Republican President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans are inciting fear among immigrants throughout Georgia who are concerned about members of their communities being separated from friends, family members and coworkers.
Since the president was sworn in on Jan. 20, raids led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are on the rise, with more than 7,300 arrests so far across the nation. Trump issued a series of immigration orders since he took office for his second term in support of his campaign promises of mass deportation and a substantial increase in border patrol security. He quickly signed the Laken Riley Act legislation, named for a Georgia nursing student slain on the University of Georgia campus by a Venezuelan national who immigration authorities say entered the country illegally.
Separate Latino Day celebrations took place at the state Capitol this week, with Georgia political factions voicing differing stances on Trump’s controversial deportation plans. The issue of immigration policy continues to simmer in the Georgia Legislature, with several immigration-related bills filed since the session started in mid-January.
Daniela Rodriguez, executive director of Migrant Equity Southeast, spoke about the challenges faced by Latino communities, including fear of ICE raids and other immigration crackdowns she says are unfair. She was one of the guest speakers at Wednesday’s third annual Latino Day event at the state Capitol organized by the Latino Community Fund Georgia, the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials and 14 local organizations.
“These past few days have been tough and heavy. Even with all the preparation, the fear and worry in our immigrant communities feels very real,” Rodriguez said. “Mothers are scared of being separated from their children, families are living in fear of ICE raids and unfair policies. This isn’t just upsetting. This is wrong. No one should have to live in fear.”
Rodriguez praised the resilience of Latinos in America in defending their rights. She urged a united front in the fight against sanctuary city laws and other policies discriminating against Latinos.
“This isn’t the first time they’re coming to attack us, and just like we’ve done it before, we will stand up and we will fight back,” Rodriguez said. “Hope isn’t just a feeling. Hope is a call to action. And I will continue to have hope, hope that this reality won’t define our future. Hope that together, we will rise above these challenges.”
A day earlier, Loganville Republican Rep. Rey Martinez hosted a press conference for Latino Day featuring speakers from conservative organizations like Libre Initiative.
He said he has compassion for Latinos who are scared of being removed from their communities, but the Trump administration is going after criminals, whether they’re violent gang members or immigrants lacking permanent legal status.
Georgia state Rep. Rey Martinez, a Loganville Republican, speaks with media during Latino Day at the state Capitol on Feb. 4, 2025. Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder
“They want to get rid of the bad apples first,” Martinez said. “They want to get rid of, first, people who are here illegally, because obviously they broke the law.”
There are reports that immigrants without permanent legal status are being detained in metro Atlanta, leaving some people, even legal immigrants, confused.
Jefferson Dominguez, a board member with the Hispanic Construction Association, said he supported Trump’s immigration plan, but was concerned about the large number of his employees afraid of coming to work despite being legally in the country.
Jefferson Dominguez, a member of the Hispanic Construction Association, speaks at Latino Day at the state Capitol on Feb. 4, 2025. Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder
“Whoever is working here with respect, paying taxes, and to do great things for this country should stay,” Dominguez said Tuesday inside the Capitol. “We just want to get out the bad people that came here to do bad things. We don’t want the bad people.”
In Georgia, Republican lawmakers are pushing legislation that would stiffen penalties for local government officials and employees who do not report immigrants without permanent legal status to federal authorities.
A state Senate committee hearing was held Wednesday for Senate Bill 21, which would allow for local government officials and employees in so-called sanctuary cities to be held criminally and civilly liable for crimes committed by immigrants without permanent legal status. The bill advanced out of committee and is now eligible for a vote by the full Senate.
In 2024, Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation requiring law enforcement to notify federal authorities when undocumented immigrants are arrested in Georgia. Under the state’s new immigration law, local governments are subject to losing state funding and police and local officials may face misdemeanor charges for failing to enforce federal immigration laws.
It is not just immigrants without permanent legal status who are targeted by Trump’s orders. The Trump administration terminated humanitarian protections that allowed thousands of Venezuelans to work legally in the U.S.
State Sen. RaShaun Kemp criticized Trump and other Republicans for supporting mass deportations and making insensitive remarks about migrants on Wednesday.
“As an Afro-Latino citizen, I have to say that this country that I love, I’m pretty disgusted to see what Donald Trump is doing up in DC,” said the Atlanta Democrat at Wednesday’s Latino Day event in Liberty Plaza. “He’s going out of his way to hurt and scare our community. He said when he first came down that escalator, that immigrants bring drugs and crime, but I say immigrants bring opportunity and growth.”
Growing Latino influence in Georgia
Dueling Latino Days at the Georgia capitol this week provided Latino and Hispanic organizations and government officials with a chance to celebrate the accomplishments of 1.1 million residents in Georgia, including 91,000 Latino-owned businesses. Attendees at both Latino Days stressed that the overwhelming majority of people with Hispanic and Latino heritage are hardworking people who care about their communities and families.
Gigi Pedraza, executive director of Latino Community Fund Georgia, at Feb. 5 Latino Day at the state Capitol. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
On Tuesday, conservative Latino organizations celebrated the accomplishments of Latinos and the growing electorate that led to Trump winning 35% of their votes in 2024.
“In 2024 in Georgia, Hispanics made their voices heard in record numbers,” Martinez said. “There are 498,000 registered Hispanics in the state of Georgia. Out of that 262,000 voted in 2024. That’s a record number, and I owe it to all these folks for doing the hard work.”
According to Gigi Pedraza, Executive Director of Latino Community Fund Georgia, 55% of Latinos own homes and have a higher employment rate than other racial and ethnic groups.
“Latinos and immigrants have been intrinsically connected to the successes of Georgia as a state,” Pedraza said Wednesday. “Our community has and continues to lead in workforce participation, entrepreneurship and innovation across all sectors, regardless of documentation status, faith, race, ethnicity, gender, place of birth, and who we love.”
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Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor John McCosh for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.
SUMMARY: Preston Oates, convicted of voluntary manslaughter and gun charges in the 2014 killing of Carlos Olivera, is seeking a new trial. Oates claims ineffective counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, and unexamined evidence during his trial. He continues to deny responsibility, arguing bias from law enforcement and improper handling of key evidence. Oates shot Olivera after a confrontation over a vehicle booting incident, with prosecutors stating he was the aggressor. Oates’ appeal was denied by the South Carolina Supreme Court, and his family and Olivera’s family were present at the hearing. The next hearing is scheduled for April 24.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Nolan McKendry | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-17 11:45:00
(The Center Square) − A $4 billion clean energy project in Louisiana — touted as the largest of its kind in North America — could face major financial headwinds if Congress ever repeals key provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, according to documents from one of the project’s lead developers.
CF Industries, the world’s largest producer of ammonia, has staked its future on a low-carbon transition — anchored in part by the development of green and blue ammonia production facilities at its Donaldsonville and Blue Point complexes in Louisiana. Together, the projects represent one of the largest investments in carbon capture and clean hydrogen in the country.
At the heart of that strategy is Section 45Q, a federal tax credit that provides up to $85 per metric ton of CO₂ permanently stored through carbon capture and sequestration.
CF has already entered into a landmark agreement with ExxonMobil to permanently store up to 2 million metric tonsof CO₂ annually from its Donaldsonville operations, starting in 2025. That alone could translate into $170 million per year in tax credits—provided the current IRA-backed rules remain intact.
But that is not a safe assumption.
“The new administration has indicated that they’re not the biggest fans of green energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Shawn Daray, a New Orleans tax attorney, during a February hearing before the Clean Hydrogen Task Force.
Section 45V relates to clean hydrogen production, another pillar of CF’s multi-billion-dollar expansion.
In its 2024 annual report, CF Industries warned investors that “changes to the IRA may impact our ability to receive anticipated tax credits for our low-carbon ammonia projects, which, in turn, could negatively affect the profitability of these projects.”
That warning resonates beyond the company’s bottom line. The Louisiana sites at Donaldsonville and the proposed Blue Point complex in Ascension Parish are projected to generate more than 1,200 construction jobs and over 100 permanent positions, according to Louisiana Economic Development records.
“These are the kinds of well-paying, future-forward jobs the IRA was designed to bring to places like Louisiana,” Mark Roberts, an advisor with EcoPolicy Advisors, told The Center Square. “Why the state’s own congressional delegation is working to repeal those benefits is baffling.”
More than $2.5 billion in direct IRA-related investments have been announced across the state since 2022, according to Roberts, potentially supporting thousands of jobs.
The threat to clean hydrogen isn’t limited to ammonia. This week Plug Power’s new hydrogen liquefaction plant in St. Gabriel began operations. The facility, operated by the Hidrogenii JV, can liquefy up to 15 tons of hydrogen daily — about 5,475 tons annually — produced by Olin. Plug Power distributes the hydrogen across the country using a trailer network and its newly introduced spot pricing model.
The St. Gabriel facility pushes Plug’s total U.S. liquefied hydrogen production to 40 tons per day, including sites in Georgia and Tennessee.
The company has said the IRA’s clean hydrogen production credit — Section 45V, which can provide up to $3 per kilogram of clean hydrogen — is key to its long-term strategy. But Plug has also acknowledged in recent investor filings that uncertainty around implementation and potential political shifts could affect how, and whether, they receive those benefits.
“A prolonged U.S. government shutdown could cause uncertainty or delay… which could impact the timing of any benefits we anticipate receiving under the IRA,” the company warned in its 2023 annual report. “Several of these credits… have been subject to debate, and divergent views on potential implementation… some of which could be materially adverse to the Company.”
www.wsav.com – The Associated Press – 2025-04-17 08:07:00
SUMMARY: Several international students whose visas were revoked in recent weeks have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, claiming they were denied due process. Over 900 students across 128 U.S. colleges have had their legal status terminated, risking detention and deportation. Lawsuits argue the government lacked justification for these actions, often citing minor infractions. Colleges report that the terminations follow a nationwide policy, though the reasons for targeting students remain unclear. This action has raised concerns about discouraging future international students from studying in the U.S., with many colleges seeking answers from the government and offering reassurance to affected students.
