| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 48 1617 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Resolution 756 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Lim of the 98 |
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| 4 | 4 | | th |
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| 5 | 5 | | , Carpenter of the 4 |
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| 6 | 6 | | th |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Santos of the 117 |
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| 8 | 8 | | th |
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| 9 | 9 | | , Tran of the 80 |
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| 10 | 10 | | th |
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| 11 | 11 | | , |
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| 12 | 12 | | Clark of the 108 |
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| 13 | 13 | | th |
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| 14 | 14 | | , and others |
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| 15 | 15 | | A RESOLUTION |
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| 16 | 16 | | Encouraging the General Assembly to preserve access to safety and justice for all survivors |
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| 17 | 17 | | 1 |
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| 18 | 18 | | of gender-based violence and human trafficking by adopting language that ensures protection2 |
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| 19 | 19 | | for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and other3 |
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| 20 | 20 | | crimes to safely report to and assist law enforcement, and to prevent the assistance from law4 |
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| 21 | 21 | | enforcement from being used as a tool of control and abuse; and for other purposes.5 |
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| 22 | 22 | | WHEREAS, Georgia is home to a diverse immigrant population where one out of every ten6 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Georgia residents is an immigrant and one in 13 Georgia residents is U.S. born with at least7 |
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| 24 | 24 | | one immigrant parent; and8 |
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| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking,9 |
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| 26 | 26 | | and other crimes often face significant barriers to safety, including fear of escalated violence,10 |
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| 27 | 27 | | threats of deportation, and language access; and11 |
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| 28 | 28 | | WHEREAS, immigrants experience abuse at twice the rate of the general U.S. population,12 |
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| 29 | 29 | | and when married to a U.S. citizen, the rate of abuse is three times higher; and13 |
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| 30 | 30 | | WHEREAS, Georgia ranks third nationally in detained immigrant populations, which14 |
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| 31 | 31 | | contributes to an environment of fear among immigrant communities; and15 |
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| 32 | 32 | | H. R. 756 |
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| 33 | 33 | | - 1 - 25 LC 48 1617 |
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| 34 | 34 | | WHEREAS, survivors who fear criminalization are less likely to report crime, and it is a |
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| 35 | 35 | | 16 |
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| 36 | 36 | | common tactic of power and control for abusers to keep immigrant survivors of17 |
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| 37 | 37 | | domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking silent by threatening to call U.S.18 |
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| 38 | 38 | | Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have them deported; and19 |
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| 39 | 39 | | WHEREAS, if detained and deported, key witnesses and victims of crime in Georgia will no20 |
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| 40 | 40 | | longer be available to local law enforcement as they seek to crack down on human trafficking21 |
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| 41 | 41 | | and domestic violence crimes; and22 |
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| 42 | 42 | | WHEREAS, data shows that when laws like HB 1105 are passed, immigrant survivors of23 |
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| 43 | 43 | | human trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence become even more afraid to24 |
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| 44 | 44 | | leave their homes to seek safety and shelter for fear of being profiled by law enforcement.25 |
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| 45 | 45 | | NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that26 |
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| 46 | 46 | | the members of this body encourage the preservation and access to safety and justice for all27 |
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| 47 | 47 | | survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking by adopting language that ensures28 |
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| 48 | 48 | | protection for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking,29 |
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| 49 | 49 | | and other crimes to safely report to law enforcement.30 |
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| 50 | 50 | | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized31 |
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| 51 | 51 | | and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the32 |
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| 52 | 52 | | General Assembly.33 |
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| 53 | 53 | | H. R. 756 |
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| 54 | 54 | | - 2 - |
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