Last week, an SB1070 copycat bill was passed in Georgia and is expected to be signed into law this week by Governor Nathan Deal. HB 87 mimics many portions of SB1070 that were recently reblocked by the Federal court, including allowing police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects, paving the way for more, now legalized racial profiling.

Loretta Ross, National Coordinator of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective upon passage of the bill said:

“SisterSong is outraged at the Georgia Legislature’s lack of leadership in the protection of the human rights of immigrants in our state. We stand with the women and children who will be terrorized by law enforcement officials through racial profiling and who will suffer as their loved ones are arrested, detained and deported. SisterSong will always fight for the human rights of women to plan for and parent the children they have without interference from governmental institutions.”

Concerns were raised before the bill’s passage as to the economic impact on the state, especially in the areas of agriculture and manufacturing. According to Immigration Impact, Arizona has lost $490 million in tourism revenue, $141 million in cancelled conferences, a “quarter billion dollars in lost economic output” triggered by cancelled conferences over the next two to three years, $86 million in lost wages and 2,800 lost jobs. Not to mention the more than $1 million Arizona has already spent on legal fees in defending SB 1070.