Athens-Clarke County mayor defends 2019 resolution supporting immigrant, undocumented community

And just hours ago, the mayor of Athens Clark County addressed concerns about safety and immigration following the death of a nursing student on UG A's campus. Thanks so much for being here this noon. I'm Jonathan Martin and I'm Faith Ji. So protesters interrupted Mayor Kelly Gertz as he tried to address critics who say Athens is a sanctuary city. Many, many of the elements, many of the elements. 1111, Ariana Moni was at that news conference. She has more on the back and forth between protesters and the mayor and a closer look at the proposed safety measures, anger and frustration was front and center from community members. They believe that an immigration related resolution from 2019 that the mayor defended is partially to blame for Lincoln Riley's death. Many of the elements, many of the elements to listen tempers, Florida. Athens Clark County. Mayor Kelly Gertz spoke during a press conference in the wake of the killing of Lincoln Riley was repeatedly interrupted by protesters who blamed him. We are deeply sorry for this tragedy. Responsibility for this crime rests solely upon the protesters. At the press conference pointed to a 2019 local government resolution that expressed support for immigrant and undocumented communities. Jose Ara is currently jail charged with murder for Riley's death. According to the US Department of Homeland Security Abira was arrested in 2022 for unlawfully entering the US. Goetz defended the resolution and addressed claims of whether Athens is a sanctuary city. This term sanctuary city doesn't have a sole legal or procedural definition. You can look in Georgia statute and you can find a clear definition for a unified government. I wanna say that we center our work here in Athens Clark County in people's humanity and part of everybody's humanity is the expectation of human dignity. But still, despite Gert's attempts to defend the resolution, many called for him to resign one protocol that sometimes arises. The Athens Clark County mayor also highlighted safety initiatives that he plans to propose to the commission, which includes completing a real time crime center, all terrain vehicles for officers as well as upgrades to security cameras throughout Athens reporting for 11 live. I'm Mariana in Athens and the University of Georgia is also rolling out a new $7 million public safety plan. And here are three of the highlights. First, a permanent 20% increase to the UG A police department's budget to help add more officers on campus and to boost recruitment and retention. Next, new perimeter fencing in several areas around the 760 acre campus. And finally more security cameras and lighting upgrades. You can find a full list of the changes on 11 alive.com and if you missed the mayor's comments today, you can watch them on demand on 11 Alive. Plus the app is free for your Roku Amazon Fire or Apple TV streaming devices.

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Id: CcgcuZnHMa4

Length: 3min 16sec (196 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 28 2024