ATHENS — The Athens-Clarke County Commission late Tuesday unanimously approved investments in public safety amid a polarized response to nursing student Laken Riley’s slaying.
Two groups of demonstrators gathered outside City Hall before the meeting. Inside, residents sparred over immigration and crime during a public comment session that lasted roughly 90 minutes.
“Just walk outside and you can see the whole city is divided,” said Athens resident Charles Hardy.
Police arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra on Feb. 23, charging him with murder in Riley’s death after the student’s body was found on the University of Georgia’s campus with signs of blunt force trauma. Authorities say Ibarra, a Venezuelan, entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2022.
At the “Make Athens Safe Again” rally on the steps of City Hall, speakers, including Republican State Rep. Houston Gaines, criticized Mayor Kelly Girtz and District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez for allegedly being soft on crime and enforcement of immigration law. People in the group held signs that said “Deport All Illegals” and “Sanctuary Communities Kill.”
“We want our commissioners to be accountable,” said Laurie Camp, the retired Athens schoolteacher who organized the rally. “We want everybody in our community to be accountable.”
Gathered on the sidewalk across the street on College Avenue, the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement held a “unity vigil” that included members of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. People there held signs that said “Xenophobia Does Not Make Us Safer” and “Hate Won’t Heal.”
“There are people here who are using Laken Riley’s tragic murder to push racism, to push an anti-immigrant agenda,” said Trey Holloway, a UGA student.
Credit: Nell Carroll
Credit: Nell Carroll
Girtz and the 10-person commission agreed to expedite safety measures. Investments totaling at least $525,000 include completing a real-time crime center, increased and improved camera technology in areas high in traffic and crime areas, and the purchase of heavy-duty surveillance trailers and all-terrain vehicles.
A man interrupted the meeting shortly after the motion was passed.
“Kelly Girtz, you are going to resign,” he said loudly before police escorted him out.
Resident Athena Eisenman called for Girtz and commission members to be sanctioned and censured for engaging in a “sanctuary city of policies and practices” toward immigration.
Critics of Girtz, a progressive politician, point to a 2019 county resolution he signed in support of immigrants regardless of documentation status.
Girtz, mayor since 2018 with two years remaining in his final term, has said that there has been no legislation by the local government that’s created a sanctuary city.
Georgia law bans cities and counties from adopting a “sanctuary policy” that prevents or hinders authorities from enforcing immigration law, but cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement varies across jurisdictions. Athens-Clarke County checks the criminal history of people in custody and keeps people detained with outstanding warrants, but doesn’t jail immigrants who are in the country illegally if they have no other criminal history.
Athens-Clarke law enforcement gave Ibarra a citation for shoplifting last October but did not arrest him. Immigration lawyers said last week ICE likely would not have detained Ibarra last year if the county had notified the agency, citing the relatively minor nature of the earlier charge.
Murders in Athens-Clarke County, with a population of roughly 130,000, have been in the single digits every year since 2009. Before last week, UGA’s campus hadn’t seen a homicide since 1996.
Credit: Nell Carroll
Credit: Nell Carroll
Athens-Clarke County Board of Education member Tim Denson, a former county commissioner, backed heightened public safety measures at Tuesday night’s meeting.
But “blaming migrants and forcing them to live in the shadows will not make Athens safer,” he added. “Why are innocent undocumented Athenians being targeted for Laken’s death?”
Jessica Fore, a Democratic primary candidate for U.S. House of Representatives District 10, prioritized combatting violence against women.
“I’ve learned that violent, abusive men can often be identified prior to committing a homicide, not by their demographic characteristics or immigration status, but by their behavioral patterns,” she said.
At least 18 Athens residents spoke during the open comment session.
“It shouldn’t have to get to the point for somebody to die for us to open our eyes and see that this city needs help,” Hardy said.
