Atlanta, GA

Metro Atlanta officials try to ease doubts after ICE arrests stoke fear in immigrant communities

Published

11 months ago

January 31, 2025

Metro Atlanta officials try to ease doubts after ICE arrests stoke fear in immigrant communities

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Officials in some of Metro Atlanta’s most diverse communities are trying to ease uncertainty following recent arrests by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) in the metro.

Buford Highway is home to restaurants and shops owned or employed by hundreds of immigrants.

“All the cultures on this highway, I even drive down here to get emissions test, I do all kinds of things on Buford we shop at some of the local little stores,” said Anne Jones.

The area was the target of ICE operations with officers seen in Chamblee and Brookhaven.

“I’m hearing stories of people afraid of going out eating or going out to stores and I’m even hearing some reports of some kids not showing up to school. It’s very concerning,” said Brookhaven Mayor John Park.

Park says they were not involved or notified about the arrests. He says he’s worried the recent events will have devastating effects on their relationship with the immigrant community.

“My concern they will group us to all the other agencies, and we will have to work harder to re-establish that trust,” Park said.

Javier Diaz de Leon, Consulate General of Mexico in Atlanta, said the arrests are not random.

“We have not seen any evidence that a widespread raid is happening. What is going on is focused operations that the immigration authorities in this region are going for the detention for specifics individuals that have a process or there’s a deportation order. Nothing like widespread operations,” he said.

People like De Leon and Park are trying to alleviate ongoing fear.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty. There’s a lot of concern,” said Park.

Park says the City of Brookhaven must and will comply with state and government laws but are trying to help the immigrant community regain a sense of belonging.

“We are Brookhaven. We are strong and we are together,” he said.

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Atlanta, GA

Kenyan man sentenced after planning 9/11-style terrorist attack on Atlanta

Published

6 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Kenyan man sentenced after planning 9/11-style terrorist attack on Atlanta

Metro Atlanta

Prosecutors say he had researched the Bank of America Plaza and Delta Air Lines jobs as part of alleged plot.

The Bank of America Plaza, seen behind the Georgia Tech campus in March 2024, was the target of a terrorist plot by Cholo Abdi Abdullah, who was sentenced to life in prison Monday. (Jason Getz/AJC 2024

A Kenyan man was sentenced to life in federal prison after plotting what federal prosecutors called a Sept. 11-style plane attack on Atlanta’s tallest building on behalf of a foreign terrorist organization.

Cholo Abdi Abdullah, 35, was found guilty by a New York City jury in November 2024 on all six counts of conspiracy to hijack a U.S. airliner and crash it into an Atlanta building. He was sentenced to life in prison by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres on Monday.

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Jozsef Papp is a crime and public safety reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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Atlanta, GA

Atlanta featured the Kentucky fan base at its finest

Published

18 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Atlanta featured the Kentucky fan base at its finest

Walking around the streets of downtown Atlanta around 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, it looked like a gathering for the largest Kentucky quarter-zip convention in the world. If Nashville brought out all the flannels, Atlanta provided a more Southern sophistication vibe. But no matter what they were wearing, Big Blue Nation was at its finest.

In Nashville against Gonzaga, fans booed when Kentucky didn’t play well. Many debates on how appropriate that was have taken place since, but the booing wasn’t a few inebriated jerks in the corner starting trouble with others joining in out of a mob mentality. The booing in Nashville was organic and flowed from all nooks of the arena. It was the manifestation of frustration from watching Kentucky players fumble around on the court in their souls and let it be known.

When Kentucky’s offense looked once again anemic against St. John’s, fans in Atlanta hung in there. The only booing was directed at the officials for perceived bad calls, not at the players’ inability to score. Kentucky’s effort helped play a part in that, as fans could tell guys were at least trying hard (unlike against Gonzaga). But you could tell the arena accepted this group’s limitations, especially without Jaland Lowe.

So when Lowe made his unbelievable return to the game after what everyone assumed was a season-ending reinjury of his shoulder, there was a palpable shift from fans willing their offensively challenged try-hards to scrape together some points, to maybe just maybe, thinking their team might actually be kind of good.

The stagnancy that plagued Kentucky in the first half evaporated into motion with drives and cuts that made Kentucky look crisp. When Jayden Quaintence made his debut and looked every bit of the future NBA lottery pick we hoped he would, fans cheered his every move. At its heart, Big Blue Nation is a group of ball-knowers, and the collective appreciation the fans had when Quaintence would make even a routine defensive post play showed just how much fans are still into this team.

The full-throated cheers in the second half made everyone forget the woes of the first half, and most of this season, honestly. It was the first time since the Purdue exhibition that Kentucky fans cheered not just because the ‘Cats were playing well, but because they started to believe in this team again.

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Atlanta, GA

Man shot at Atlanta airport, police say

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A man is injured after a shooting inside Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, according to Atlanta Police.

The man is alert, conscious, breathing and was transported to the hospital for treatment, according to police.

No other injuries were reported.

Airport operations were not affected, according to police.

This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First for updates.

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