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Canada Is Encouraged to Issue a Travel Warning to Georgia

By Patrick Osio, Jr./HispanicVista.com

  April 25, 2007

 

  

 

  

Canada Is Encouraged to Issue a Travel Warning to Georgia

By Patrick Osio, Jr.

 

Georgia enacted a draconian law, reminiscent of those we credit Banana Republic with having, which authorizes cops who stop anyone to hold the driver until verification of his/her legal status in the country can be determined. The foolish law is scheduled to go into effect in July, but ardent, ready to play John Wayne patrolmen reincarnates, decided to “get it on” before the law goes into effect.

The cop spotted a car they allege was exceeding the speed limit, and to boot, didn’t stop at a sign while making a U-turn into a restaurant parking lot.  The driver, a female, was asked for her driver’s license, she produced it, how about her citizenship, she told them. Aha, she was not a US citizen – so, where are you from and prove to us that you’re in MY country legally?  She showed them her valid passport.  Double aha, we have to take you in until we verify if that passport is good or false. So they arrested the lady.

The tourist was taken to jail. Made to strip naked, given prison garb to wear and then process and placed in the tank with other prisoners. Welcome to the Banana Republic of Georgia!

Part of the irony in this is that the law was purposely passed and signed into law to capture and rid the state of Mexican/Central American illegal immigrants. But the first victim was a blond-blue-eyed 23 year old Canadian tourist transiting through Georgia on her way to visit with her parents-in-law in Florida.

The passenger in the car was the lady’s husband. When his wife was arrested, he was told  the bail for her release would be $222.00 and only cash was accepted. The husband left with the car, hurried to get the cash from an ATM and was at the jail within the hour to post bail for her. Then he waited, and waited and waited some more, and of course his wife who had not been read her rights, or even charged with a crime also waited in a cell.

She spent 11 hours in jail.

The Canadian tourist lady, Cheryl Kuehn, was detained at approximately 5:20 PM. According to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency the Georgia Glynn County detention center contacted them regarding the status of Ms. Kuehn’s passport at 7:26 PM, by then she had been disrobed, processed and tanked. By this time her husband was in the lobby with the cash to bail her out.

ICE took 11 minutes to process the requested immigration information and transmitting it to the Glynn County detention center. So Georgia authorities knew that Ms. Kuehn had a valid passport. But yet, they held her for another 9 hours.

So Ms. Kuehn has the dreadful distinction of being the first victim of a draconian law that put in the hands of terribly ignorant or simply malicious abusers of authority, leads to jailing the country’s guests for 11 hours.

Defending the blunder, Col. Louise Newsome, Glynn County Detention Center administrator, came up with this lulu: “Policy requires all non-U.S. citizens to go through the sometimes lengthy immigration process to determine if they are wanted on warrants.” Eleven minutes is lengthy?

And, the law Col. Newsome makes reference to as “policy” is not yet in effect and worse, it deals with according to the law’s summary posted on Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue’s website: “…requires legal status verification for people charged with a felony or drunk driving offence.” 

But Ms. Kuehn was neither charged with a felony nor drunk driving, in fact there were no charges.

To get out of the state’s self made mess, Gov. Perdue had the arresting officers fired, ignoring that the problem is the enacted law. But, Georgia is caught in a trap of its own hypocrisy.

They didn’t mind, in fact stopped immigration raids, Mexican farm workers coming to pick the state’s $100 million sweet onion harvests, they didn’t mind their working in other agricultural endeavors or chicken and meat packing plants, as long as after the season they went home and didn’t mix with good o’l Georgia genteel people. But stay and live?

Well, their hypocrisy has snared Canadian visitors.

So until Georgia changes its laws, the Canadian government would do well to issue a Travel Warning – Avoid Georgia, not only is it a speed trap cash extorting state, but Canadians can be held, stripped naked, and jailed without charges.

And, if you care – that’s what they have in mind doing to Mexicans/Central Americans and while at it, US citizen Latinos.

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Patrick Osio, Jr. is the Editor of HispanicVista (www.hispanicvista.com) and columnist with the San Diego Metropolitan Magazine (www.sandiegometro.com).

 

(The opinions expressed by Patrick Osio, Jr. are solely his and do not necessarily reflect those of HispanicVista.com, editorial board of advisors or it’s contributing writers.)

Patrick Osio, Jr. has written a short but intensive manual on the Mexican perspective on numerous issues between our two countries. The manual is an in depth primer on the culture and protocol for better understanding Mexicans that in turn allows establishing personal and business relationships, and how to avoid the most common faux pas that can ruin relationships and business deals.

The manual is available through Electronic delivery for $9.95 making it possible to download the manual for save on your hard drive, printing its entirety or particular sections while reaping considerable savings over printed copies.