SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Homeland Security says they detained several people in South Fulton County on Monday who they said are in this country illegally.
Homeland security agents say they have the lawful authority to do this and have always been on the books.
They say agents just couldn’t do their jobs because they didn’t have support from government leaders.
“Today is just another day of immigration enforcement in the state of Georgia,” Homeland Security Special Agent Steve Schrank told Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes.
While a witness recorded video of what many are calling an ICE raid, Schrank said what police were doing on Cascade Road is called “enforcement action,” and it was going on all over metro Atlanta on Monday.
“There were many operations going on simultaneously throughout the Atlanta area and greater Georgia on any day. We have many teams that are out conducting these operations. They are happening seven days a week at a faster pace than I’ve ever seen before,” Schrank said.
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He said many of the operations start with a tip.
In the incident along Cascade, it was several tips that came into South Fulton police.
They said many people complained about loitering and harassment in the area, and while local police were ensuring community safety, they realized many of the people accused of harassment were undocumented.
Police arrested eight people. Schrank said anyone living in this country illegally, should expect more of this.
“The lawful authority to do this has been in place. However, under the prior administration, there were very strict rules and criteria for ICE to effect immigration arrests, and the priorities were very narrowly tailored. This president and this administration has mandated a very broad application of the laws that are on the books, and therefore many more people are being caught up and arrested and subsequently deported,” Schrank said.
Schrank told Fernandes that there’s also a focus on holding business owners accountable. If they get caught hiring undocumented workers, they could now face jail time.
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