New Georgia Law Proving Effective Already

On July 1, a new law went into effect here in Georgia. You must possess a valid Georgia driver's license before you are permitted to register a vehicle. It seems some people are having issues with this new law.

Jose Genao sells used cars for a living, but lately he's had to turn away customers from his Smyrna dealership.

Genao used to sell about 15 vehicles a week, mostly Ford F-150 or Silverado pickups to a Mexican clientele. Now he sells only two or three.

Awww. Isn't that horrible? Illegal immigrants in the area can't seem to get their cars registered. To tell you the truth, I am shocked. I never knew they went through the trouble in the first place.

Genao, 34, has a green card and has lived in the United States eight years. If business doesn't pick up, he might return to his native Dominican Republic to tend to a car dealership there.

"If they don't do something, a lot of businesses are going to close," he said.

Awww. Don't you feel awful for Mr. Genao? "If they don't do something…" translates into "Hurry and repeal this very mean, cruel law… " But wait, there's more.

Tony Brooks, an insurance agent who caters to the Hispanic community in Marietta, said business for his tag and title service has dropped off about 80 percent since the law went into effect.

"It's definitely slowing things down, that's for sure," Brooks said.

He's had to turn away 30 to 40 people wanting tags in the last two weeks because they don't have Georgia driver's licenses.

Awww. Poor Tony. 80% of his clients have just disappeared. How is Tony going to survive?

Isaias Zavala, 33, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who works construction, said he has no license but his wife does, so he registers their car through her. Still, he worries because he has to drive to work.

"This all seems very bad to me," he said in Spanish of the new law.

Awwww. Poor Isaias is worried about driving to work. Maybe his employer should be worried too, since another new law went into effect on July 1 that requires employers to verify their employees are here in the United States legally.

These businesses that claim to be suffering because of this new law shouldn't have been catering to illegal immigrants in the first place. It's businesses like their's that make living under the radar so appealing to those who are here illegally.

It's only been 16 days since the new law took effect and people are screaming and crying already. That tells me one thing.

We're definitely doing something right.