Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz on Wednesday held a press conference to discuss the murder of nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia (UGA) campus, which police said was committed by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra.
Girtz (pictured above) denied that Athens is a sanctuary city, which does not comply with detainers filed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that request local law enforcement detain illegal immigrants to be transferred to federal authorities for prosecution or deportation.
“That term means different things to different people depending on the context of the discussion,” said Girtz of what it means to be a sanctuary city. The mayor was quickly interrupted by members of the public who called him a “liar” and demanded his resignation.
"You're a liar! Resign!"
Georgians call for the resignation of Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz after the tragic murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus.
pic.twitter.com/Pjcih7opZl— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 28, 2024
While Athens recently created an 18-page memo to explain why the city is not a sanctuary for illegal immigrants, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department policy requires law enforcement to release illegal immigrants with ICE detainers unless federal law enforcement supplies a warrant. Even then, illegal immigrants will only be held for 48 hours.
In an apparent attempt to provide context to a 2019 video in which he seemed to declare Athens a sanctuary city, the mayor further explained the action was in opposition to former President Donald Trump.
“You had a President of the United States speaking in the most vile terms about people who were foreign born, and you had that notion metastasizing in places like Charlottesville,” the mayor stated before being interrupted by a member of the crowd who shouted, “This is an invasion.”
Girtz further claimed the sanctuary city effort was “to dignify everyone’s humanity.” He later insisted Georgians should be more sympathetic to illegal immigrants, as those “that are here came here under less than ideal circumstances.”
Here is the Mayor of Athens, GA telling us we must respect the dignity of migrants, and tries to deflect to Trump and Charlottesville
Laken Riley was just beaten to death under his sanctuary city policies pic.twitter.com/qkD4iqTvIm
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) February 28, 2024
Despite the arrest of Ibarra, who police said illegally entered the United States in 2018 and spent time working as a food delivery driver in New York before migrating to Georgia, the mayor also said that immigration and crime are not related.
“I caution against conflating immigration and crime, the data demonstrates that the two are not connected,” claimed Girtz after highlighting his years of experience as a “local government policy maker.”
Denial: Democrat Mayor Kelly Girtz claims the murder of Laken Riley by an illegal migrant from his sanctuary city is not connected to illegal immigration.pic.twitter.com/GmQXBoIyXB
— @amuse (@amuse) February 28, 2024
Girtz held the press conference just days after authorities confirmed Ibarra was arrested for his alleged murder of Riley.
Police also arrested Ibarra’s brother, who they claim provided a fraudulent green card, when they initially found law enforcement who were searching for Ibarra.
Ibarra reportedly left New York in November 2023, leaving both the wife whom he married to further his asylum case and her child behind in New York to find better work in Georgia.
Though authorities have not released details about how Ibarra allegedly committed the murder, police accused him on Tuesday of “disfiguring her skull” during the brutal attack.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kelly Girtz” by 11Alive.Â
