A 22-year-old nursing student was found dead on a wooded path at the University of Georgia, in what appears to be the first homicide on campus in nearly 30 years, sparking waves of grief and fear. It shocked the university. core.
But the case took a different turn Friday when a 26-year-old immigrant from Venezuela was charged with the kidnapping and murder of student Laken Riley. It has transformed Athens and Clark County, a community of about 130,000 people about 110 miles east of Atlanta. It's the latest flashpoint in the political fight over America's immigration policy.
In a social media post on Monday, former President Donald J. Trump called Jose Antonio Ybarra a “monster” and accused President Biden of an “invasion” that “kills our people.” . Earlier in the day, at a university event, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp criticized the White House's reluctance to secure the southern border.
A third Republican, Rep. Mike Collins, who represents Athens, wrote on social media: “Laken Riley's blood is on the hands of Joe Biden, Alejandro Mayorkas, and the Athens-Clarke County Government.” He mentioned the unification of cities and counties. government.
The comments shocked many liberals, who saw inflammatory rhetoric piled on top of a horrific crime. Kelly Gertz, the Democratic mayor of Athens-Clarke County, said in an interview Sunday that the conversation should focus on honoring the victims and blaming individuals rather than groups.
“This murder was a violent and heinous act, and the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the perpetrators,” he said.
Athens' relatively liberal culture, local immigration policies, and the border crisis combined with brutal crime to create a toxic brew at Georgia's flagship university where student politics reign.
Ella Jackson, 19, a freshman from Milton, Georgia, said she didn't feel unsafe or unsafe outside the student center. However, she objected to the local government's policies towards illegal immigrants. She added, “I really don't think it's our job to house illegal immigrants, especially near college campuses.”
In recent years, the city has seen a rise in local left-wing politicians, including Gertz, who are putting a new focus on social justice issues and righting the deep south's lingering wrongs. They have not been shy about embracing the undocumented immigrant and Hispanic communities whose numbers have increased significantly in and around Athens over the past 30 years.
At the same time, Athens remains a kind of sacred place for Georgian conservatives. Located in the middle of town, this huge university has educated many of the state's most powerful Republicans, including Governor Kemp, who is from Athens. And the school's winning football team and the tailgating and admiration it engenders are a core Georgia tradition that Kemp and others have prominently woven into the tapestry of conservative culture and policy.
Kemp, a former Athens home builder and developer, won his first gubernatorial election in 2018 with a bold ad that proclaimed: myself. ” This month, he promised to deploy the Georgia National Guard to the U.S. border with Mexico.
Mayor Gertz was first elected in 2006 to the commission that governs the unified city and county government. He said Athens' more active group of politicians and their supporters grew in part from the new wave and post-punk music scene that famously sprouted in Athens in the early 1980s and gave the world REM and the B-52s. said.
At a coffee shop near campus on Sunday morning, the mayor, wearing an olive-colored military jacket and ball cap, rejected the idea that he was responsible for the killing. Rep. Collins, who accused him of having blood on his hands, said he had “a kind of cartoonish story about how the universe works.”
In addition to addressing the race and class issues that have long separated many of Athens' black and white residents, the liberal new council members took a defiant anti-Trump stance against illegal immigration. Many of the illegal immigrants came to Athens to work on poultry farms or were illegal immigrants in Athens, Athens. The construction boom of the early 2000s.
In 2018, then-local sheriff Ira Edwards, under pressure from Gertz and others, held arrested immigrants in jail for 48 hours to give federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents a chance to pick them up. The practice of detention was abolished. Because of the possibility of deportation.
The following year, Gertz and the committee passed a resolution condemning white supremacy and declaring that undocumented immigrants should be “welcome and comfortable” interacting with the government.
And in 2020, voters elected liberal District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, pledging to “consider collateral consequences for undocumented defendants” when making charging decisions.
Conservatives were, and continue to be, appalled by it all.
On Monday, state Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, noted that a criminal complaint has been issued against Mr. Ybarra, the University of Georgia murder suspect, for shoplifting from an Athens Walmart in October, according to court records. Records show a bench warrant has been issued, meaning he most likely missed his court date.
“There's a vibe in Athens that it's a welcoming place for people who frankly shouldn't be in the United States,” Gaines said.
Ybarra was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in September 2022 for illegally crossing the border, authorities said, and was quickly released with a temporary residence permit.
The release, or parole, was a practice used by the Biden administration when authorities were overwhelmed by the number of checks. The practice ended after about six months.
Ybarra was arrested in New York City in August on suspicion of child endangerment and driver's license violations, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He eventually moved to Athens and lived in an apartment within walking distance of the crime scene.
In 2022, the Republican-led state Legislature redistricted Athens' districts to remove three of its most liberal members from committees, in what Democrats claimed was an act of retaliation. Gonzalez, the district attorney, was a key force behind state lawmakers creating a commission last year with the power to remove state prosecutors. (The committee is currently at a standstill.)
Mr. Gaines said this week that he and other Republicans would try to push legislation in the coming days that would strengthen policies against illegal immigration.
At a trailer park north of town, Jose Tapia, 50, a Mexican-born construction worker and legal U.S. resident, said he expected things to get even tougher for his undocumented neighbors. “I think there will be more tension,” he said. “I think the police will be tougher.”