By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
NOV. 25, 2025 | The coming year will be a political one, with U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff expected to draw several Republicans challenging him. The first Republican to announce for this Senate seat is U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who represents the First District of Georgia, a coastal district that stretches from Savannah to Baxley to Waycross and St. Marys.
Last week Rep. Carter took an unusual way to campaign for that Senate seat. He sent a formal letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security, and to the director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, asking for federal immigration enforcement and ICE agents be ordered to Atlanta “to protect against record levels of illegal immigrants and to confront safety concerns.”
No elected official, Republican or Democrat, joined Rep. Carter in making that call. Certainly elected officials of the Metro Atlanta area haven’t asked for these agents, or suggested an unsafe Atlanta because of immigrants.
Rep. Carter seems to want federal immigration agents patrolling the streets of Atlanta, as they have in Los Angeles, Chicago and most recently in Charlotte. Americans all across our nation shudder at such a policy of government stormtroopers invading their communities.
ICE agents for Georgia? That’s a funny way for Rep. Carter to campaign for the Senate. It may bounce back to haunt his Senate attempt.
Would Rep. Carter like to see military-style stormtroopers patrolling in other cities of Georgia? How about Savannah, the key city in his district? How about Pooler, where Rep. Carter was once mayor? How about ICE agents in lovely St. Simons Island, where Rep. Carter recently moved?
We suspect that few Georgians don’t want military-style ICE agents in their neighborhoods, as some have appeared in masks in other cities. And while we have diverse immigrants in most Georgia communities, most of them are peaceful. Not only that, but these people are routinely working in many Georgia companies, trying to make a life of their own in peaceful Georgia, and contributing to our bustling economy.
No thank you, Rep. Carter. We suspect First District citizens wonder about your ill-advised idea of sending ICE agents for Atlanta, or any other Georgia city. Georgians, too, will remember your ICE agent request the next time your name is on the ballot!
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