Immigration arrests target Somalis in Clarkston, elsewhere
Thursday April 13, 2017
By Jeremy Redmon
Foreign nationals were arrested the week of Feb. 5, 2017, during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and aimed at immigration fugitives, re-entrants and at-large criminal aliens. (Charles Reed/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
Federal immigration authorities have started arresting Somali immigrants and refugees in parts of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties that have long been havens for newcomers, including in Clarkston, according to African advocacy groups.
The arrests come after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained more than 680 unauthorized immigrants – including 87 in Georgia – as part of a nationwide operation in February.
Omar Shekhey, the executive director for the Somali America Community Center in Clarkston, said as many as 10 Somalis have been arrested in Clarkston, Stone Mountain and in Gwinnett this week alone. He worries they could be deported to Somalia, which is now in the grips of a deadly drought and persistent violence. Those who have been arrested have been in the U.S. for many years, Shekhey said.