(ProsperNews.net) – Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp has signed new legislation obliging corrections officers to report prisoners’ immigration status. A separate bill also applies cash bail requirements to 30 new offenses and restricts charities from posting bonds.
The Republican said immigration had become a priority for his administration after the murder of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley in February. Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested and charged with murder when the police found the woman’s dead body near the University of Georgia campus.
Under the new bail proposals, judges must apply cash bail conditions on 30 more offenses, including criminal trespass, domestic terrorism, and rioting. Critics say the changes amount to persecution of the poor and will deepen criminal justice and social inequality. The American Civil Liberties Union confirmed it will file a lawsuit against the legislation, saying already overcrowded jails will come under increasing strain.
Governor Kemp, however, insists that the changes are necessary because law enforcement officers frequently arrest repeat and career criminals who are immediately set free by lenient judges. He added that he was proud to provide more tools for officers and prosecutors that will allow them to “bring violent offenders to justice.”
The new regulations overturned reforms introduced by the Peach State’s previous governor, Nathan Deal. These reforms authorized judges to release most people accused of misdemeanors and enjoyed near-unanimous support in the legislature in 2018.
The latest bill furthermore restricts the number of times a charity or an individual can bail out another person to three occasions per year.
Erin George of the Bail Project has accused Republicans nationwide of rolling back protest rights and said the Georgia regulations provide a pertinent example. George argues that bail funds are under threat because they are often used to free people arrested while engaging in political demonstrations, including those who allegedly threw Molotov cocktails and projectiles at police while objecting to the construction of a new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center last year.
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