Athens is not a sanctuary and many people disagree with this statement.

Athens is not a sanctuary but.

Many people disagree with this statement.

Athens appears on national lists of sanctuary cities. However, the Georgia government has passed legislation against sanctuary cities since 2011, so why is Athens still considered a sanctuary city even though it is illegal?

The reality is that, accusing Athens of being a sanctuary city, is a political tool to use Athens as a scapegoat, to blame Athens for all the evils that the state government is unable to solve. Athens suffers the same fate as undocumented immigrants, Athens is accused of being a sanctuary even without having a single sanctuary policy.

Athens is considered a paradise for immigrants even though it has NEVER stopped cooperating with the federal government to deport immigrants. Athens reviews the immigration status of each immigrant who enters the jail, reports it to the feds and cooperates with them to turn them over to immigration authorities. So why is Athens still on the list of sanctuary cities?

The argument is that on April 14, 2018, the Athens Sheriff reversed a policy of honoring ICE warrants. This policy was not revoked by the will of the Athens government, but by pressure from the community and because it was unconstitutional.

At that time, different groups and individuals tried to persuade the sheriff to reverse his cooperation with ICE, the Sheriff refused to back down and the groups prepared to file a lawsuit against the sheriff's office (the Athens government) for violating the constitution by detaining people for more than 48 hours. However, the sheriff did not change his policy.

The sheriff continued to honor ICE detainers. These documents are not legal arrest warrants, since they have not been signed by a judge. These are issued by the same officers who have not done an investigation and do not have the necessary evidence to put a person in deportation proceedings, but it is easier for them to make an administrative order and collect the evidence later. This has damaged the immigration process of hundreds of people and has even resulted in the deportation of American citizens. Of course, the government doesn't care.

The state of GA has created different laws prohibiting and penalizing sanctuary cities or policies in the State of Georgia. HB 1083: Anti-Sanctuary Bill, GA SB494, GA HB-87, GA SB-1105, just to name a few laws that penalize and prohibit sanctuary cities.

So why do estate representatives accuse Athens of being a sanctuary? Are none of these laws useful? Have GA legislators in the last decade created anti-sanctuary laws that DO NOT work? The most scandalous thing is that the same representatives of Athens accuse Athens of being a sanctuary.

Currently, some of the Athens council members, are close to a GA house rep. Huston Gaines, who has accused Athens of being a sanctuary because of a 2019 resolution, in which the Athens government recognizes the economic contribution of immigrants and condemns white supremacy.

By going against this resolution, Huston Gaines acknowledges his sympathy and tolerance for supremacist groups. Those who operate in the state recruiting people for the KKK and other hate groups. Gaines in his dirty game, used Laken Rally's death to distract attention from the real problem, which is gender violence in UGA and throughout the country. Instead of attacking gender violence, Gaines accuses all immigrants of violence against women.

The GA government passed a law in memory of Laken Riley that is helping to deport hundreds of migrant workers, men, women and children. However, a year after the death of Laken Riley and the entire legislative power in GA, violence against women has not decreased.

There is another group of people who seek to protect migrant families in Athens.

In the county, there are people who fight for human rights and they are the ones who are making Athens a sanctuary for immigrants. These groups know that immigrants are persecuted by the government and they know that politicians accuse migrants of everything, like lack of employment in the state (they take our jobs), low wages, violence against women, drug trafficking, human trafficking and even eating the pets of American citizens.

However, after decades of anti-immigrant laws, these problems are still there, low wages and unemployment, in addition to fictitious problems such as eating pets. These fictitious and real problems are still present in the minds of many Georgians, who direct their anger and hate to migrant workers, immigrants who harvest the fields and repair roofs under extreme weather conditions.

This past Saturday somewhere in Athens, more than 30 American citizens gathered to take a training in which they learned how to document and how to denounce violations of immigrant rights. In that workshop they learned their rights in solidarity with migrant families. They are laying the foundations to reduce the negative impact on migrant families and to document and, if possible, prevent the violation of the rights of immigrants residing in Athens and its surroundings.

In true sanctuary cities, such as Los Angeles and Chicago, it is the government that is imparting information about the rights of immigrants. While in Athens, it is churches, human rights groups and the community in general that are preparing to face the deportation apparatus of the new administration, an administration led by oligarchs.

Athens is not a sanctuary

But it is a good scapegoat