ATLANTA (AP) -- An immigration bill that contains some parts similar to a law enacted in Arizona is heading to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal's desk.

Both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly passed the bill Thursday, the final day of the legislative session. Deal supported tough immigration measures in Congress, but a spokesman declined to say whether the governor would sign the bill.

The bill would authorize law enforcement officers to verify the immigration status of certain criminal suspects and allows them to detain those found to be in the country illegally. It would also penalize people who "knowingly and intentionally" transport or harbor illegal immigrants.

It also would require employers with 10 or more employees to use a federal database called E-Verify to check the immigration status of new hires.

Rep. Winfred Dukes voted against the bill because she felt it wasn't tough enough.

“It seemed as if it was just something that we were passing just to say that we have passed immigration reform. It was not going to help the root cause of the problem, which is the employers hiring these people because folks coming down here looking for jobs,” said Rep. Dukes.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)