Renounce and Work to Repeal the Laken Riley Act

We write to you as Georgians—workers, neighbors, caregivers, and voters—who believe in dignity, democracy, and the right of all people to live and participate in society without fear. The recent ICE raids targeting unhoused people—many too poor to carry documentation—are not isolated incidents. They are the foreseeable consequence of policies like the Laken Riley Act, which both of you voted to support. That vote sent a painful message: that even here in Georgia—the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—the legacy of civil rights is not enough to shield us from decisions that criminalize poverty and immigrants. We believe that vote was a mistake. And we believe it’s not too late to make it right. A 2023 survey from the Brennan Center for Justice, conducted with VoteRiders, Public Wise, and the University of Maryland, found that: • Over 21 million voting-age U.S. citizens—more than 9%—do not have proof of citizenship readily available. • At least 3.8 million Americans don’t have these documents at all, often due to loss, theft, destruction, or never having had access. • Nearly 11% of Americans of color lack readily available citizenship documents, compared to just over 8% of white citizens. For unhoused people, domestic violence survivors, elders, or those without transportation or legal support, replacing these documents can be slow, expensive—or outright impossible. You may not have intended to empower this kind of cruelty. But it is happening—under your watch. We urge you to publicly renounce the Laken Riley Act, and to actively work to repeal or block its implementation. We also call on you to oppose any future legislation that enables detention or criminalization based on documentation status. Georgia should be leading the nation in restoring civil rights—not handing out tools for racial profiling, deportation, and mass incarceration. We should be building safety through housing, healthcare, education, and opportunity—not through fear and force. The working class—regardless of birthplace—deserves protection, dignity, and a future. 
Georgia deserves leadership that defends all its people, not just the documented and the privileged. We call on you to stand with us. Undo the harm. And make this right.