Summary of Learnings for Community and Media from Meeting with Gwinnett Sheriff Keybo Taylor
STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2025
CONTACT:
James Woo (GA), media@advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Norcross, GA - A diverse group of community organizations including Common Cause, Asian Americans Advancing Justice‐Atlanta, GALEO Impact Fund, LCF Georgia, CASA and Poder Latinx and representatives from the Gwinnett delegation gathered on Monday, July 28, at 11 a.m. at Lucky Shoals Park Community Center to share learnings and remaining questions about the extent of the Gwinnett Sheriff’s Office collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and specifically with ICE and Custom and Border Patrol Enforcement and to get clarity on the process, reasoning and intention when charging journalist Mario Guevara with traffic violations almost month after they were committed and after his arrest in Dekalb County.
A letter to Sheriff Keybo Taylor signed by the organizations was sent on July 15th, requesting answers to specific questions on the matters above within 10 days as well as his commitment to organize town hall meetings where community members have the opportunity to share their experience and ask questions.
The deadline was not met, however a last minute invitation to meet on Monday at 9am was accepted by the group. The following points were discussed and learned during the meeting. Sheriff Taylor was informed we would share back with the community to which he did not object. He was also aware of the press conference.
This meeting comes after many attempts from legislators and community organizations to get answers on both immigration enforcement collaboration and the Guevara case.
Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office does not have a 287g agreement, but has sought a MOU with DHS in order to remain compliant with HB 1105. The details of that MOU, and whether or not it has been finalized, are not yet publicly available. The MOU was sought as part of 1105 compliance.
Gwinnett Sheriff acknowledged that the vast majority of incidents that ended in detention and deportation in the county are traffic violations
At this time, information from all foreign-born people that are detained and taken to jail and cannot prove their lawful presence is shared with ICE (LESC)
The Sheriff's Office is dealing with the complexity of enforcing and complying with 1105 while upholding civil rights of individuals, and the vagueness of some of the text in the law.
The Sheriff has not offered to meet with the public yet.
All charges for Mario Guevara filed in Gwinnett have been dropped by the Prosecutor and no other charges will be pressed against the journalist per the conversation yet release is not possible since he is in federal custody.
Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office made clear there is no policy requiring officers to inquire about immigration status until the person has been booked in jail.
Advocates acknowledge that while there is no specific policy (per Sheriff’s Office) for officers to ask about immigration status while doing routine cause, probable cause of criminal or unlawful behaviour remains a likely reason an officer can invoke to request immigration information.
Advocates and Sheriff Taylor agree 1105 is a law detrimental to the safety and security of the county and the state at large, undermining trust building, and community engagement efforts law enforcement led for years.
Advocates remain concerned about the opaqueness of the process, timeline and charges against journalist Mario Guevara. A man with a work permit and a clear path for a Green Card. More importantly, this is an incident emblematic of the lack of due process, attempts to curb free speech and ambiguity and opacity that currently exists in immigration enforcement both at the local and federal levels.
While the meeting in person was a first step, advocates will continue to press the Sheriff, as an elected official, to engage directly with his constituents, both voters and non-voters upholding his oath to represent and defend his local community.###
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI), and other marginalized communities in Georgia and the Southeast.
