This Republican says Georgia needs migrants in the workforce

Most Georgia Republicans are following Trump’s “stick” approach: hardening their stances on immigration with the idea that conditions will become bad enough that those in the country illegally will leave — and those protecting them will stop.

The Georgia Senate last week approved Senate Bill 21, which would allow citizens to bring lawsuits against local governments that don’t follow federal immigration policies. But Reeves’ bill would expand the pathways for migrants to temporarily come to Georgia as a guest worker.

“If you’ve got some dissatisfaction with the status quo at the federal level with immigration and you have unmet workforce needs, House Bill 82 is the answer to that problem,” Reeves said.

How it would work

While the federal government maintains control of issuing work visas, House Bill 82 would give businesses in Georgia a vessel to communicate their employment vacancies. That state apparatus could then use the information to understand the extent of worker demand in the market and tell the federal government how many guest workers they need.

It dovetails with an effort in Congress from Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin that would allow states to implement their own work visa program, where they sponsor migrant workers using their own criteria under federal oversight.

It’s not certain that the federal government is interested in giving states more power over immigration, but Reeves said his legislation would give Georgia a platform to advocate for its needs.

His bill is similar to the federal H-2A program, which allows U.S. employers to bring in foreign nationals to supply temporary agricultural work. But this bill would apply to all industry sectors in Georgia.

“Not just tree planters but nurses in rural Georgia, doctors in rural Georgia, IT people — people who can fill jobs in this state that we have a labor shortage for,” said Les Schneider, an Atlanta employment attorney working with Reeves on the bill.

It’s an acknowledgment that Georgia cannot fulfill all of its workforce needs with American citizens alone.

“I don’t think we should be so parochial and so provincial as to think that we can’t learn from other people coming into this state,” Schneider said.

That has already been the case. The General Assembly has passed several bills in the last few years that have created compacts and eased licensing restrictions to allow people from other states and other countries to more easily practice in Georgia.

Reeves also put additional restrictions on workers who can qualify for the program, prohibiting anyone who has violated immigration or criminal law from participating.

Kyle Gomez-Leineweber of GALEO, an organization that advocates for Latinos in Georgia, said he supports legislation that expands job opportunities but is dismayed that the measure explicitly bars immigrants who are already living and working in Georgia but without official permission from being part of the program.

“If we really want to address the workforce shortage issue, we have to put our money where our mouth is and acknowledge and respect the value of our workers — which includes many folks who are, yes, undocumented but also have resided in the state for decades, built a life here and contributed to the local economy and culture of our state,” he said.

Trouble from all sides

The bill has opposition from both directions.

State Rep. Jesse Petrea, a Republican from Savannah, said in a committee hearing on the bill that he was concerned about any additional immigration into Georgia.

“What you’re talking about is a state program to bring more people into the country when, again, you have 450,000 illegals in the state of Georgia today,” he said. In 2022, there were about 375,000 immigrants in Georgia 375,000 unauthorized immigrants in Georgiawho are not authorized to be in the country, according to Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center.

Petrea sponsored House Bill 1105 last year, requiring jailers to hold any suspect believed to be in the country without legal permission if that person is wanted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Reeves voted in support of House Bill 1105 last year.

Reeves said he shared Petrea’s aggravation but said his legislation would discourage companies from hiring migrants under the table without proper oversight.

“If employers have a more workable, legal, merit-based guest worker program, they’re less likely to engage in any sort of temptation to do illegal immigration,” Reeves said.

Labor groups also had trouble with the bill, raising the question of why labor shortages exist in the first place.

“Is it because of worker treatment? Is it because of pay? Is it because of benefit structure? What is causing these folks to not go to those jobs?” said Seth Spann, the political director of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

Mike Tharp, who represents Communications Workers of America union in Georgia, said lawmakers should focus on how to attract Georgians to jobs and industries here.

“HB 82 would cut corners, turning permanent jobs into temporary jobs, recruiting foreign workers to fill those positions, and that doesn’t sound like good jobs for Georgians,” he said.

Reeves is also hoping that if those who participate in the program apply for permanent citizenship, their case will be favorably reviewed by immigration authorities

He said he’s committed “for the long haul” to get the bill in good shape.