The Mayor of Athens, Georgia addressed reporters and residents about the murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student on Wednesday. He did himself more harm than good.
The mayor didn’t dwell on the horrible murder of Laken or the crimes being committed by illegal aliens. No, Mayor Kelly Girtz arrogantly told his audience that his time in elected office has spanned four presidents, all of whom have not ‘fixed’ immigration. In other words, instead of talking about the local story, Girtz took his statement to the federal government’s inability to reform illegal immigration. It was very much like when a mass shooting happens and Democrats immediately go to gun control.
There are plenty of laws on the books already that President Biden and DHS Secretary Mayorkas choose to ignore. They have blood on their hands. There is no getting around that. The mayor doesn’t make a connection between crime and illegal aliens. That is a travesty. Every day we see more stories of the connection. How many more innocent Americans have to die before the border is secured?
According to Erick Erickson, a Georgia resident, in his Wednesday newsletter, he explained that in 2019 Athens-Clarke County went against statewide law to deem itself a sanctuary city. Their statement at the time was, “all people, including those without documentation, feel welcome and comfortable interacting with local law enforcement, their local government, and all service provided as such… Undocumented neighbors, especially those with Latinx heritage, face daily fears and threats from individuals and institutions such as ICE.” How woke of them to use the fake designation of ‘Latinx’ in their statement.
He went on to explain that the local D.A. will take into account “collateral consequences to undocumented defendants” before determining whether to press criminal charges. Unbelievable. Residents of the area are furious that an innocent college coed was murdered while jogging in broad daylight on a large college campus.
The mayor was met with hecklers as he delivered his statements. He tried to deliver a salute to local officials and how they handled the situation. The hecklers weren’t having it. Girtz spoke for about 20 minutes, mostly to counter public criticism of federal immigration policies and those at the local level.
And, yes there was a reference to Trump when the mayor mentioned a president who speaks badly about the foreign-born. This is a garbage mayor. Politics over public safety.
The demonstrators held up signs that read “Blood on your hands” and “Justice for Laken.” The mayor responded to interruptions by saying, “I was a high school teacher for 22 years, and I got better behavior out of them.” Yeah, this guy is so progressive that his brain has left his head. It looked to be a small venue and there were about a dozen demonstrators.
On Wednesday, Girtz outlined more than $500,000 in public safety investments, including a real-time crime center and surveillance technology. He denied that Athens is a sanctuary city. He said, “There’s been no legislation from this government that’s created a sanctuary city.” (Wink, wink.)
Georgia law prevents sanctuary cities and counties. Some, like Athens-Clarke County, limit coordination with immigration authorities. Local authorities say they check for criminal histories on detainees to hold those with an outstanding warrant but they don’t hold illegal aliens if they don’t have a criminal history. “We center our work here in Athens-Clarke County on people’s humanity,” Girtz said. “Part of everybody’s humanity is the expectation of human dignity.”
What about the ‘humanity’ of Laken Riley? What about her human dignity? What about the humanity of all the students on campus? Progressives in sanctuary cities prefer to put illegal aliens before legal residents.
There should be no federal funding going to any city or county that declares itself a sanctuary city or county. Period. Let Mayor Girtz look in a mirror and realize who is responsible for keeping the residents of Athens safe.
A Georgia House panel is advancing a bill that expands the current restrictions on cities and counties adopting sanctuary policies. No more giving illegal aliens safe harbor.
House Bill 1105 builds upon restrictions by “imposing penalties on sheriffs and jailers who do not cooperate with federal immigration agents when someone in custody is not a U.S. citizen.”
Cities like Athens-Clarke County limit coordination with federal authorities, even refusing to keep people in jail after completing their sentences to hold for authorities to deport them.
The bill was filed in January, by the way. It was already in the works long before Laken Riley was murdered. It shows that communities are concerned about public safety during the Biden border crisis. People deserve to be safe in the streets of their cities and when taking a jog in broad daylight on a college campus.