In 2016, GLAHR launched “ICE FREE ZONE,” a campaign in response to ICE presence in our homes and neighborhoods.

Throughout the years, GLAHR has been informing the community about their constitutional rights and educating communities on the new tactics and technology utilized by ICE and the local police.

Since we’ve started, we have distributed approximately 40,000 flyers through hand-to-hand, visiting and by placing posters in dozens of businesses frequented by the Latino community. We spread our efforts across the state of Georgia, in communities as far as Savannah and Tifton, through collaboration with members and organizations from the areas.

Prepare Against Raids: “Defend Your Rights” Materials

• “Know Your Rights to Defend Your Rights” English Version
• “Know Your Rights to Defend Your Rights” Spanish Version

In June of 2019, President Donald Trump announced that he would begin carrying out massive ICE raids throughout ten major cities, including our home: Atlanta, Georgia, and the metro area. In response, the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) created a rapid response team to document ICE arrests and abuses and to inform the immigrant community about their constitutional rights. In our ICE watch program, we distributed information and educated the community about their legal rights in the event of ICE raids and the collaboration between local law enforcement and ICE.

‘ICE Chasers’, a rapid response team made up of 80 volunteers from around the metro area, keeping an eye out for any ICE activity. We continued to reach people in the community every weekend by responding to calls of suspected ICE activities and we canvassed neighborhoods with know-your-rights materials.

“Sanctuary” refers to local policies that recommit to constitutional protections for the immigrant community, regarding local law enforcement collaboration with ICE. GLAHR is committed to expanding sanctuaries by educating our local police and county sheriffs to uphold individuals’ constitutional rights. We have campaigned for changes in policies to decrease over-policing areas where Latinos and other minority groups reside. 

As a result of these efforts, Dekalb, Clayton Counties and Fulton commissioners agreed to end collaboration with ICE through adopting a non-detainer policy. Furthermore, in coalition with other organizations GLAHR has worked with localities to enforce non-detainers policies and has been able to change policies in various cities. 

For more information about localities with non-detainers policies click here.

If you want to know more about expanding sanctuary victories, please give us a call at 770-457-5232.

In 2007, GLAHR started its campaign to end the 287(g) program when the program first began in Georgia.  Under the 287(g) program, the Department of Homeland Security deputizes local law enforcement to carry out the work of ICE agents by arresting individuals suspected to be in violation of immigration laws. These agreements allow local law enforcement to act as immigration agents.

In the state of Georgia, there are currently 287(g) programs in four counties: Floyd County, Hall County, Polk County, and Whitfield County, including the Georgia Department of Corrections and Oconee County with the Warrant Service Officer program. Bartow County was also participating in the program but decided to cancel the program because of a lack of funds. GLAHR has advocated before the Boards of Commissioners of Cobb and Gwinnett Counties at meetings and demanded the Commissioners end the 287(g) program.  In the 2020 elections, Cobb and Gwinnett made history by electing the first African American Sheriffs for these counties, who ended the 287(g) program.  However, they are still counties with the 287(g) and we will continue educating the general public about the detrimental impact the program has on our family and communities.

For more information on the 287g program, click here for information from Project South.

The NoTechforICE campaign has its roots focused on dismantling the big machine that is supporting ICE to increase arrest, detentions, and deportations known as being technology companies. The major technology companies targeted for this campaign are Amazon and Palantir. 

Through intense research conducted by Mijente,a national pro-latinx organization, and other organizations  it was found that Amazon’s servers host Palantir, the company that provides ICE with “mission-critical services,” such as its case management software and cloud services.  Amazon and Palantir  through intense lobbying of policy makers and law enforcement has become the backbone for  the federal government’s immigration and law enforcement dragnet. 

NoTechforICE is mobilizing communities impacted, together with students, tech workers, and allies to fight back and build a movement for a surveillance-free future. GLAHR as a co-founder of Mijente has joined the campaign and mobilized with students at Georgia Tech from YDSA to raise awareness and fight to end the cooperation of Palantir and Amazon with ICE.

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