Trump's Trials - Georgia sheriffs slow to implement new federal immigration law due to lack of funding

Episode Date: February 6, 2025

After the murder of Laken Riley last year by a Venezuelan migrant, Georgia enacted a law meant to crack down on illegal immigration. But a lack of funding is dampening its effect. Support NPR and hear every episode sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detro and you're listening to Trump's terms from NPR. We're going to be doing all sorts of things nobody ever thought was even possible. It's going to be a very aggressive first hundred days of the new Congress. An unpredictable, transformative next four years. The United States is going to take off like a rocket ship. Each episode we bring you the latest news about the 47th president and the policy changes he is pursuing on his own terms. We know from experience that means challenging precedent, busting norms, and pushing against set ideas about what the federal government can and can't do.

It all raises questions about how much Washington and the country will change over the course of this term. NPR is covering it all in stories like the one you are about to hear, right after this. You're listening to Trump's terms from NPR is covering it all in stories like the one you are about to hear, right after this. You're listening to Trump's terms from NPR. The indicator from Planet Money is diving into the world of batteries. Not the kind you buy at the grocery store. We're talking really big batteries, the kind that can power thousands of homes. This technology came seemingly out of nowhere.

We're digging deep into the battery industry in three back-to-back episodes. Listen to the Indicator from Planet Money podcast on NPR. Our long national nightmare is over. Beyoncé has finally won the Grammy for Album of the Year. How and why did it take so long for Beyoncé to win the top prize at Music's Biggest Night? We're talking about her big wins and breaking down the Grammys for Kendrick Lamar, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter. Listen to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR.

Matt Wilson spent years doing rounds at children's hospitals in New York City. I had a clip-on tie. I wore Heelys, size 11. Matt was a medical clown. The whole of a medical clown is to reintroduce the sense of play and joy and hope and light into a space that doesn't normally inhabit. Ideas about navigating uncertainty. That's on the Ted Radio Hour podcast from NPR.

Steve Inskeep. I'm Steve Inskeep. Let's find out how some state authorities are trying to enforce federal immigration law. The response is different state by state. And we're going to go to Georgia, where the murder of a student led to a new national immigration law. The state of Georgia has its own law telling sheriffs to cooperate with immigration authorities. And it turns out that's hard to do. Here's Emily Wu Pearson of W.A.B.E. in Atlanta. Here's Emily Wu Pearson of WABE in Atlanta. Lakin Reilly was murdered last February by a Venezuelan man who crossed the border illegally

and had once been caught shoplifting but was let go. Within days, Georgia legislators made immigration enforcement a top priority. In Georgia, the people of this state, the people we represent, are expecting us to do something. That's Jesse Petrie, the Republican state representative who championed the Georgia law. It requires local sheriffs to apply for a 287-G partnership, a federal program that deputizes local law enforcement to take on some federal immigration responsibilities inside jails, mainly to identify and detain migrants without

legal status arrested on criminal charges. The law mandates they ask to participate. The law does not mandate they participate. Terry Norris is the executive director of the Georgia Sheriff's Association. He says they worked last year with 142 sheriffs across the state to request the 287-G partnership. We created a template, a little two-line letter to ICE saying, I'm Sheriff So-and-so from

County So-and-so. Please know that I'm interested in 287G program. He says no county was approved for the program last year, with ICE saying the sheriffs didn't have enough resources and ICE spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Norris says lack of personnel was one problem. Georgia sheriffs are like almost every other agency throughout the country. We have a very difficult time hiring deputies and jailers.

And that's one thing they'll need to comply with 287G. Norris and his association are hoping for more state funding to make that happen. County taxpayers pay the cost of the sheriff's office, the cost for the jail or the medical and the mental health costs, the food costs. Several Republican-led states are now considering similar legislation that would involve local authorities in the enforcement of federal immigration laws. Some of the proposals just call for local law enforcement not to hinder federal immigration

operations. Others require these federal 287-G partnerships, which are not cheap, says Emily Davis, who teaches immigration law at Emory University. It's very costly for local governments to do that sort of immigration work, and they're not typically familiar enough with immigration status and immigration law to be able to make that determination. Enforcement of immigration law is a federal responsibility, and the National Lake and Riley Act directs authorities to detain and deport people without legal status who've been accused of a wide range of crimes, including shoplifting, burglary, assaulting a police

officer or any crime that results in the death or serious bodily injury to another person. Atlanta immigration attorney Charles Cook says that will take a lot more ICE agents. ICE warned Congress as they were considering this bill that one, they had neither the fund nor the resources to actually carry out this bill. And two, if they wanted that to happen, they would need approximately $23 billion. Cook says the law, without funding, will not have a real effect. Meanwhile, Georgia sheriffs will try again for 287-G partnerships under a new administration. For NPR News, I'm Emily Woo-Pearson in Atlanta.

Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the incoming Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.

Extreme weather disasters like wildfires and floods can devastate communities. On the Sunday story from Up First, we ask, are there places that just aren't safe to live anymore? People are going to die. They will be me and my neighbors and I don't want that to happen. How we respond to disasters in an era of climate insecurity. Listen now on the Up First podcast from NPR. Wanna know what it's like to play behind the tiny desk?

If you've got the talent, we've got the desk. Unsigned artists, enter the 2025 tiny desk contest for an opportunity to play your own tiny desk concert. Our nationwide star search starts now, and the winner will play their own tiny desk concert and a US tour. To learn more, visit npr.org slash tiny desk contest.