Slated to come to the Georgia Center for an Athens Chamber of Commerce “pancakes and politics” event on Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp didn’t spend most of his time touting his economic successes as in years past. Instead, he focused on the Biden administration’s “failed immigration policies” and its absence of effort to “secure the Southern border,” effectively blaming the president for last Thursday’s death of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on the UGA campus.
An undocumented Venezuelan native, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, has been charged with Riley’s murder. He was living in a South Milledge Avenue apartment complex within easy walking distance of Oconee Forest, where police discovered Riley’s body. Both the governor and his wife Marty have been in touch with Riley’s family in Woodstock, Kemp told the crowd.
“This community, all of Georgia, and the entire country have been robbed by this inexcusable and avoidable murder,” Kemp said. “Laken’s life should not have ended so soon. We need to demand justice for what happened to her. She deserves justice, her family deserves justice, and we need justice on a national level to prevent this type of thing from happening again.”
Kemp said 8.5 million people have crossed into the U.S. at the southern border since Biden took office in 2020, many of them criminals and people carrying fentanyl. He has allocated more resources for public safety, he told the breakfast crowd, and has pledged to send Georgia National Guard troops to Texas, where they will help build a command post on the Mexican border.
After excoriating Biden, the governor pivoted to other topics. Since he has been in office, he said, the state has seen the creation of 174,000 new jobs and the exportation of goods and services worth $49.7 billion. Transportation projects have received $1.5 billion. He said he’s proposing tax reduction measures that will return $3 billion to Georgia taxpayers over the next ten years.
“None of these measures matter if we can’t keep our communities safe,” Kemp said.
After his talk, Kemp was asked by a reporter whether he has confidence in the ability of District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez “to bring this case, this suspect, to justice.” He replied, “Well, she best do that.”
Republican State Rep. Houston Gaines said he has “real concern” about Gonzalez’s ability to handle the case since she hasn’t yet won a trial case. He also described a bill he’s sponsoring that would allow property owners to have their taxes refunded if cities or counties refuse to communicate with ICE or if sheriffs refuse to check the legal status of immigrants.
“It forces local governments to do what they should do,” he said.
Monday night, Gonzalez announced that she is forming a task force headed by an outside prosecutor to “bring justice on behalf of Laken Riley.”
Gaines also blasted the Athens-Clarke County Commission for passing a 2019 resolution that, he said, “welcomes unlawful citizens.” The resolution affirms the local government’s support for Latinx citizens and undocumented Athens residents and decries white supremacy. But it did not declare that Athens is a sanctuary city, as many Republicans have said.
John Culpepper, perhaps the most conservative member of the county commission, released a statement on Tuesday flatly denying that Athens is a sanctuary city.
Regarding recent discussions, it’s imperative to clarify that Athens-Clarke County is not a Sanctuary City. While I cannot speak to previous Commissions, I do not uphold or support Sanctuary City policies. The laws of Georgia concerning Sanctuary Cities, specifically Section 36-80-23 of the Official Code of Georgia, clearly state that no local governing body is permitted to enact, adopt, or enforce any sanctuary policy. Such policies include any regulations or practices that inhibit communication or cooperation with federal officials or law enforcement regarding immigration status information. Non-compliance with this law can result in the withholding of state funding. I will note that I do not have discretion over the Sheriff or District Attorney’s offices—but I recognize the importance of total compliance with the law. If we have those in our community who are here illegally and they have committed crimes, they need to be prosecuted and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We have many challenges we are working to address every single day, including homelessness and other issues. As a result, I do not want or encourage individuals who are in the country illegally to migrate to Athens — our resources must be focused elsewhere.
Culpepper expressed his support for law enforcement and noted that most types of crimes, including violent crimes, in Athens were down last year.
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