The below was emailed to Mr. McAfee today and put in the U.S.P.S.
January 11, 2023
The Honorable Mr. Scott McAfee
Inspector General, Georgia
2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive SW,
1102 West Tower
Atlanta, GA 30334
Re:
A second addition to my September 6, 2022 complaint against Governor Brian Kemp.
Complaint confirmation # F345217D89. My first addition is here.
- Please add OCGA 36-80-23.
- My request that you forward this complaint to the Attorney General’s office.
“The Governor shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed and shall be the conservator of the peace throughout the state.” Section ll, Paragraph ll of the Georgia Constitution.
Mr. McAfee,
Please update my September complaint against Gov. Brian Kemp to include my allegation that he is in violation of his oath of office on enforcement of yet another state law, OCGA 36-80-23, known as Georgia’s “sanctuary city law.”
For clarity, I paste part of the law below:
36-80-23. Prohibition on immigration sanctuary policies by local governmental entities; certification of compliance.
“…(6) “Sanctuary policy” means any regulation, rule, policy, or practice adopted by a local governing body which prohibits or restricts local officials or employees from communicating or cooperating with federal officials or law enforcement officers with regard to reporting immigration status information while such local official or employee is acting within the scope of his or her official duties.
(b) No local governing body, whether acting through its governing body or by an initiative, referendum, or any other process, shall enact, adopt, implement, or enforce any sanctuary policy.
(c) Any local governing body that acts in violation of this Code section shall be subject to the withholding of state funding or state administered federal funding other than funds to provide services specified in subsection (d) of Code Section 50-36-1.
(d) As a condition of funding, the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Transportation, or any other state agency that provides funding to local governing bodies shall require certification pursuant to Code Section 50-36-4 as proof of compliance with this Code section.”
As you know, Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor has defiantly boasted to the national and Georgia media that his office will not share information on immigration status with federal immigration authorities (ICE).
I again respectfully remind you that according to quotes published in the media, including the Associated Press, Taylor’s exact words on this policy at his swearing-in event on January 1, 2021 were “one thing we will not be doing is notifying ICE of anybody’s immigration status in the jail of any of our facilities.”
I have spent many hours verifying that Sheriff Taylor has been allowed to fulfill his anti-enforcement pledge.
This public defiance of the state law Taylor (and Gov. Kemp) are charged with enforcing should be treated as Taylor’s confession to repeated and now two-year long violations of not only OCGA 36-80-23 but also OCGA 42-2-14.
My original complaint was centered around Gov. Kemp’s refusal to enforce the latter law, which, as you also know, requires jailers – including Sheriff Taylor – to use reasonable effort to determine immigration status of foreign-born prisoners and to report illegal aliens to the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security.
In addition, OCGA 36-80-23 requires certification of compliance from the “governing body” as a condition of funding from various state agencies.
(d) As a condition of funding, the Department of Community Affairs, the Department of Transportation, or any other state agency that provides funding to local governing bodies shall require certification pursuant to Code Section 50-36-4 as proof of compliance with this Code section.”
As you informed me last year in your response to my original complaints against Cobb Sheriff Craig Owens and (Gwinnett Co.) Sheriff Keybo Taylor, these sheriffs are employed by their respective counties. Those county governments are the “governing body” of each sheriff and the sheriffs are the “elected or appointed official” and certified peace officer” in the law cited in paragraph (5):
“(5) Local official or employee” means any elected or appointed official, supervisor or managerial employee, contractor, agent, or certified peace officer acting on behalf of or in conjunction with a local governing body.”
The law does not say “may” – it says “shall” be subject to withholding of state funding or state administered funding not stated in subsection (d) of another law that goes unenforced by Gov. Kemp.
“Any local governing body that acts in violation of this Code section shall be subject to the withholding of state funding or state administered federal funding other than funds to provide services specified in subsection (d) of Code Section 50-36-1.”
I charge that Sheriff Taylor is in violation of both OCGA 42-4-14 and OCGA 36-80-23. Gwinnett County government, operated by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners is in violation of OCGA 36-80-23 (while it is not the subject of this complaint, I believe Gwinnett County to be in violation of OCGA 50-36-1 as well).
Unless Gwinnett County government has made false statements of compliance on OCGA 36-80-23 making the state funding agencies believe the county complies, it would seem that all of the state agencies that have funded Gwinnet County since January 1, 2021 (Sheriff Taylor’s swearing in date) have done so illegally.
I limit this observation here to one county for space and time, but I can easily point to multiple additional governing bodies (including Cobb County) that are not in compliance with any of the laws mentioned here for the same reasons.
As the Chief executive, Gov. Kemp is responsible for the enforcement of all the laws mentioned above and for the public safety of all Georgians.
Please advise me if I must file a separate complaint with your office dedicated to the various state agencies involved with apparent funding violations outlined above – or if your investigators can and will use the information contained in this addition to my complaint against Gov. Kemp to examine my allegations regarding state agencies here.
Please forward my complaint to the Attorney General.
I have again read the mission statement and duties of your office:
“The State of Georgia Office of the Inspector General promotes transparency and accountability in state government. OIG diligently investigates fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption in the executive branch. We work to promote effective controls, improve agency policies and procedures, and identify opportunities for efficiency…”
I believe I have met the requirements for your office to investigate all concerned in this letter and have outlined a valid account that accounts for nearly all of the examples of illegal government actions in your “what we do” statement.
I will be grateful for a note that you have received this additional information and complaint. I will follow up on it.
Sincere congratulations on your appointment to the Judicial Branch.
Respectfully,
D.A. King
