derogatory — came after the fatal shooting of a woman in San Francisco by an illegal immigrant who had been deported five times. The Republican from Columbus said he wanted to catch the attention of Georgians by using the publicity surrounding the shooting to draw outrage here.

“There are more illegal aliens in this state than Arizona,” McKoon said during a press conference in Atlanta. What happened in San Francisco, he said, “can and I fear will happen in Georgia.”