Business Licenses and Permits

Under a new Georgia law, business license clerks, mayors and county commissioners would face fines if they are found to have approved illegal immigrants with work permits.

A group of unpaid citizen volunteers will join an Immigration Enforcement Review Board as part of Georgia’s new immigration law, which went into effect on July 1. The board will investigate complaints about businesses not implementing the law.

Clerks found to have approved a business license for an illegal worker will be fined $5,000 by the board.

“It is a significant step in that we have expanded Georgia law to intentionally make life very, very difficult and insecure for people who hire illegal immigrants, the illegals themselves, and the anti-enforcement politicians,” a supporter of the law, activist D.A. King, told Bloomberg Business Week.

However, thousands of protestors marched on the state capital to protest the law on July 1. The news provider reported that in 2009, an estimated 4.3% of the state’s population was made up of illegal immigrants.

Tags: business licenses, business permits, licenses, permits