Thursday, May 1, 2025
Good morning. Welcome to May! This week we’re reporting on the Glynn County sheriff’s effort to work with federal immigration authorities, U.S. gun owners concerned about privacy and the Georgia school safety bill signed into law.
Questions, comments or story ideas? Reach out to staff@thecurrentga.org.
NEWS: PUBLIC SAFETY
Sheriff proposes ICE partnership
The Glynn County Sheriff’s Office is seeking to work with federal immigration authorities as part of a program that lets deputies serve warrants on immigrants in the jail.
Sheriff Neal Jump applied to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last month as part of the federal agency’s 287(g) program. It “will enable my agency to assist in expediting transfer of subjects to ICE custody who may pose a risk to public safety in Glynn County,” Jump wrote in the letter dated March 18.
A Coastal Georgia immigrant rights group said it is “concerned” about the proposal by Jump.
NEWS: GOVERNING, PUBLIC SAFETY
Gun owner privacy
A group representing firearms owners has asked three federal agencies to investigate how the gun industry’s main lobbying group secretly used the intimate details of weapons buyers for political purposes.
Gun Owners for Safety cited a ProPublica investigation that detailed how the National Shooting Sports Foundation turned over sensitive personal information on gun buyers to political operatives while presenting itself as a fierce advocate for the privacy of firearms owners.
NEWS: GOVERNING, PUBLIC SAFETY
School safety law
Gov. Brian Kemp signed multiple bills into law this week, including one with sweeping changes in how schools and first responders respond to school shootings.
HB 268 mandates Georgia schools set up a mobile panic alert system that integrates with 911 and digital mapping for first responders. It also requires more information be shared about a student’s past disciplinary and juvenile court records be shared with their current schools. The law was written in response to the Apalachee High School shooting in Barrow County last fall.
Glynn sheriff applies for partnership with ICE in county jail
Glynn County Sheriff Neal Jump applied to collaborate with ICE to serve warrants to detained immigrants and facilitate transfer to federal custody.
Georgia pre-k program takes steps to improve after slip in national rankings
ATLANTA – Georgia’s lottery-funded pre-kindergarten program used to be the envy of the nation, offering high-quality schooling for free. This story also appeared in Capitol Beat News Service But the program peaked in 2019 as enrollment started to fall, a trend that accelerated during the pandemic. “Ominously, some states that have been leaders […]
Gun owners group calls for federal inquiry into firearms industry’s secret sharing of customer data
Citing a ProPublica investigation, Gun Owners for Safety called the secret program that spanned nearly two decades “underhanded.”
Sonny Perdue asks Trump administration to protect Okefenokee
Georgia’s former governor, Sonny Perdue, has urged support for the designation of the Okefenokee Swamp as a United Nations World Heritage Site, which could have political ramifications and potentially impact the state’s permitting decision for a titanium mine.
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