Thread: Group upset for not being consulted on criminal deportations

Hispanic group: We feel slighted

By SHELIA M. POOLE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 11/02/06

Some advocates for Cobb County's fast-growing Latino population are upset that county authorities did not consult them about a plan to let the sheriff speed up the deportation of certain illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.

Members of the Cobb Hispanic/Latino Initiative said they learned only from news reports that the county commissioners planned to vote on the deportation plan. The committee was created in 2004 by Sam Olens, chairman of the Cobb County Board of Commissioners, and Georgia Power Region Manager David Connell, who was then incoming chairman of the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce.

"It's like we don't count," said Patricia Henao, director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta's community outreach center in Cobb. "You guys ignored us. That's how I feel."

Zayra Alicia Fosse, state director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, also took issue with the commissioners during an initiative meeting Monday.

"To see us completely ignored ... this is mind-boggling," she said.

The county commissioners endorsed a plan Oct. 24 that would let the sheriff's department work more closely with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The plan would help sheriff's deputies identify illegal immigrants in the county jail who have committed crimes. Immigration authorities would deport an immigrant after a federal court authorizes the removal and after the immigrant completes his or her local sentence.

The immigration agency still must approve Cobb participation.

Olens defended the commissioners but said it would have been prudent to notify members of the Cobb Hispanic/Latino Initiative. He said the sheriff's office asked for the item to added to the agenda days before the meeting. "We saw this as a jail management issue and not a law enforcement issue," he said.

Jerry Gonzalez, a member of the Cobb Latino initiative and executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, said the controversy "has set us back tremendously." He also said participation in the federal program duplicates what will be required under a state law taking effect in July 2007.

The Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act prohibits illegal immigrants from receiving some taxpayer-funded services.

It also requires Georgia jails to work closely with federal immigration officials.

After Gov. Sonny Perdue signed the bill into law last year, six of 17 members of the statewide Latino Commission for a New Georgia resigned because, they said, the governor did not seek their opinion.

By George! I'm upset too. I'm upset because all those illegal aliens didn't ask me if they could cross my border.

Don't let the door hit ya, where the Lord split ya.

Dixie

After Gov. Sonny Perdue signed the bill into law last year, six of 17 members of the statewide Latino Commission for a New Georgia resigned because, they said, the governor did not seek their opinion.

Hmmm.......if the other 11 members of the commission are illegal immigrant supporters, perhaps it's time Gov. Perdue figured out a way to get them to resign too.

Dixie wrote:

By George! I'm upset too. I'm upset because all those illegal aliens didn't ask me if they could cross my border.

Boy ain't that the truth!

What is so wrong with trying to enforce our laws? This is getting ridiculous. I'm beyond words sometimes.

"It's like we don't count," said Patricia Henao, director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta's community outreach center in Cobb. "You guys ignored us. That's how I feel."

Whine!

Ahhhhhhh, you count but you are the minority and the majority rules. Get out of the country if you don't like Democracy and separation of Church and State.

Dixie

They don't count when enforcing the laws of this country and deporting illegal aliens that commit crimes in this country. The law is the law. Now they will probably file a lawsuit which is another waste of our taxpayers money.