COBB COUNTY SHERIFF CRAIG OWENS IS A DANGEROUS MAN

“It may be historic in that it’s likely the first time a Cobb County sheriff has moved to protect drunk driving child rapists in our country illegally.”

So says Jon Ferre of Cobb’s Democrat Sheriff, Craig Owens. Ferre was Senior Advisor to the Director and later Chief of Staff at ICE under the Trump administration. Owens is well-known for inviting a mariachi band to play at a gala event in which he proudly announced he had ended the Cobb jail’s lifesaving 287(g) agreement with ICE shortly after taking office in 2021.

The mariachi band newly sworn Cobb Sheriff had at his 2021 event to announce the end of 287(g). Photo: Cobb County Courier

Signed into law by then President Bill Clinton, 287 (g) authorizes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers the authority to perform limited, specified immigration officer functions under the agency’s direction and oversight. It is primarily used in jails and deals with illegal aliens already arrested for additional crimes.

As t his writer observed when he was elected, Sheriff Craig Owens is a dangerous man. He is also defiantly arrogant. He has announced that he will not obey new state law on immigration enforcement.

Owens has pledged to ignore a clear mandate in HB 1105 (“The Georgia Criminal Alien Track and Report Act”) passed in the 2024 General Assembly. In part, it requires all sheriffs to apply for 287 (g) authority if they are not already authorized.

From the AJC: (“Whiplash in Gwinnett, Cobb as new law on immigration enforcement takes effect) “Owens says he was not going to apply for 287(g) again because he can’t spare the deputies to investigate immigration cases or do the administrative work.” Sheriff Owens is depending on public ignorance on the reality of the ICE program. But even the AJC quotes Lena Gerber, a leftist activist at the “Immigrant Legal Resource Center” when she correctly points out that “…the agreements on their own don’t require deputies to go out of their way to investigate immigration cases.”

Ferre, the former ICE official agreed. “Asking a jailed individual a few questions about citizenship and alienage obviously doesn’t amount to an investigation.” Now at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington D.C., Ferre produced required reading on Cobb’s Sheriff (Georgia Sheriff Misleads on 287(g) Program) in June.

I asked various pro-enforcement Georgians about Owens announcement.

“I believe that would be called a “protection racket” for illegals…” former Border Patrol Agent Robert Trent told me upon hearing of Owen’s latest illegal policy. Trent retired as Assistant Director, Enforcement Training, US Immigration Officer Academy at GLYNCO in Brunswick.

HB 1105 sponsor Rep Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) weighed in on Owens defiance: “It was not surprising to see Sheriff Owens of Cobb County boldly state he would not follow state law. He has refused to follow the law before. This is why penalties for Sheriffs who refuse to follow the law were placed in the bill”

* Related reading: Georgia law requires all jailers to report incarcerated illegal aliens to DHS – but it’s not enforced

Petrea told this writer he is determined to see compliance this time. We hope to hear the same from Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr.

Passage of HB 1105 was a direct response to preventable crimes committed by criminal aliens and sheriffs who were ignoring 2006 and 2009 laws passed to require them to report illegal aliens to federal authorities. It is literally a law that says Georgia Sheriffs must obey the law.

Owens’ pro-enforcement opponent

We asked Owens Republican opponent David Cavender about Owens objection to the 287 (g) program. “He can’t spare the deputies for immigration cases or the 287(g) administration paper work? He sure doesn’t mind sparing his deputies for bike units, horse units, traffic units, his and his executive staff’s personal drivers and his own Executive Protection team for his own safety. It seems Craig has plenty of resources to spare as long as it’s for his own agenda…” said Cavender.

A member of the SWAT team, Cavender is currently a Sergeant with the Cobb County Police Department and a 287(g) proponent. He has a long list of endorsements, including from former Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren and the Cobb Fraternal Order of Police. Warren instituted 287 (g) in 2007.

Pro-enforcement voters of all descriptions are flocking to Cavender. The Marietta Daily Journal noted that a large group of supporters turned out at the Marietta Country Club last week again to support Cavender. “There’s a lot of momentum behind the campaign and everything really seems to be going really well,” says Cavender. “It was quite humbling, really, to see that kind of crowd.”

Guests were also treated to an appearance from Dr. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who gave a few words before leading the group in prayer” according to news reports.

Pro-enforcement Cobb County voters have a chance to greatly improve public safety by voting Owens out of office. Both of the votes from our house will be to that end.

A version of this essay was posted on the subscription website James Magazine Online on Sept. 9, 2024.

D.A. King is president of the Marietta-based Dustin Inman Society and proprietor of ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com

—>UPDATE: The liberal AJC prints a lengthy correction after demand letter from the Dustin Inman Society. More news on this coming soon.

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Daily Signal News report (‘DEFAMATORY’: Conservative Demands Swing-State Newspaper Retract ‘Hate Group’ Smear’)
on the recent AJC attack here by the great Tyler O’Neil.

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I added educational hyperlinks to the below letter – dak.

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October 18, 2024

VIA U.S. REGULAR MAIL & E-MAIL

Leroy Chapman, Jr., Editor in Chief THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION 223 Perimeter Center Pkwy NE Atlanta, Georgia 30346

Re: Demand for Retraction and Apology

Dear Mr. Chapman, Jr.:

I write on behalf of my client, the Dustin Inman Society (DIS), to demand an immediate retraction and apology for the defamatory statements published in your October 7, 2024, article titled “Democrats in this Georgia district are backing a write-in candidate” by Tia Mitchell.

Through use of internet links, the AJC article wrongfully characterizes the Dustin Inman Society as a “Marietta-based anti-immigration hate group.” This characterization is false, defamatory, and published with actual malice. The Dustin Inman Society pushes for secure borders, is not “anti-immigration” and its proprietors do not hate anyone. Rather, DIS advocates for enforcement of U.S. immigration laws and actively opposes unlawful immigration. This distinction is crucial and well-known to staff at your publication.

I paste the offending paragraph from the AJC story:

“A search of activity under her birth name, Karen Sacandy, which Stamper legally changed in 2019, showed that she previously was aligned with a Marietta-based anti-immigration hate group. The group’s website often linked to Sacandy’s activities, like a letter seeking information about the state’s Immigration Enforcement Review Board and a copy of a letter to the editor supporting legislation to prevent immigrants claiming asylum from obtaining driver’s licenses.”

HEMMER WESSELS MCMURTRY PLLC
250 Grandview Drive, Suite 500, Ft. Mitchell, KY 41017 ● Phone 859.344.1188 ● Fax 859.578.3869

October 18, 2024 Page 2

We note the AJC informs readers that the Dustin Inman Society “often” linked to Karen Sacandy/Kate Stamper activities — but produces only two occasions.

Your story, for which DIS founder and president D.A. King was not contacted, informs readers that Sacandy/Stamper “was aligned” with the Dustin Inman Society. We note that polls show that a majority of Americans oppose the federal offense of illegal immigration. Since the letter posted on the DIS site was a published missive to the editor at the Cherokee Tribune, we must ask: does this make that newspaper a “Cherokee County-based anti-immigration hate group”?

Your characterization demonstrates a reckless and vindictive disregard for the truth, rising to the level of actual malice as defined in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. Actual malice in defamation law refers to publication of a statement with knowledge that it is false or with reckless disregard of whether it is false or not. Your repeated mischaracterization of the Dustin Inman Society, despite having been corrected on numerous occasions, clearly meets this standard.

The Dustin Inman Society’s position on immigration is clear and public:

1. It supports sustainable levels of legal immigration through established channels.

2. It opposes unlawful immigration due to various societal concerns, including: – Strain on public resources and services
– Potential and real public safety issues
– Economic impacts on low-wage American workers and America’s poor

– Challenges to the rule of law

3. The Dustin Inman Society defends legal immigrants when media attempt to blur the difference between them and illegal aliens.

Moreover, the Dustin Inman Society’s board includes lawful immigrants who have navigated the proper channels for authorized immigration. This fact alone should dispel any notion that the organization is “anti-immigration.” As he has informed you multiple times over much of the last two decades, D.A. King’s sister is a real, legal immigrant.

While we acknowledge that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Dustin Inman Society as an “anti-immigrant hate group that denigrates all immigrants,” your article presents the “anti-immigration hate group” characterization as the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s independent assessment and statement of fact.

This smear is not only demonstrably false and ignores Mr. King’s many communications to you advising you of the truth, but also demonstrates an exceedingly unprofessional failure to fact-check and verify information before publication.

We demand that the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

October 18, 2024 Page 3

1. Immediately publicly retract the defaming statement in the October 7, 2024, article.

2. Publish a prominent apology, equal in visibility and placement to the original defamatory article.

3. Cease and desist from further defamatory characterizations of the Dustin Inman Society.

Failure to comply with these demands may result in further legal action. We expect your prompt attention to this matter and await your timely response.

Sincerely,

Todd V. McMurtry

cc: James Abely, Esq.