Georgia Immigrant Rights Alliance
Dear Chairs of the Georgia Joint Reapportionment Committee,
The undersigned 63 organizations represent the Georgia Immigrant Rights Alliance and our allies, including immigrant rights and civil rights organizations from across our state. We write to express our concern that the Joint Reapportionment Committee is not engaging in efforts to provide any language accommodations for the upcoming June 28th town hall. Limited English proficiency Georgians require language accommodations, and the recently published schedule does not mention any such accommodations. The committee must determine ways to provide language access for residents so that they may have an opportunity to participate in the process. It is not only the right step to take, but a legally required one.
1 in 10 Georgians is an immigrant. 1 in 13 residents is a native-born U.S. citizen with at least one immigrant parent. Georgia’s immigrant population is increasing, and the redistricting process must reflect this reality. Simply stating that immigrant businesses are invaluable to the economy, without providing a means for immigrant communities to participate in the redistricting process, is unacceptable.
The state benefits from the various ways foreign-born residents participate in the economy and labor force. As neighbors, business owners, taxpayers, and workers, immigrants are an integral part of Georgia’s diverse and thriving communities and make extensive contributions that benefit all.
Georgia is home to several Fortune 500 companies founded by New Americans who are either immigrants or children of immigrants. In total, New American businesses like Home Depot, Southern Company, UPS, and WestRock bring over 1 million jobs to the state of Georgia and have annual revenues that collectively exceed 280 million dollars. Furthermore, Georgia continues to recognize the contributions of global talent and businesses coming to the state, establishing a study committee to look further into this growth under H.R. 11.
In Georgia, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest-growing minority population, with more than 300,000 in the state, 44% of these voters being LEP (limited English proficient). With hearings held in the Metro-Atlanta area, the committee must allow all Georgians the opportunity to have their voices heard, especially those underrepresented due to language barriers.
As a result of the growth of the immigrant population in Georgia, many of Georgia’s jurisdictions have come closer and closer to meeting the threshold for providing language access in its elections. For example, Gwinnett County is a section 203 jurisdiction, mandating election materials offered in Spanish. The 2020 Census will likely bring an increase in the number of Georgia counties that are certified under Section 203. In addition, the state benefits from the Help America Vote Act, which also earmarks funds for language access during elections. Even in recent years, Georgia has had to vigorously enforce its language assistance statutes so that limited English proficiency voters could participate in elections. Now is not the time for Georgia to fail to assist LEP residents.
With only one meeting scheduled for the metro Atlanta region, this town hall excludes many of the 41.3% of LEP Georgians statewide who live in the metro region and deserve a chance to participate in the redistricting process. The Atlanta town hall ignores that this region carries a substantial portion of the LEP population. This committee cannot afford to overlook the need for language access for the June 28th meeting. Furthermore, by failing to provide language assistance during the town hall, the State is omitting input from and the participation of a significant portion of the electorate based on their national origin status and membership in a language minority, therefore implicating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
To assist you, the Chairs of the Joint Reapportionment Committee in your efforts to provide language assistance at the upcoming June 28th hearing, we have included the U.S. Department of Justice’s Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, Kristen Clarke, the Voting Rights Section Chief, Civil Rights Division, Chris Herren, and members of the Joint Reapportionment Committee in the delivery of this letter. We hope that with your combined efforts, LEP Georgians will finally be able to have their voices heard in the redistricting process.
Here are ways you can make this possible:
Joint reapportionment committees must commit to including all Georgians. This means providing resources, including announcements, fact sheets, and any public-facing materials, into a minimum set of languages required to reach diverse Georgians (Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Mandarin/Cantonese, Hindi, Arabic).
Provide interpretation where necessary and feasible to gain public input.
The website used to broadcast public input sessions or share maps must be compliant with S.508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act, making it accessible to people with disabilities.
We demand accommodations for Georgians who are limited English proficient. These accommodations must be in place for the June 28th town hall.
Cc: U.S. Department of Justice
Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division
[Kristen.Clarke@usdoj.gov]
Chris Herren, Voting Rights Section Chief, Civil Rights Division
[Chris.Herren@usdoj.gov]
Members of the Georgia House Committee on Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment
Members of the Georgia Senate Committee on Legislative and Congressional Reapportionment
Signed,
63 organizations from across the state of Georgia
ACLU of Georgia
Amani Women Center
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
American Immigration Lawyers Association
APIDA
Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta
Asian American Advocacy Fund (AAAF)
Asian Youth for Civic Engagement (AYCE)
Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition (AIRC)
Athens VSA
Athena's Warehouse Inc.
Bhutanese Community
Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI)
Black Voters Matter Fund
Burmese Rohingya Community of Georgia
Cambodian American Association of Georgia (CAAG)
CCFA
Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc.
Coalición de Líderes Latinos (CLILA)
Common Cause GA
CPACS
Dignidade Inmigrante en Athens (DIA)
East Atlanta Community Association (EACA)
Fair Count
Fair Fight
Federation of Korean American Association of South East & Korean Chamber
Feminist Women's Health Center
GA Familias Unidas
Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO)
Georgia Budget and Policy Institute
Georgia Conservation Voters
Georgia Equality
Georgia Familias Unidas
Georgia Latinos Alliance for Human Rights
Georgia Muslim Voter Project
Georgia Shift
Georgia WAND Education Fund
GT Salsa Club
Innovation Law Lab
Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta, GA
Korean American Coalition - Atlanta (KAC)
Laotian American Society (LAS)
Latin American Association (LAA)
Latino Community Fund Georgia
League of Women Voters of Georgia
Los Vecinos de Buford Hwy
New Sanctuary Movement
Poder Latinx
Refugee Women’s Network (RWN)
Romanos Unidos
New American Leaders
New American Pathways
Rep GA Institute, Inc
Represent GA Action Network, Inc.
Somali American Community Center
Southeast Immigrant Rights Network (SEIRN)
Southern Center for Human Rights
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
Sur Legal Collaborative
The Council of American-Islamic Relations - Georgia (CAIR)
U-Lead Athens
Urban League of Greater Atlanta
Women Watch Afrika (WWA)
