Immigrant advocates visit Georgia Capitol amid controversies over ICE
Hundreds of Latino Georgia residents and advocates will converge on the state Capitol on Thursday to speak with lawmakers about the needs and priorities of Latino communities statewide.
Taking place for the fourth straight year, Latino Day at the Capitol in 2026 comes amid a national reckoning on immigration enforcement after the deaths of two U.S. citizens and aggressive law enforcement tactics at the hands of federal immigration agents in Minnesota.
In the wake of those violent events last month, scores of protests sprung up across the United States — including Georgia — calling for reform to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency at the helm of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
“I think this year, more than ever, it is important for us to have Latinos represented at the Capitol and advocating with their lawmakers for things that are important to our community and protecting our community, as well,” said Jean-Luc Rivera, deputy executive director of the Atlanta-based Latino Community Fund Georgia, which is hosting Thursday’s event alongside GALEO, an organization that aims to increase civic participation among Georgia Latinos.
With a dozen of additional Latino and immigrant-serving nonprofits from across the state, LCF Georgia and GALEO — formerly known as the Georgia Association of Elected Officials — will also mobilize more than 200 community members to engage with elected officials.
According to Rivera, they will voice support for House Bill 437, a bipartisan bill that would require local school systems to better engage with parents who do not speak English, including by making interpreters available for meetings between school representatives and parents regarding their children.
“Every child deserves to have a good education, and in order for that to happen, they do need their parents supporting them, and language barriers are tough,” Rivera said. “We want to make sure that all families have the tools they need to have successful education for their child.”
Latino Day participants will also urge lawmakers to block Senate Bill 116, which would require DNA collection of anyone in a detention facility charged with a felony or misdemeanor, and who is subject to an immigration detainer notice by ICE. Under current Georgia law, a DNA test is administered only to those convicted of a felony, as opposed to those just being charged.
Given the scale of the backlash to Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump after the violence in Minnesota, Rivera said he hopes for a greater willingness to engage from lawmakers than they have experienced in years past.
“I’m hoping that we’ll see more support this year from both sides of the aisle,” he said. “I would love for our lawmakers to just really have more of an open ear when it comes to listening to their Latino and immigrant constituents.”
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