A bipartisan group of Georgia state lawmakers filed legislation to authorize the labor department to create a “guest worker” program to bring qualified immigrants in to work in areas that have labor shortages.
House Bill 82, the Georgia Guest Worker Act, would order the Georgia Department of Labor to create a state-administered worker program for non-Americans, subject to federal rules and regulations.
The bill was introduced amid a widespread crackdown on undocumented migrants across the United States ordered by President Donald Trump. In the weeks since he took office, Trump’s immigration policies have led to multiple instances of what critics call raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, including in the metro Atlanta area.