Members of the Habersham County community came out in droves as more than 150 people gathered at the intersection between Gene’s Pawn Shop and CVS in Cornelia Saturday, Feb. 1, in protest of President Donald Trump’s deportation policies.
The demonstration began just after 3 p.m. as a growing mass of people chanted, waved flags, held signs scrawled with specific political messages while vehicles blared their horns and revved engines through the intersection of North Main Street in passing.
Slogans on signs and chants during the demonstration included messages like: “Thankful for Immigrants,” “Love Not Hate,” “What Would Jesus Do?” and “Abolish ICE.”
Other signs read: “Immigrants Feed Our Nation And Build Our Homes,” “My Dad Works Harder Than Any President” and “Immigrants Pay Taxes Too…”
“Today is about showing them how strong our culture is and how proud we are of our hardworking people,” Michelle Martinez, an organizer of the protest, told those in attendance. “Immigrants are the backbone of this nation – who sacrifice everything for a better life. Sending them away isn’t only cruel, but it’s also a betrayal of what this country stands for. And we can’t stay silent as lives are being destroyed.”
Martinez, who lives in Mt. Airy, attends North Georgia Technical College, where she’s just beginning to pursue a degree in nursing.
“Today is about spreading awareness and bringing this community together,” she said.
Saturday’s demonstration came as similar protests occurred across the state.
Cornelia resident and University of North Georgia student Catie Long, who organized the event alongside Martinez, said the demonstration wasn’t planned in coordination with activists across Georgia. Instead, she coordinated with Martinez after the two marched during a recent protest in Gainesville.
“It was incredibly organic…so far, everything is more than what I could expect because I just expected it to be me, Michelle and some friends,” Long said, noting that supporters came from counties across North Georgia – in addition to many Habersham locals – to attend Saturday.
Cornelia leaders show support
Cornelia City Commissioners Don Bagwell and Mark Reed attended the demonstration Saturday. According to the U.S. Census, nearly 20% of the population of Habersham County is Hispanic, though this figure is likely higher when accounting for individuals who remain unreported. In Cornelia specifically, the Hispanic population is close to 30%.
Bagwell was “there to show support for the families that really make our economy churn,” he said. He explained his belief that both parties for decades have failed to address issues within the immigration system. Bagwell said his wife, a school teacher, has had students who spent 20 years trying to legally obtain citizenship without success.
“I think we’re at a crisis point, really, in our country in what we’re trying to do to immigrants,” Bagwell said. “Neither party – Republican or Democrat – have come up with a solution that allows immigrants to get citizenship within a reasonable amount of time…we’ve got a dysfunctional system here, and for us to turn around and punish people the way (former Trump advisor) Jason Miller did in the first Trump administration is absolutely unforgivable.”
With a Republican majority in Congress under Trump, Bagwell said he’s doubtful the U.S. will see meaningful immigration reform in the next four years. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t try,” he said.
Community members speak
Clarkesville resident Joshua Peck said he opposes Trump’s stance on deportation, noting the significant number of undocumented individuals among Habersham’s Hispanic demographic employed in the local agriculture industry.
“I think the plans to deport millions of immigrants is ridiculous,” Peck said. “I think many people that think they’re in favor of Trump’s policy, if they think about it, they realize they know immigrants – some of them illegal – who are good, hard working people. I think the plan to deport them should be put to an end…I must know two-dozen people here illegally and contributing to the economy in meaningful ways.”
As a Black woman, Zedrea Gaines, a lifelong Cornelia resident, decided to protest alongside the others Saturday because she said she could relate to efforts of marginalization as a fellow minority. She went on to call for unity within the community.
“I think everyone should come together,” she said. “There’s enough room for everybody. They work just as hard as everybody else does. I’m just tired of separation. We all need to come together and be as one.”
Another Clarkesville resident, Susan Wilkin, said she chose to attend the demonstration “because of the inhumanity” of the Trump administration.
“If everybody in the local, state and national government stood up to Trump, and remembered who elected them – that they’re here for our interest…I’m just here because I’m totally disgusted,” Wilkin said.
Police presence
The protest remained peaceful throughout the day. The police presence appeared minimal except when a marked Georgia State Patrol vehicle pulled over at least two motorists – one for revving their engine and another for performing lifts on hydraulics as they passed.
Both drivers appeared to be released without incident.
An unmarked black SUV also was stationed down the road in the parking lot of WCON. Two men who occupied the vehicle identified themselves as law enforcement officers with the Georgia Department of Corrections. One of the officers told Now Habersham they were there as mutual aid for the city of Cornelia.
After the demonstration, Martinez and Long told Now Habersham that the event was “shutdown” by Cornelia police at 5 p.m. after participants were accused of jaywalking and continuing to rev their engines. She said protesters also were accused of “doing doughnuts,” but she said that hadn’t occurred.
Afterward, she added that her experience with the Cornelia Police Department was less supportive and “a little more negative” compared to the Gainesville Police Department at a recent rally there.
