Recently Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a new immigration law(HB1105). This new law Georgia HB1105, which requires that sheriff’s offices collaborate with federal officials to identify individuals in custody who could be unlawfully in the country, or they risk losing funding. Kemp states that this legislation started being prioritized because of the tragic death of Laken Riley. Laken Riley was a 22 year old nursing student who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant who had previously been arrested but was released. Kemp argued this would not be able to happen and public safety would be a lot better if this kind of law was in place.
This law has faced a lot of criticism from opponents who argue that it would damage relationships between law enforcement and immigrant communities, especially Lations. They believe this kind of law will foster distrust. These critics, including Jerry Gonzales of the LAtino advocacy group GALEO, stated that community policing relies on the trust and cooperation of the community, which this law will undermine. They also point to similar past instances where local enforcement of immigrant law led to negative outcomes.
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