Demonstrators in Tifton have signs that emphasize the importance of immigrants in the community. Photo with the kind permission of Robert Caldwell Sr.
Albany President Donald Trump campaigned for aggressive immigration policy promises and in the first month of his second term, proved to be loyal to his word in order to operate immigration and the border between the USA and Mexico.
In his first week of office, Trump signed 10 executive orders for immigration and issued various edicts to make promises of mass shifts. After this first week, stories about deportations and immigration and customs authorities (ICE) appear in municipalities in the USA
South Georgia was not immune to these political changes. Immigration prisons such as the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin and the Folkston Ice Processing Center in Folkston report on increased bookings, since ice apparently pursues “everyone and everyone”, said Paul Alvarado, a immigration lawyer based in Valdosta.
The Folkston Ice Processing Center is located in Folkston, in which an influx of bookings was recently brought in. Photo with the kind permission of Paul Alvarado.
Alvarado serves customers from Leesburg to Brunswick and has been working in immigration law for 29 years. On Tuesday, he visited a client in the Folkston Detention Center, which was recorded by men in marked Drug Enforcement Administration Jackets, only a few blocks from home when he went to work.
The client has been illegal in Georgia with his wife and child since 2018. He was a construction worker without a criminal background.
“The Department of Homeland Security said they would pursue criminals first, but we both see,” said Alvarado. “We see an increase in arrests and parades for people who don't even have a criminal record.”
However, Alvarado said that this increase in immigration cases on his desk is not unlike as he was seen under the Obama government, which deported more than 3 million people. Nevertheless, he said that the immigration judges are flooded with a deficit of cases and acceleration processes, a situation that was not supported by the Ministry of Justice by the dismissal of at least 20 immigration judges.
No ice services were reported in the counties of South West Georgia, although a false alarm in Grady County had the feeling of feeling restless, and prompted the school district of Grady County to publish an explanation that exposes reports on ice presence on the school premises.
Several hundred peaceful demonstrators gathered in Tifton to observe “a day without immigrants”, which reduced awareness of how this immigration affects local families. They stated that “immigrants make America great” and “looking for asylum is not a crime” while she waved with the Mexican flag. Tifton is a large agricultural community in which every harvesting time sees a large population of temporary migrant farm workers. It is also the annual “La Fiesta del Pueblo Tifton” to celebrate to celebrate Hispanic culture.
Jean-Luc Rivera, the deputy managing director of the Latino Community Fund in Georgia, which supports Latino communities throughout the state, said ice attacks could be exposed.
ICE had long -term guidelines that prevented it from operating on “sensitive places” such as schools, churches or hospitals, but Trump raised these guidelines.
“I think it gave the immigrant community fear of having access to care,” said Rivera.
Rivera said that the LCF was also concerned with combating harmful stories that have been on the advance since the approach of immigration. He said he fears that the passing of the Riley Act, according to which the DHS have to capture certain non-State members, who were arrested due to burglary, theft, theft or shop theft, will create a way to profile the breed.
“Painting the picture that every immigrant is a criminal or a criminal is unfair and really humiliates the community as a whole,” said Rivera. “Immigrants are essential for the structure of our nation. They offer so much culture, so much beauty, so much joy. “
Rivera also emphasized that immigrants are of crucial importance for the agricultural economy of South Georgia. Cesar Escalante, an agricultural and applied economic professor of the University of Georgia, said that one of Trump's arguments for stricter immigration policy is the creation of other jobs for Americans, but was already observed as a large number of undocumented workers during the recession in 2008 was removed, and it was removed when a large number of undocumented workers were removed, and was already Observed in 2008. The American citizens were unlikely that they would accept unskilled jobs in the farm.
Escalante said that this was due to hard conditions, low payment and the commitment to health risks without benefits such as health insurance.
“The only reason why the workers in the agricultural sector carried without papers were that they were desperate,” he said.
The USDA reports that around 40% of the hired farm workers in the USA are undocumented. Escalante said he expects this number to go back with Trump's illegal immigrant.
According to Escalante, Georgia's farms are dependent on contractually contractual provisional migrant workers as part of the H2A visa program. He said Georgia was consistently one of the five best countries for the program, depending on H-2A workers for 60% of agricultural jobs.
As part of the bidges administration, the focus was on the rights of the employees and the guarantee of a fair content. A report from the escalant examination showed that the hourly wage rates at state level 2023 and 2024 recorded annual steps of an average of 7.49% or 5.26%. The average rate of 2022 of $ 15.03 rose to $ 16.13 in 2023. In 2024, the price continued to rose to $ 16.98.
Escalante said that these wage jumps happened too quickly and that the farmers who had complained about strong costs for these urgently needed workers.
“If an administration wants to prioritize the protection of employee rights, it should probably also introduce some additional programs to help the other side to help the business side,” said Escalante.
Trump frozen this wages during his presidency and said Escalante
“Trump is a businessman,” said Escalante. “I have the feeling that he will listen to the business world.”
He hopes that the Trump government can increase an equilibrium-more difficult H-2A work work to ensure that agriculture survives and at the same time provide livable wages and secure conditions for employees.
He said he had some concerns about the security of H-2A workers as part of a new administration. The renewal of H2A visa and contracts can carry out a challenge or work to put the H2A workers under pressure, to exceed their visa to make money. Escalante said these workers who exceed their reception will be at risk with stricter ice -sweeps.
While the legislation, which H2A provides available in order to gain citizenship or to have easier renewal processes, was presented in DC, but it is always failed to exist. Escalante said he was not optimistic about the creation of these paths under the Trump government.
There are also concerns about monitoring the H2A living conditions. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for the examination of employers to ensure that apartments and other services meet the standards, but it is understaffed, and Escalante said it only monitors a small number of cases. In the past month, the newly founded Department of Government Efficiency has reduced thousands of the Federal Government's jobs.
At this point, Alvarado asked those with questions about their immigration status to apply for legal assistance from a certified immigration lawyer. He said that there was an increase in fraudulent immigration services that steal people's money.
He recommends that all of his customers with green cards, petitions, constant residence cards or another naturalization route submit to naturalization in order to become US citizens.
