A press conference in Athens on Wednesday turned tense as protesters shouted loudly over the mayor, dismissing his claims that Athens is not a sanctuary city.
The gathering was meant to be an opportunity for Athens Mayor Kellie Girtz to address new public safety initiatives the city is considering in the wake of Laken Riley’s murder. The Augusta University nursing student was killed by an illegal immigrant living in Athens, police say. Jose Ibarra is now in jail, charged in Riley’s death.
Flashpoint in immigration debate
Ibarra’s immigration status has become a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over U.S. immigration policy. The small group of protesters that showed up Wednesday in Athens were intent on making their point.
“Who voted to make Athens-Clarke County a sanctuary city, sir,” one male protester yelled from the audience. He then demanded, “Who? What’s their name.”
Mayor Girtz responded, “There’s been no legislation from this government that has created sanctuary city status,” to which protesters responded, “8/20/2019,” and then called the mayor a “liar.”
The date, August 20, 2019, was in reference to a resolution signed on that day in support of Athens-Clarke County’s immigrant and Latinx communities.
The resolution states, “The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government is welcoming to people from all lands and backgrounds and strives to foster a community where individuals and families of all statuses feel safe, are able to prosper, and can breathe free.”
The document, formally expressing the governing body’s opinion, also denounces white supremacy.
Mayor Girtz said the resolution was passed at a time when “We had hate activity toward members of this community, and we wished to indicate that we didn’t want to embolden that hate activity.”
Sanctuary City
Georgia law prohibits sanctuary policies and requires local governing bodies to submit a document to the state verifying adherence to the law.
“We contribute a document to the Georgia Department of Audits annually indicating that we do not correspond to these definitions under state law,” said Girtz. “There is no legislation from this government that has created sanctuary city status.”
Pressed on whether the city was to blame for Ibarra’s living in Athens as an undocumented immigrant, Girtz expressed sorrow for what happened but said, “The responsibility for this crime rests solely upon the perpetrator.”
READ: Athens-Clarke County immigrant resolution
Police chief: No warrants or holds
Athens police arrested Ibarra for shoplifting in October, but he was cited and released. That’s common practice for certain misdemeanor offenses, said Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Jerry Saulters during the Feb. 28 press conference.
Saulters said the police department ran background checks on Ibarra through the state and national crime information centers, but nothing came back to indicate he should be held in jail.
“If there was any warnings or anything that had come back from the federal government — holds, warrants — then we would have held him at that time, and that was checked, and there was not any warrants at that time,” said Chief Saulters. “We can’t look on our computer and tell you the status of someone’s immigration. We don’t have that information.”
Republican lawmakers have focused on the Riley murder to push for tougher immigration laws, including a proposed bill in Georgia that would require sheriffs to cooperate with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division.
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