25 signatures reached
To: Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor; Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners; Gwinnett County Board of Education
Gwinnett: Stop Cooperating with ICE
To Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor:
We, the undersigned, join to demand Sheriff Keybo Taylor and the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) to cease cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), except where absolutely and clearly required by existing law. The fear and heartbreak in our communities caused by such practices cannot be ignored, and are manifested, among many places, in the severe drop in enrollment in Gwinnett County Public Schools. The brutality of ICE in Minneapolis, most tragically manifested in the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, has only further exacerbated these fears – as well as highlighted the life-and-death need for change.
Thus, we demand that you:
- refrain from signing, any 287(g) agreement and refuse to enter into any similar agreement – none of which is required by state law;
- refuse to respond to requests by ICE for assistance for any operation – which are not required by law – including refusing to assist with any ICE administrative/non-judicial warrants or subpoenas;
- refuse to request assistance from ICE and/or “deputize” them to act under cover of state law;
- comply with mandatory requirements of O.C.G.A. § 17-5-100, regarding investigation of immigration status during any criminal investigation, without contacting ICE or DHS, detaining a person suspected of unlawful status, or transporting such a suspected person to a federal or state detention facility – none of which our state law requires;
- comply with only the minimum requirements of O.C.G.A. § 42-4-14, regarding verification of lawful admission of persons confined in a jail facility, by:
- contacting the Law Enforcement Support Center only if required (and, in any given such case, is once and only once: if a person “fails to produce a document required by this subsection, or verification of the authenticity of any such document is necessary”);
- limiting HB 1105-required ICE detainer requests to 48 hours upon receipt of such a request; and
- refusing to detain, arrest, or transport a jailed person to a detention facility, despite verification that any such person is does not have lawful status – none of which, again, is actually required by state law;
- remove face coverings when conducting any mandated immigration actions;
- avoid conducting any immigration-related enforcement actions at or near “sensitive spaces,” including, but not limited to schools, school bus stops, healthcare facilities, places of worship, or public gatherings;
- commit to upholding the First, Second and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution if engaging in mandatory cooperation with ICE during targeted enforcement; and
- be accountable to the community sworn to protect by reporting transparently the facts after immigration enforcement actions via public statement, announcement and/or press conference with interpreters in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, and other languages as appropriate.
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To the Gwinnett County Commissioners:
To the Gwinnett County Commissioners:
We demand that you scrutinize the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office to ensure that Gwinnett County government does not provide county funding for GCSO, unless and until it takes each of the above-mentioned actions.
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To the Gwinnett County Board of Education:
We demand that you refrain from cooperation with, or providing any information to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office, except that which is required by law, unless and until it takes the above-mentioned actions.
Respectfully,
Prepared by Marvin Lim
Respectfully,
Prepared by Marvin Lim
Why is this important?
Georgia is fourth highest in the nation for ICE arrests - and it is in no small part because of state and local law enforcement cooperation with ICE/DHS.
How it will be delivered
via e-mail and in-person