Perdue responds to Canadian’s arrest
April 23, 2007 at 1:29 pm by Alyssa Abkowitz in NewsGov. Sonny Perdue has responded to the Georgia Association of Elected Officials call for an investigation into the arrest of a Canadian tourist who was detained for a minor traffic violation in Glynn County.
His response: It was an isolated incident so no further investigation is necessary.
That’s because one Glynn County jail employee has already been fired, and two others have been suspended without pay. Glynn County Sheriff Wayne Bennett told the Ottawa Citizen that a miscommunication between an officer and immigration officials led to the Canadian’s 11-hour detainment.
Bennett claimed the immigration check was conducted in anticipation of complying with a state immigration law that goes into effect in July. But GALEO said the law only applies to foreign nationals who are arrested for a DUI or felony, not a minor traffic charge.
In an e-mail, GALEO executive director Jerry Gonzalez said, “we [are] disappointed at the lack of attention to our request … Our contention [is] that there is growing confusion about the implementation of [the immigration law] … and that law enforcement officials around the state may misinterpret the law and its intent.”
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