CLARKSTON, Ga. — Hundreds gathered at the Clarkston Community Center on Sunday to discuss responses to recent ICE raids.
The event, organized by the People’s Congress, aimed to address the impact of escalating ICE raids. Attendees shared stories and strategies for mobilization in light of these developments.
“The immigration raids have been targeting our community,” event co-organizer Claudia Andrade told Channel 2’s Cory James.
“There’s been a lot of stories about injustice against the Black community, immigrant community, and the intersections in between,” said event co-organizer Karina Garcia. “We’re really trying to for a new system.”
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Josh McKoon, Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, stated, “For decades in this country under presidents of both parties, we failed to enforce our immigration laws. And by the way, that hurts working-class US citizens.”
Mildred Pierre, whose fiancé Rodney Taylor was detained by ICE, attended the gathering to advocate for his release. Taylor, a Gwinnett County barber and father, has been in custody for over eight months at the Stewart Detention Center.
Pierre explained that Taylor was detained for a burglary charge from 1997, despite having received a full unconditional pardon in 2010. “He has a pardon. How is getting - and it’s a full unconditional pardon, right?” she questioned. “And pardons are very rare in Georgia. Even more rare for undocumented individuals. So how is he being deported if he has a pardon?”
Taylor, a double amputee, moved to the United States from Liberia at the age of two for medical treatment. His detention has raised concerns about the treatment of pardoned individuals and the criteria for deportation.
McKoon emphasized the importance of enforcing immigration laws, stating that it creates opportunities and puts pressure on wages, which he claims Americans voted for during the election.
McKoon also noted, “The only way to get wages where they need to be is to enforce our immigration laws and to make sure everyone who is working is lawfully present.”
James reached out to ICE for a comment about Taylor, but did not hear back yet.
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