We at LCF Georgia are shocked and devastated by the news of the murder of Laken Riley, a nursing student from Augusta University on the UGA campus. We support a full investigation that will bring justice to her family and the community in Athens.
Due process is key to the justice system and we are supportive of all actions that bring responsible parties the full weight of the law and closure to those grieving.
Nationality, race, gender, faith or religion, and immigration status play a role in all narratives, certain characteristics should not be used to make generalizations, assumptions, or accusations about large groups of people.
We firmly reject any comments, or statements that imply immigrants and or Latinos are dangerous or a problem to our communities. Data has shown over and over we are essential to the very fabric of this country.
In Georgia, Latino men are the group with the highest participation in the workforce.
In Georgia, immigrants contribute almost $10 billion in federal, state, and local taxes annually.
More than 10% of all nurses and 18% of all health aides are foreign-born.
Immigrants make up large portions of industries that power the day to day lives of Georgians — 53% of personal care services, 33% of animal processing, and 31% of building services workers are immigrants.
What to do now?
This horrible crime is a reminder that many women are just not safe in our communities. Violence is a reality for so many of us. We know for a fact that 58% of women under 30 encounter harassment while running. Women are targets of criminals and crimes of opportunity like Chief Clark noted in his remarks.
Crimes of opportunities do not have an ethnic or racial component. We should stay away from accusations or generalizations that take attention away from the issue at hand: The safety of women in Georgia and the country at-large.
We are committed to work in ensuring ALL communities strengthen ties to local governments and those sworn to protect us. If a group does not feel comfortable or safe reporting crimes, it makes us ALL unsafe.
For questions on this matter, please email Daniela@LCFGeorgia.org
Data Sources:
Women and violence while running:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_killed_while_running
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/sep/23/women-joggers-running-with-guns-firearms#:~:text=1%20year%20old-,For%20US%20women%20who%20run%2C%20fear%20of%20assault%20is%20shockingly,but%20the%20solution%20remains%20unclear&text=On%203%20September%202022,ve%20heard%20too%20many%20times
Information on agreements and policies undermining trust in communities: https://greatcities.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Insecure_Communities_Report_FINAL.pdf
Contributions of immigrants in Georgia: https://research.newamericaneconomy.org/report/the-contributions-of-new-americans-in-georgia/