This open letter was distributed by Rich Pellegrino for the Cobb Immigrant Alliance and Cobb SCLC

An Open Letter to Governor Brian Kemp from the Cobb Immigrant Alliance & SCLC 

Dear Governor Kemp:  In response to the tragic murder of UGA student Laken Riley you have taken to the airwaves politicizing this tragedy (even before she was laid to rest) and blaming President Biden and the Democrats while spreading fear and hate of the migrant community in the worst form of political opportunism and bullying possible. You owe her family and the entire state and nation an apology for this cowardly act. Your bullying, fear and hate-mongering towards the migrant community are nothing new, and are despicable tactics to divert attention from the fact that under your leadership and that of your party your state is notorious for ranking as one of the most violent, including and especially gun violence (which you have promoted in your past campaign ads) and one of the worst in terms of healthcare access, educational ranking, homelessness, lack of affordable housing, maternal mortality, and racial and class inequities. The old adage clearly applies here that “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”.  

To set the record straight on the migrant community, regardless of their immigration status, and counter the misinformation you and some of your colleagues constantly peddle, here are the facts:  

1. Failed border and immigration policies are not the fault of one party as there have been many bi-partisan attempts to enact Comprehensive Immigration Reform which have been consistently blocked and hijacked by the far-right wing extremists in your party for nearly two decades. 

2. According to every law enforcement agency in the country, migrants, including and especially undocumented ones, commit substantially less crime, including violent crimes, than citizens, and the communities with the largest populations of undocumented migrants are among the safest communities in the country. (So, you are more likely to be assaulted, robbed, and murdered by citizens who look like you.) 

3. Migrants, including undocumented ones awaiting refugee status determination (which is the majority of recent ones) and others who were invited here by both government and corporations to provide cheap labor, have been responsible for producing much of the recent wealth and economic growth in Georgia, including the budget surpluses you celebrate, since at least the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 (which they built the infrastructure for), and likely much before that since Georgia agriculture has depended on them. (This is similar to the economic growth and wealth that slavery and the slaves provided to Georgia and the entire South and country, which we are still benefitting from but have never acknowledged.) 

4. According to studies conducted by state auditors, including in “red states” like Texas and Kentucky, undocumented migrants contribute millions more in both direct and indirect taxes and revenues to the economies of states than they receive in any form of benefits, so they are an overall economic boon—and actually create more jobs (rather than the myth of stealing jobs from American citizens.) The IRS has confirmed the same for the federal coffers. 

5. Women, children and families are risking their lives to come here for a better life as refugees due to the fact that our economic and militaristic foreign policies and interventions in their countries have decimated their economies and public safety, so they have as much right as any of our immigrant ancestors who reached our shores through various means, many of which were considered illegal at the time.  

We have worked hard through the years to make Cobb and Georgia a welcoming community and will continue to do so, for immigrants of all backgrounds—because it is not only the right thing to do but the right American thing to do (if one knows true American immigration history and believes in our founding principles). So, we call on you, Governor Kemp, and all elected officials and candidates for office to stop the hate and fear mongering directed towards migrants and make plans to welcome them wherever they land. 

Sincerely, 

Rich Pellegrino for the Cobb Immigrant Alliance and Cobb SCLC