Atlanta-area police haven't trained to enforce new anti-illegal immigration law

By Jeremy Redmon and Craig Schneider

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Many major Atlanta area police departments have not started training officers to enforce Georgia’s tough new anti-illegal immigration law, which is supposed to take effect July 1.

Among them are the DeKalb and Fulton county police departments and the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, as well as the state police. Cherokee County will start training Wednesday; the Atlanta Police Department refused to discuss the question.

Part of the problem is uncertainty over the fate of the law, which is being challenged in federal court. Some law enforcement agencies say they won’t train their officers until after the judge rules on whether it can take effect. Meanwhile, some local police call the law vague and various agencies are divided on the powers it would give them.

The prospect of uneven enforcement was on the judge's mind Monday as he questioned lawyers for the state and the groups that are challenging the law. U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Thrash said local authorities might pick and choose whom to target for investigation, favoring some people and not others.

Thrash said he will rule by July 1 on whether the law should be put on hold.

In an interview with Channel 2 Action News Tuesday, Republican Gov. Nathan Deal dismissed concerns about uniform enforcement. “I can't think of a single law that probably doesn't get enforced in a different fashion from one jurisdiction to the other, whether it be speeding laws, whether it be any other kind of law that is mandated from the state level,â€