Shortly after taking office in 2021, Democrat Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens invited a mariachi band to celebrate his announcement to end the lifesaving 287(g) agreement with federal immigration authorities – and then he danced. The invited crowd of newly empowered, anti-enforcement activists funded by corporate Georgia went wild with gratitude.
At his swearing-in event in Gwinnett County, Keybo Taylor, the newly elected Democrat sheriff, stood before a large audience – including media – and boasted that he too had ended the jail’s 287 (g) agreement with ICE. He went further by announcing “what we will not be doing is notifying ICE of anybody’s immigration status in the jail or any of our facilities.” To make his professional position on the inherent dangers of “criminal illegals” set free on our streets crystal clear, Taylor added “we will not keep anyone in jail under an ICE detainer.”
As Rep Jesse Petrea pointed out in his recent column announcing his pro-enforcement bill HB 1105 (“The Criminal Alien Track and Report Act”) the definition of “sanctuary” policies in state law OCGA 36-80-23. “…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.”
Many thanks from here to Rep. Petrea for his tenacity and courage in filing his legislation. While illegal immigration is fittingly the number-one issue in the nation, the same is not true in Georgia’s “Number One for Business” politics. Broaching the issue with a Peach State focus under the Gold Dome does not result in long or welcomed conversations. Petrea is a genuine leader.
That Gwinnett Sheriff Keybo Taylor is in violation of state law he is sworn to enforce by declaring an illegal sanctuary policy is not in question for reasonable observers. But he is not alone among Georgia jailers in flouting the law designed to protect Georgians from the criminal illegals who are murdering, raping and molesting innocent Georgians – including our children.
This writer has spent considerable time over the last several years talking to law enforcement officials and collecting responses to open records requests that show many Georgia jailers do not obey the laws against sanctuary. Complaints filed with various officials and agencies in an effort to force compliance – or at least coverage in “the news” – went nowhere.
Taylor and the many other jailers who are ignoring Georgia’s two laws against sanctuary policies have escaped the media attention that naive and trusting voters would expect for sheriffs in open and public defiance of existing state law. The reason for the news suppression is not a mystery. Most of the media is not on the side of immigration enforcement. But imagine the howling headlines if a state agency were in violation of any law that benefits illegal aliens.
It is sadly accurate to say that much of Georgia is a sanctuary state.
This brings us to Gov. Brian Kemp. As noted by the liberal AJC at the time, Kemp’s first TV ad in the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary cited Americans who had been killed by illegal aliens and portrayed him as “tough on illegal immigration.” The widespread belief then was that he meant tough on illegal immigration in Georgia.
“As governor, conservative businessman Brian Kemp will create a comprehensive database to track criminal aliens in Georgia. He will also update Georgia law to streamline deportations from our jails and prisons” went the detailed promises Kemp made on his 2018 campaign website.
“Donald Trump was right. We must secure the border and end sanctuary cities” said candidate Kemp (video) in 2018. But Kemp has ignored illegal immigration in Georgia.
Sending National Guard to the border has not resulted in sheriffs like Keybo Taylor ending their illegal sanctuary policies. “Standing with” Texas Gov Abbott in an on-the-border Fox News camera shot will not help final passage of Rep. Petrea’s enforcement bill in Georgia.
If Kemp is ever going to finally speak up on enforcing Georgia’s laws on illegal immigration – especially laws prohibiting sanctuary policies – Petrea’s measure provides an ideal opportunity.
Section ll, Paragraph ll of the Georgia Constitution says: “The Governor shall take care that the laws are faithfully executed and shall be the conservator of the peace throughout the state.” If Brian Kemp continues to ignore illegal immigration and sanctuary jails in at home, we should ask exactly how he is better on the dangerous crisis in Georgia than Joe Biden is nationally.
- A version of this essay was posted in the subscription news and opinion outlet James Magazine Online, Feb. 15, 2024.
