Clarkston Residents Voice Concern Over Immigrant Ban

CLARKSTON, GA -- Residents of Clarkston, often touted as one of the most diverse cities in America, came out in force Tuesday evening to voice concerns over President Trump's controversial immigration policy. For more immigration news and other items on DeKalb County, click here to get Patch's daily newsletter and free, real-time news alerts.

A crowd of about 100 converged on City Hall to hear personal stories of how the new rules abruptly changed the lives of many residents of the city, which has been called "the Ellis Island of the South."

On Friday, Trump issued an executive order barring citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for the next 90 days. The nations -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen -- are comprised of more than 218 million people.

Many of those in attendance at the meeting came from some of the countries on the list, including Sudan and Somalia, which are both represented in Clarkston in great numbers.

Somalia native and City Councilman Ahmed Hassan said the new policy goes against American values.

“This executive order is really unfair and it is religious discrimination,” he said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Others highlighted the fear that was pervasive among many of the residents.

“There are some people who are not in this room this evening because they are afraid to come here and the numbers of those who are afraid to come to this meeting outnumber those of us in this room,” Glory Kilanko, director of Women Watch Afrika, told the crowd, according to WAGA-TV.

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Mayor Ted Terry said the city's ethnic businesses often are run by people who must travel in and out of the country to attain goods and products. The executive order effectively shuts them down.
“Longer term, cutting the refugee number in half is going to have a tremendous impact on the local impact in terms of buying groceries, renting vacant apartment complexes,” Terry was quoted as saying.

City Councilman Awet Eyasu, a native of Eritrea, said that he understood the executive order but hopes that it is not a permanent thing.

“I definitely sympathize with the administration’s concern,” he was quoted as saying. “We are going to have to make sure no bad apples pass through our security system. That is definitely a very good rational to halt the immigration process temporarily. I am hoping it is going to be temporary.”

Terry said Clarkston will continue to be a welcoming city.

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