Georgia's immigrant communities are preparing for mass deportations in the new Trump term

Georgia immigrant families face mass deportations

Immigrant families across Georgia are preparing for mass deportations, but what might that look like here in metro Atlanta?

Immigrant families across Georgia are having difficult conversations around the table this holiday season and preparing for the possibility of mass deportations when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

The president-elect has vowed to implement what he calls “the largest deportation program in American history” and has talked about using the military to do it.

Members of Atlanta's Hispanic community recently gathered in Brookhaven for a town hall meeting to discuss the potential impact of these policies and what the coming weeks and months might look like.

“We have begun preparing the community for what could happen,” said Santiago Marquez, CEO of the Buford-based Latin American Association (LAA). “For mixed-status families we spoke to, there is fear and concern.”

This year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported that 4,500 people in the Atlanta area who were in the country illegally were deported.

The debate over immigration enforcement intensified following the murder of nursing student Laken Riley in Athens by Venezuelan citizen Jose Ibarra.

This sparked calls among Republicans for a crackdown on immigration.

President-elect Trump has promised to send troops into communities across the country to help carry out deportations.

Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory Law, explained the legal framework that could be used to facilitate such measures.

“The president has broad powers under a law called the Insurrection Act,” Nevitt said. “He would have to declare an uprising, which is probably not the case in this particular case. There is no kind of open insurrection against the president.”

He warned that this could affect civil-military relations, endanger civil liberties and endanger lives.

There are also concerns about the psychological and emotional toll these measures could have on immigrant communities.

“I think that would be frightening for a lot of people. It could remind them of the country they fled from,” he said.

Marquez advises people who may be affected to learn their legal rights and create a contingency plan while they wait for more details on the president-elect's policies. The LAA offers further information on its website.

The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta reporter Rob DiRienzo quoted statements from President-elect Donald Trump and spoke with Latin American Association CEO and Emory Law Associate Professor Mark Nevitt to obtain the information provided in this article.

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