Cherokee County in north metro Atlanta will join the few but growing number of Georgia counties and cities who verify the immigration status of applicants for business licenses, in compliance with the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act (formerly Senate Bill 529), which has been in effect for almost two years.

The act requires local governments that administer public benefits to collect an affidavit from applicants affirming their citizenship or lawful alien status and use the federal SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) database to verify the immigration status of alien applicants.

My home county of Gwinnett (east metro Atlanta) recent began verification, but not a single one of Gwinnett’s dozen or so municipalities have moved to comply with the state law.

Cherokee Tribune – ‘Better safe than sorry’