Press Release: Gwinnett County Forum Provides Test of COVID-era Immigration and Criminal Justice Politics
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: April 10, 2020
CONTACT:
Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood (404)-313-6199 aisha@asianamericanadvocacyfund.org
Gwinnett County Forum Provides Test of COVID-era Immigration and Criminal Justice Politics
Democratic Candidates for Gwinnett County Sheriff and District Attorney Face-Off in Virtual Candidate Forum
Gwinnett County, GA, April 10, 2020—Hundreds of voters took to Facebook Live on Thursday to hear six Democratic candidates discuss their platforms on mass incarceration and immigration enforcement—issues that have been thrust into the news as nationwide pressure builds for sheriffs and DAs to limit arrests and reduce jail populations in response to the coronavirus. Set within a community that has moved solidly into Democratic hands as it has rapidly diversified, the Gwinnett County forum provides a window into how the politics of criminal justice and immigration might change in the era of coronavirus.
Despite current restrictions to normal campaign activities, district attorney candidates Patsy Austin-Gaston and Wesley Person, as well as county sheriff candidates Curtis Clemmons, Ben Haynes, Keybo Taylor, and Floyd Scott, used the opportunity to address the disproportionate impacts that policing and immigration enforcement are having on communities of color within Gwinnett County. The forum even captured the attention of current Republican sheriff Butch Conway, who trolled candidates’ responses and sparred with other viewers in the comments.
To watch a recording, visit the Facebook Live video of the forum here.
Both the sheriff and DA position are currently held by Republican incumbents. Conway, who declined to run for reelection, is no stranger to controversy with ties to a local white supremacy group and a history of targeting immigrant communities
Opening up the sheriff section of the forum, candidate Curtis Clemons said that he would “immediately end the expensive and divisive and discriminatory 287(g) deportation program. It separates families and drives a wedge between law enforcement and the community, and it also feeds the for-profit prison system in Georgia.” Candidates Keybo Taylor and Floyd Scott echoed Clemons’ vow to end the 287(g) program, which deputizes local law enforcement on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Candidate Ben Haynes called for the federal program’s “reformation” so that it only applied to those with what he called “major felony offenses.”
Current DA Danny Porter is running for re-election but his democratic challengers hope to better represent the best interests of all people in Gwinnett County, including its immigrants and communities of color. Candidate Patsy Austin-Gaston said she would create a “conviction integrity unit” (inspired by the Innocence Project) that would focus on ending the incarceration of people who have been wrongly convicted. Candidate Wesley Person, meanwhile, vowed to decriminalize marijuana possession and eliminate the cash bail system for people who are not considered a threat to public safety, referencing a model advocated by the Vera Institute of Justice.
Candidates also discussed drug enforcement and decriminalization, the criminal justice system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, bail and bond reform, transparency and accountability, representation in the sheriff’s department, and more.
Organizers of the forum, who include the Asian-American Advocacy Fund (AAAF), the New Georgia Project Action Fund, GALEO Impact Fund, Inc., Georgia Equality, Poder Latinx, and other community organizations, believe that Stacey Abrams’ 2018 win in the county could signal a path to victory for Democratic Candidates. Said AAAF Director Aisha Yaqoob Mahmood, “The forum is an important first step. If we don’t engage with the process, we risk getting a district attorney and sheriff, Republican or Democrat, who don’t feel beholden to the community and don’t share the values of the 44% of Gwinnett’s voters who are black, Hispanic or Asian.”
“At this time of national crisis it is more important than ever to lift up all of our voices, reminding elected officials we are all in this together, including marginalized communities. Many immigrants and people of color are the ones on the front lines performing those essential jobs in hospitals and supermarkets that make social distancing possible for the rest of us. We must demand an end to practices that break up immigrant families during such fragile times, and let this be a galvanizing moment for immigrant communities and all people of color that now is time we step in, get involved, and demand our government address and respond to our needs,” said Yadira Sanchez, Co-Executive Director for Poder Latinx.
Marissa McCall Dodson, Public Policy Director at the Southern Center for Human Rights, moderated the forum, the results of which will be made clear when Gwinnett votes. Georgia’s primaries were just rescheduled to June 9, and the general election will take place November 3.
###
BACKGROUND:
About the Asian American Advocacy Fund:
The Asian American Advocacy Fund is a 501(c)4 social welfare organization dedicated to building a politically-conscious, engaged, and progressive Asian American base in Georgia. Through a combination of policy advocacy at local, state, and federal levels, and by supporting candidates that believe in our values, we fight to create a better Georgia for us all.
About the New Georgia Project Action Fund
The mission of the New Georgia Project Action Fund (NGPAF) is to increase civic participation of underrepresented & underserved communities of color. Achieving the mission of NGPAF starts with engagement in local and state political processes. In doing so, we amplify the voice of progressive-minded Gen-Xers and Millennials - providing them with political education, encouragement to use their power to identify issues, and knowledge of how to affect change.
About the Poder Latinx
Poder Latinx mission is to build a political wave of voters where the Latinx community, immigrants, and people of color play a key role in the transformation of the country and become decision-makers in our democracy. Through innovative partnerships, issue-based organizing and leadership development, Poder Latinx is rapidly expanding the U.S electorate with new and low propensity Latinx voters. In its first six months, Poder Latinx registered 30,000 voters, building a foundation poised to create change starting with the Presidential elections in 2020.
About the Working Families Party
The Working Families Party is a progressive grassroots political party building a multiracial movement of working people to transform America. We organize outside the two parties, and then we recruit and train people-powered candidates up and down the ballot and run them to win, often inside Democratic Party primaries. This is not just an idea — it’s reality. For more than two decades, we have been recruiting, training, and electing transformational leaders across the country. We’ve then organized with them to win major victories for working families — like higher wages, a fairer criminal justice system and getting money out of politics.
About the GALEO Impact Fund, Inc.:
The GALEO Impact Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)4 social welfare organization dedicated to building a politically-conscious, engaged, and progressive Latinx base in Georgia. Through a combination of leadership development, voter education, candidate recruitment, policy advocacy at local and state levels of government, and by supporting candidates that believe in our values, we fight to create a better Georgia for us all where the Latinx community is respected and honored for its contributions.