Homeland Security agent discusses Ga. immigration busts
ATLANTA, Ga. - Thousands of undocumented immigrants have been detained in Georgia since January as immigration enforcement efforts continue, according to Homeland Security Investigations Atlanta.
“We are just scratching the surface. The reality is, we have millions of individuals that are undocumented and unlawfully in the United States,” HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Steven Schrank said.
According to Schrank, his agency uses various operations to detain people who are in the country illegally. Those operations include agents going to work sites with unlawfully employed undocumented immigrants or through consensual encounters, where agents may go to a business or neighborhood.
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“That could be a situation like a Walmart or a Home Depot or a workplace or a park where it is known specific individuals may be present,” Schrank said.
On Monday, News 12′s sister station Atlanta News First witnessed such an operation near a business in Riverdale, where various agencies were seen taking people into custody.
Georgia State Rep. Eric Bell on Tuesday issued a statement on the ICE activity in Riverdale, claiming agents provided no identification or explanation before detaining someone. Bell is now calling for their release and an investigation into the operation.
In response, Schrank said those types of operations are the tools agents may use.
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“ICE personnel, HSI personnel, FBI, DEA are very often marked with identification. With uniforms, with vests that say who they are,” Schrank said. “But there may be situations where it’s least disruptive for folks to identify themselves quietly.”
Just in the last month, Schrank said his violent gang unit made several arrests, including some accused of murder. But it’s not just the violent individuals that agents are targeting, instead it is anyone who broke the law coming into the country.
“It is our mandate to enforce the immigration laws as they fit on the books,” he said.
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