Latina/os Fear Anti-Immigrant Backlash In Georgia

The tragic killing of the nursing student in Georgia has made national news, with a backlash against immigrants that has Latina/os in fear.  The nation’s newspaper, USA Today, reports that on the growing intensity of the national debate over immigration after Donald Trump attacked “President Joe Biden, saying his border policies are to blame for the death of a 22-year-old nursing student who authorities allege was killed by an undocumented immigrant in Athens, Georgia.”

Latina/o residents in Athens, Georgia, where the nursing student was killed. say they fear the fiery rhetoric will lead to backlash, including violence, against the Latina/o and immigrant communities.

According to USA Today,

“`People are scared,’ said Maria, a clerk at a Mexican grocery store in Athens. Those interviewed asked that only their first or middle names be used because of their immigration status and fears of retaliation. `I can understand that because this terrible thing has turned to all of us immigrants. … We’re not all the same. One bad man cannot change the face of all Hispanic people.’”

KJ