Community Corner
CANDIDATE PROPOSES MILITARY SERVICE FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS TO EARN CITIZENSHIP
ART GARDNER ANNOUNCES BOLD PLAN TO CURB
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
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Atlanta, Jan. 7, 2014—Yesterday, Republican candidate for the United States Senate Art Gardner announced his plan to address illegal immigration. Currently, Georgia has the 7th largest illegal alien population in the country, making up 4.5% of the state’s population.
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“First, we must secure our borders. Only then can we address the status of aliens who are here illegally,” said Gardner. “Once the borders are secure, however, illegal aliens must register to earn continued residency or face deportation,” he said.
Distinct from the registration requirement, Gardner’s bold proposal also allows those who register and serve five years in the U.S. military to earn their citizenship.
“Registration would add millions of taxpayers to the tax rolls and would greatly reduce the underground economy,” notes Gardner. “If an individual risks his or her life to serve America in our armed forces, the right thing to do is offer him or her citizenship,” he said.
Along with these measures, Gardner seeks to curb the incentive for illegal aliens to birth a child in the United States. “If the mother isn’t here legally, birthing a child here shouldn’t make her child a U.S. citizen,” said Gardner. Gardner goes on to state, “Unlawful immigrants are receiving benefits that should be reserved for the American taxpayers. It is time to stop the grandstanding and implement a practical solution. My plan does that.”
Art Gardner spent over a decade working as a car mechanic and then five years as a manufacturing engineer with Lockheed. A patent lawyer since 1988, in 1995 he founded the law firm Gardner Groff Greenwald & Villanueva, which specializes in intellectual property matters. He received a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech and Juris Doctor from Georgia State. He is a former chairman of the Atlanta Society of Automotive Engineers and Boy Scout Leader. Art and his wife Anita have two adult sons and a daughter in college. They reside in Marietta.
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