Annotated responses about immigration enforcement.
Incumbent State Senator John Albers (left) and challenger JD Jordan (right) exchanging responses about immigration enforcement at the recent candidate forum. Photos and videos shot and shared by a Cherokee resident in audience, stabilized and annotated by JD Jordan.
On April 25, the Farm Bureau & the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce hosted a candidate forum at Canton’s historic courthouse. Incumbents and challengers from a variety of races had a chance to introduce themselves to voters and to debate a variety of audience-suggested topics.
Fortunately for the 56, both our incumbent, John Albers, and I were in attendance. And doubly so that someone in the audience captured the full exchange on their phone!
Over the course of the next two weeks, I’ll share the exchanges from this forum, covering:
Candidate closings
In addition to simply sharing these videos, I’ve spent time fact-checking each of our statements and unscripted responses. I’ve performed this critique for two reasons:
Honesty and transparency are cornerstones of a healthy constituent experience and critical to establishing and maintaining trust between members of the public and their elected officials (candidates, too!)
To show I’m open to being fact checked, interested in feedback where I might be further informed, and open to the conversations such critiques may inspire.
If you see an errors in my critique or if you know of a data point I haven’t found, please reach out at me at jdjordan@forthe56.com and I’ll do my best to follow-up and—if necessary—make and note any corrections.
Annotated videos
On immigration enforcement.
Each candidate was given 1:30 to answer an audience question asking how they would you stop the illegal invasion of our state. Responses were made in alternative order, with John Albers answering first and JD Jordan answering second.
Annotated transcript
John Albers: On immigration enforcement.
Pam, thank you for asking that question.
I co-sponsored a bill this year to crack down on criminal illegal aliens.
True.
John Albers sponsored two spiteful immigration House bills: HB 301, allowing residents to sue local “Sanctuary Cities” for not following immigration laws and HB 1105, requiring local law-enforcement to enforce immigration law when detaining non-citizens. In both cases, offending departments would be stripped of state and non-state funding—ahem, “defunded.”
I represented Laken Riley and I represent her family.
True.
Since the 2020 redistricting of State Senate District 56 to include Woodstock, Laken Riley and her mother’s hometown, John Albers has been their state senator.
And that young woman died tragically and it was totally avoidable.
Tragically, unclear.
First, some background: Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student in Athens, GA, was killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus on February 22, 2024. The suspect charged with her murder is a Venezuelan man in the United States illegally. Of course this is tragic. And, of course, it was avoidable. In the aftermath of her murder, the tragedy was used to justify a range of anti-immigration amendments to House bills HB 301 and HB 1105. But it’s unclear and—from a counterfactual perspective—unprovable whether or not these bills and amendments would have contributed to averting Riley’s tragic death.
She died by someone who came to this country illegally.
True.
While Riley’s accused murderer lived in an apartment in Athens, he was not a US citizen. According to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the 26-year-old Venezuelan man was first arrested on September 8, 2022, after he unlawfully entered the country near El Paso, Texas. And because Venezuelans had special protective status at the time, he was then released by border officials pending a review of his immigration case (CBS News).
Five times as many people are crossing the border as they did just three and a half years ago.
True.
In 2020 (under the Trump administration), almost 650,000 people crossed the southern border compared to 2023’s 3,180,000 total (under the Biden administration)—a 4.9x increase. It should be noted, though, that the Covid pandemic appears to have contributed to a significant decrease in crossings. And that the 2010s (under the Obama administration), saw a relative lull in border encounters, especially compared to 1990s and 2000s levels (under the Clinton and Bush administration) which regularly saw 1,500,000 annual crossings. Further, 3.5 years ago would align John’s comment with the invocation of Title 42, which authorized border expulsions and which expired in May of 2023 (USAfacts).
The construction of the border wall stopped.
False.
Contrary to President Biden’s campaign promise, border barrier construction has continued in Texas and elsewhere since the early days of Biden’s term (Texas Tribune)
The enforcement of the current laws we have has stopped.
False.
Not at all. Excepting the expiration of Title 42 which saw the end of Trump-era border expulsions, the Biden administration enforces current US laws. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) enforces immigration laws at and between the ports of entre while Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is responsible for interior enforcement and for detention and removal operations, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicates applications and petitions for immigration and naturalization benefits (DHS). The problem, of course, is that Federal immigration laws need to be updated to fit current circumstances.
That person was arrested two more times.
True.
Riley’s accused murderer was arrested in New York on August. 31, 2023 for operating a moped with an un-helmeted 5-year-old. Then, after moving to Athens, the suspect and his brother were cited for shoplifting food and clothes (11 Alive).
And because those states didn't cooperate with ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement)
False.
In case of the NYPD arrest, ICE failed to issue a detainer before the suspect’s release. And in the case of the Athens-Clarke arrest, the suspect and his brother were citated for misdemeanor shoplifting and released, pre-trial, without an arrest. According to ICE protocol, citizenship status is only checked during booking. While an unsatisfying answer, neither the NYPD nor Clarke County Sheriff’s department were ever aware of the suspect’s immigration status or ever received ICE directives (11 Alive).
he stayed on the streets and he murdered that innocent young woman.
He's accused; not convicted.
The judicial process is still underway and regardless of our heightened emotions and media coverage, the suspect is still presumed innocent. The suspected murderer plead not guilty before a Clarke County Superior Court judge during his arraignment hearing on Friday, May 31 (The Red & Black).
We have laws on the books and they need to be enforced. And they were enforced four years ago and they are not being enforced now. And that is the fact.
Yes and no.
As of when this comment was made, the Biden administration enforced current US laws. We can debate its inadequacy, but it was being done. But I assume by his “four years” comment that John Albers is specifically calling Title 42, which authorized border expulsions, which expired in May of 2023 (USAfacts).
It is a shame that anybody is coming to our country who are bringing criminals, they’re bringing in fentanyl, they're bringing all sorts of terrible things through the border, including terrorism.
Yes, but ...
John and I don’t agree on much, but we do agree that violent and dangerous criminals and terrorists should not be allowed to cross into the US under normal circumstances. Thankfully, the number of immigrants illegally crossing the border who have prior criminal convictions is very small. In 2023, for instance, CBP interdicted more than 15,000 individuals with criminal convictions—0.4% of crossings (CBP).
Now, I won't fault someone who wants to better themselves and come to our country. But just like my family did many generations ago, there's a process and you go through it, you follow the law.
Privledged.
There was no legal-or-illegal immigration to the United States before the 1924 Immigration Act. And since that act was blatantly racist, I feel like it’s safe to assume John’s and my own European ancestors wouldn’t have has a “process” to endure (History).
And you know what? The people that come through our country legally and become US citizens are some of the most conservative patriotic people I know.
True.
Let’s ignore for a moment that John Albers just conflated being conservative with not being a criminal (and the implicit opposite of that association. As the child of an immigrant, I can attest to their patriotism. And in Georgia, about 43% of naturalized immigrants identify as Republican v. 41% who identify as Democrat (Pew Research Center).
Thank you.
Annotated transcript
JD Jordan: On immigration enforcement.
I appreciate this question as well. And I'd like to answer it in two ways.
The first one is just, of course, the acknowledgement that immigration law is a federal issue, right?
True.
The federal government assumed direct control of inspecting, admitting, rejecting, and processing all immigrants seeking admission to the United States with the Immigration Act of 1891 (USCIS).
So, as state legislators there's a limited amount that anyone can do.
That said, I do also want to point out, I'm very familiar with the legislation that Mr. Alberts is talking about.
True.
During the legislative session, I reported day-by-day on what was going on under the Gold Dome. Because I wanted to educate myself, of course, but also because I believe our legislators should be proactive and transparent about communicating to their constituents about the business of government. Here’s a link to some of my coverage of the immigration bills in question.
That as awful as what happened to … Laken Riley is, the legislation that was passed would not have prevented it.
Tragically, unclear.
To be fair, it’s unclear and—from a counterfactual perspective—unprovable whether or not these bills and amendments would have contributed to averting Riley’s tragic death. But the fact that neither of the murder suspect’s prior arrests triggered ICE detainers—and that ICE wasn’t looking for the suspect in the first place—suggest House bills HB 301 and HB 1105 would’ve had no impact on the course of events were they in place before her murder.
And I spent a fair amount of time with the police department in my hometown.
True.
Ellie and I spent several weeks in 2023 with the Roswell Police Department Citizen Police Academy—a wonderful experience that lets you peek behind the veil and see how law enforcement works. A number of local communities in the 56 have such programs and we highly recommend them: Cherokee Sheriff’s Office Citizen’s Academy, Cobb County Citizens Public Safety Academy, Roswell Citizen’s Police Academy, Woodstock Citizen Academy.
I live in Roswell. On the other side of the district as does Mr. Albers
True.
We’re neighbors, actually. How f’d up is that?
and I'm a volunteer in that police department.
One of the things that regularly comes out of that police department or even the sheriff's associations here in the state, is that they do cooperate with ICE as much as they are required to within the context of the law.
True.
A dozen sheriffs interviewed by the AJC and 120 members of the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association—including those in Athens-Clarke County where Laken Riley was recently murdered—already cooperate with ICE (AJC).
Some of them do it more. Some of them are more proactive than others. Some of them follow the letter. It's within those individual departments based a lot on funding, resourcing, and their limitations on the ground, right?
True.
Sheriffs report, they can’t enforce immigration law without federal authorization, which few have, and information on the immigration status of suspects may be limited (AJC).
But we need to be very careful in terms of how we choose to potentially penalize our law officers who are doing the best they can with the resources given them.
True.
There is an enormous range of fortunes when it comes to local law enforcement funding and resourcing across the state—from our very well-funded departments in the metro areas to the tiny rural departments where a handful—or fewer!—officers cover an enormous amount of territory with little support. You’d think our Public Safety chair would appreciate that nuance (GBPI).
The bill that Mr. Alberts is talking about, potentially defunds those departments if they do not live up to a hypothetical bar, which is not clearly stated in the law.
True.
Yeah. I said it. Senator John Albers’ legislation would defund the police. Immigration is a federal issue, not a state issue. It’s fine to ask our authorities to cooperate with federal law—the Federal Supremacy Clause implies it—but to make departments financial accountable for laws our legislators aren’t responsible for sets them up to fail.
So, I think there's a … we have to be very careful about not overreacting with whiplash reactions and remembering that—as has been said before by Mr. Christian—this is a federal issue where there's significant reform needed there.
True.
Federal immigration policy is a mess and it needs to be fixed by Congress. Here’s a snapshot of the most recent data to educate yourself about the situation.
And I will stop at that.
JD JORDAN FOR GEORGIA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 56
For anyone in East Cobb, Roswell, or Woodstock alarmed by the state’s escalating attacks on our bodies, our families, our doctors’ offices, our classrooms and libraries, even our polling places, I’m running for state senate district 56 to fight for our freedoms and to deliver a better future for everyone in Georgia.
And unlike my opponent who’s spent 14 years rolling back our freedoms, failing to safeguard our kids, and gerrymandered his district to stay in office, I promise to bring everyone in the 56—regardless of ideology—the best possible constituent experience so you feel heard, valued, and supported. As we all deserve to be.
I’m running for the 56. Let’s make a better Georgia for all of us.
—
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT
Jordan For Georgia, LLC
10800 Alpharetta Hwy Ste 208 #629
Roswell, GA 30076-1467
jdjordan@forthe56.com
706.804.0456
