Members of the undocumented community and allies are invited to a community forum this evening. The meeting is an information session regarding a change in the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office’ policy toward undocumented immigrants. Beto Mendoza is a coordinator with the Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition. He says immigrants need to know what they can do now that the Sheriff’s Office is working with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE.
“Well first, I hope they have information about what’s going on, some answers why we’ve been seeing more people being removed from our community,” Mendoza said. “Second, to let them know about their rights, what their rights are, and finally to know the different organizations that can provide support for any emergency they may have.”
The meeting is from 6 to 9 pm at the Athens Arena at 280 Commerce Blvd in Bogart.
“For many years we thought that we kind of a silent sanctuary, even though they say they don’t cooperate with ICE, unfortunately we see that the people who have been arrested are being turned into jail. They are cooperating, they are working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The meeting will be conducted in Spanish, but a translator will be there for English speakers.