Ga. Latino activist says immigration arrests are meant to ‘terrorize’
ATLANTA, Ga. - The immigration raids taking place in Georgia and across the country are meant to intimidate, a Latino advocacy organizer says.
The arrests in our region seem to have started over the weekend but continued into the week.
“We’ve heard that there are some operations still happening today,” said Jerry Gonzalez, who did not elaborate on the arrests for fear of exposing others at risk, only saying the arrests were outside of metro Atlanta.
“There’s a lot of concern and anxiety in our community,” Gonzalez said.
He said part of the intent of the Trump istration, “is to, unfortunately, spread fear and terrorize our community.”
On Tuesday evening, the White House posted on social media the names of two people arrested during the series of raids over the past few days.
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The post said Fernando Hernandez Martinez, from Mexico, was arrested in Atlanta on Jan. 27. He was convicted of two counts of child molestation and sentenced to five years confinement, according to a post on X by the White House.
In addition, two of crime organization Tren de Aragua were arrested Monday in Atlanta by ICE agents, according to social media posts by the White House. The two, from Venezuela, were referred to Enforcement and Removal Operations for deportation proceedings, according to the social media post.
Gonzalez, CEO of Galeo Impact Fund, said he’s aware of arrestees who did not have a criminal history.
“The istration cannot be trusted to tell us the truth,” he said on Tuesday. “They have lied into what they’re doing right now. Being in the country is not a criminal violation. It is a civil violation – and there is a distinction in front of the law.”
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At the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stood by the ICE arrests and said they’re in accordance with the agenda of the Trump istration.
“I know the last istration didn’t see it that way, so it’s a big culture shift in our nation to view someone who breaks our immigration laws as a criminal, but that’s exactly what they are,” she said during Tuesday’s press briefing.
“The DEA, along with our Department of Justice partners, is assisting DHS and other federal law enforcement partners with their immigration enforcement efforts,” said Jae W. Chung, the acting special agent in charge of the DEA Atlanta Division. “As we have seen in many cases, Mexican drug cartels use illegal immigrants to run day-to-day operations within the borders of the U.S., where dangerous drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl are processed and distributed with tragic consequences.”
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Gonzalez appealed to local leaders to deny future assistance with ICE arrest efforts.
“Employers, elected officials, public safety officials can all take steps to protect our communities from this type of Draconian, fear-based mongering istration that we have right now,” said Gonzalez.
DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha Ramos told Atlanta News First on Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security has not reached out for DeKalb County’s assistance in any ICE arrests. She said her department will cooperate as the law instructs – just like she would for any federal law enforcement initiative.
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