Democratic Party of Georgia

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GA Democrats Call on Sen. David Perdue to Condemn Trump’s Racist Remarks

Release:  Friday, January 12, 2017

Contact: Michael Smith, Communications Director

404-729-9505 / [email protected]

Atlanta, GA – Thursday, Georgia Senator David Perdue was in the Oval Office when Donald Trump disparaged Haiti and countries in Africa, labeling them as “sh**hole countries.” A day later, Perdue has yet to condemn or even comment on Trump’s vile remarks. This comes nearly a year to the day after Trump—once again during Dr. King’s holiday—attacked Congressman John Lewis and labeled Atlanta as “crime infested” and “falling apart.”

“The man who touts himself as an ‘outsider’ was actually inside the room when these remarks were made, and has no excuse to dodge the public and press on where he stands. David Perdue’s silence can only be interpreted as complicity in this kind of racism and xenophobia. Perdue was sent to the U.S. Senate to represent and stand for all Georgians, not to serve as Trump’s bootlicker. Georgia Democrats call on Senator Perdue to immediately condemn Donald Trump’s hate and vulgarity.” – DuBose Porter, Chair

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DPG Statement on Trump Administration Rescinding DACA

Release:  Tuesday, September 5, 2017                                                                                           
Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Latino Caucus Chair Antonio Molina issued the following statement on Donald Trump’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“Donald Trump’s decision to rescind DACA is a cruel and calculated political move that punishes 800,000 immigrants looking to build a better life and contribute to our economy. Georgia ranks in the top ten states hit the hardest by Trump’s shortsighted move. With 23,405 DACA recipients, Georgia stands to lose $994,182,808 in state GDP annually.

“Contrary to today’s remarks by Attorney General Sessions, DACA does not place our nation at risk of crime and terrorism—DACA recipients must pass extensive background checks. Using immigrants as a fear tactic is a cowardly move that could force almost one million people back in to the shadows. Targeting our neighbors and driving wedges into our communities does absolutely nothing to keep our country safe.

“Ahead of next year’s elections, Trump’s action underscores the importance of electing Democrats to statewide office—it was, after all, a group of rightwing state attorneys general who threatened to sue the Trump Administration unless it began to dismantle DACA by September 5th.

“Georgia Democrats proudly stand with the immigrants in our state who make us stronger. We will continue to fight for commonsense immigration reform that strengthens families and continues to strengthen our economy.”

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BACKGROUND

CNBC – Here’s how much DACA deportations would cost your state’s economy

NYT – ‘Dreamer’ Plan That Aided 800,000 Immigrants Is Threatened

Trump’s Immigration Plan: Tearing Apart Families and Dividing our Country

Trump’s Immigration Plan: Tearing Apart Families and Dividing our Country

 

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Latino Caucus Chair Antonio Molina issued the following statement on Donald Trump’s immigration speech.

 

“Donald Trump isn’t fooling anyone. He began his campaign by labeling immigrants as ‘rapists’ and criminals. Trump wants to deport 16 million people from this country—including Americans whose parents are undocumented. He wants to end birthright citizenship. These plans aren’t just dangerous—they’re a betrayal of American values. Democrats will continue to champion policies that keep Latino families together and guarantee a fair path to citizenship.” – Antonio Molina, Latino Caucus Chair

 

Information on Hillary Clinton’s plan for comprehensive immigration reform can be found here.

 

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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.”

 

 

DPG Chair Issues Statement on President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration

Release:  Friday, November 21, 2014         

 

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Issues Statement on President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration

 

 

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter issued the following statement in response to President Barack Obama’s address to the nation announcing his immigration executive action.

 

“Last night, the President—acting within legal authority—laid out decisive, commonsense measures to fix what we all know is a broken immigration system. Over the last half-century, each of his predecessors—Democrat and Republican—have used this legal authority to act on immigration.

 

“Congress has sat on its hands for too long, and it’s up to them to pass a comprehensive bi-partisan bill. But, we commend President Obama, who had the vision and fortitude to act for the betterment of us all—allowing those with a dream to hope again.

 

“President Obama’s actions are designed to ensure that everyone in this country plays by the same rules, stops tearing families apart, and brings hard-working people out of the shadows and into our workforce—allowing them to contribute to our economy and support their families.

 

“This isn’t a radical notion—the idea that if you come to America with your hopes and dreams, abide by our laws, and work as hard as you can, the possibilities are limitless. This notion is how our country has been shaped for hundreds of years, and this notion is why most of us live in this great nation today.

 

“For our country’s and state’s sake, I urge Republicans in Congress to work with the President to continue to make America the paragon of progress in the world once again.”

 

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BACKGROUND

 

The White House – Immigration Action

 

Three critical elements of the President’s executive actions are:

 

  • Cracking Down on Illegal Immigration at the Border: The President’s actions increase the chances that anyone attempting to cross the border illegally will be caught and sent back.  Continuing the surge of resources that effectively reduced the number of unaccompanied children crossing the border illegally this summer, the President’s actions will also centralize border security command-and-control to continue to crack down on illegal immigration. 

 

  • Deporting Felons, Not Families: The President’s actions focus on the deportation of people who threaten national security and public safety. He has directed immigration enforcement to place anyone suspected of terrorism, violent criminals, gang members, and recent border crossers at the top of the deportation priority list.

 

  • Accountability – Criminal Background Checks and Taxes: The President is also acting to hold accountable those undocumented immigrants who have lived in the US for more than five years and are parents of U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents.  By registering and passing criminal and national security background checks, millions of undocumented immigrants will start paying their fair share of taxes and temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation for three years at a time.

Declaración del Comité Latino del Partido Demócrata de Georgia, a los comentarios del gobernador Deal acerca de Los Estudiantes

Jueves, Agosto 28, 2014  

 

Declaración  del Comité Latino del Partido Demócrata de Georgia, a los comentarios del gobernador Deal acerca de Los Estudiantes

 

Atlanta, GA –Hoy, el Presidente del Comité de Latinos del Partido Demócrata de Georgia Antonio Molina rindió la siguiente declaración a los comentarios presentados por el gobernador Nathan Deal sobre el estatus legal de los estudiantes presentes en una junta de Republicanos Universitarios que tomó lugar en la Universidad de Georgia en Athens.

 

“El comité de Latinos está perturbado y alarmado de que el Gobernador asumiera que los estudiantes presentes fueran indocumentados, basándose en su apariencia y por el tipo de preguntas que le estaban formulando. Esta presunción  es un claro indicio de perfil racial.

 

“La comunidad Latina—que en un tiempo fue bienvenida y ha contribuido a crear un mejor Georgia—ahora se ha convertido en una herramienta política llena de odio y división en la mano del Partido Republicano de Georgia.  Los comentarios del gobernador Deal me llevan a pensar que él, simplemente está interesado en servir a una sección del estado de Georgia y no todos los habitantes del estado.

 

“Yo tuve el placer de servir a mi país en las fuerzas armadas por seis años, participando en un sinnúmero de misiones para la defensa de la Constitución de los Estados Unidos. ¿Si yo hubiera estado presente sin mi uniforme, y le hiciera la misma pregunta al gobernador, podría ser posible que el gobernador también pensara que yo soy indocumentado?

 

“Para que Georgia prospere, nuestros líderes tienen que asegurarse que vivamos en un estado unido no dividido—una Georgia que acepta la diversidad cultural, recompensa el trabajo fuerte y provee oportunidades para todos sus habitantes.  Aparentemente Nathan Deal no puede proveer este tipo de liderazgo.”

 

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ANEXOS

Latino Caucus of the Democratic Party of Georgia Responds to Gov. Nathan Deal’s Comments to Activists

Release:  Thursday, August 28, 2014         

 

Latino Caucus of the Democratic Party of Georgia Responds to Gov. Nathan Deal’s Comments to Activists

 

Atlanta, GA – Today, Democratic Party of Georgia Latino Caucus Chair Antonio Molina issued the following statement in response to Gov. Nathan Deal’s remarks regarding a student’s legal status at a College Republican event held at the University of Georgia.

 

“The Latino Caucus is appalled and disturbed that our current Governor would profile young students based on their appearance and presume that they are undocumented. Such a presumption is at the very heart of racial profiling.

 

“The Latino community—a once welcomed community that has contributed to the very best of Georgia—has now become a political tool of hatred and division at the hands of the Republican Party. And Gov. Deal’s comments lead me to believe that he is not about serving the state of Georgia, but rather a select few.

 

“I had the pleasure of serving my country in the United States Navy for six years, conducting multiple deployments in the defense of the Constitution of the United States. If I were out of uniform and asked the same questions, would the governor presume that I was undocumented as well?

 

“In order for Georgia to thrive, our leaders must ensure that we live in an inclusive Georgia—a Georgia that welcomes diversity, rewards hard work, and provides opportunity for all. It is apparent that Nathan Deal cannot provide this kind of leadership.”

 

 

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BACKGROUND

 

Flagpole 8/26/14 –  Gov. Nathan Deal Presumes UGA Immigration Activists Are Undocumented

 

Flagpole 8/27/14 – Watch Video of Gov. Nathan Deal Telling UGA Students He Presumes They’re Undocumented

 

AJC 8/27/14 – Nathan Deal’s run-in with immigration activists at UGA