The mayor of Athens, Ga., defended the city’s sanctuary policies in a newly released email he sent to the local sheriff two days after an illegal-immigrant allegedly murdered 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley.
Athens mayor Kelly Girtz told Clarke County sheriff John Williams that he endorses non-cooperation policies with detainers issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to emails obtained by Representative Mike Collins (R., Ga.) through the Georgia Open Records Act.
“While the community is experiencing deep trauma right now, and emotions are understandably raw, I support the detainer policy as one that is both humane and following the well-documented propensity of immigrants in the U.S. to be less criminally inclined than the native-born population,” Girtz wrote, citing recent Stanford University research that concluded immigrants are 60 percent less likely to be incarcerated than American-born citizens.
While Georgia law explicitly forbids sanctuary policies, some localities such as Athens have adopted a sanctuary-like status. The Athens city council unanimously passed a resolution in 2019 “to foster a community where individuals and families of all statuses feel safe,” so that “all people, including those without documentation, feel welcome and comfortable interacting with local law enforcement, their local government, and all services provided by such.”
In his email to Williams, Girtz also stressed that one should “focus on comfort and unity” and “avoid political messaging” in the wake of Riley’s death. The mayor responded after Williams asked whether Athens is legally considered a sanctuary city, as he was unfamiliar with its status.
“If the [Athens-Clarke County Unified Government] embraces being considered a sanctuary, then come out and say so. If not please clear this up,” the sheriff wrote. “If the ACCGOV will not address this, I will do everything in my power to protect the integrity and professionalism of the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office and myself.”
Under a policy instituted by Williams’s predecessor, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office refuses to detain illegal immigrants after they’ve been arrested at ICE’s request.
“The law requires us to notify ICE whenever we book someone either known or suspected to be a foreign national,” the Clarke County Sheriff’s office previously told National Review. “Our policy reflects that. ICE detainers are requests, not a court order or warrant. Holding a person based solely on an ICE detainer constitutes a warrantless arrest.”
Last month, Riley’s father blamed his daughter’s murder on Athens’s informal sanctuary-city status.
“My vision for every senator in this chamber is that you protect citizens from this illegal invasion,” he said in a speech to the Georgia senate, imploring Governor Brian Kemp (R.) to declare a state of invasion. “Please recognize over a million illegal aliens are in this state and making families nervous. Please recognize Athens-Clarke is a sanctuary city, and this policy and the lack of action led to the murder of my daughter.”
His plea was in direct contrast to Girtz’s public statements at a February 28 press conference, where he said criminal behavior and illegal immigration are “not connected.” His remarks sparked immediate backlash from the crowd he was addressing.
On February 22, Riley was allegedly murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022. Accused of brutally beating her and severely damaging her skull, Ibarra faces numerous murder and assault charges for killing Riley and leaving her body on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Ibarra had previously been arrested in New York City for endangering the welfare of a child and had been cited for shoplifting in Athens months before the murder.
National outrage quickly ensued following Riley’s death, prompting state and federal lawmakers to introduce legislation in order to prevent a similar tragedy.
The Georgia legislature recently passed an immigration-enforcement bill that would impose harsh penalties on municipalities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities on the detention, removal, and investigation of illegal aliens in the state; the legislation is awaiting the governor’s signature. The House also passed the Laken Riley Act, which would require ICE to detain illegal immigrants arrested for theft or burglary; the Senate must consider it before it heads to President Joe Biden’s desk.