Troubled by Guard deployment in Georgia

This week, I was deeply troubled to read that Governor Kemp is deploying 75 Georgia National Guard members to assist ICE operations within our state. Even though these troops are described as performing only administrative and logistical tasks, the principle is what matters.  Our National Guard should not be diverted into federal immigration enforcement.

As I understand it, the Guard exists to protect Georgians during natural disasters, infrastructure emergencies, and foreign threats. Using it to prop up ICE blurs the essential line between civilian law enforcement and military service. It also risks normalizing a dangerous precedent where state military power can be harnessed for partisan political agendas.

This deployment undermines public trust, not only in immigrant communities but across our state. The Guard should be seen as impartial, serving the well-being of all Georgians, not drawn into federal crackdowns that divide and intimidate.

I urge Governor Kemp and our legislators to reconsider this decision. Georgia’s National Guard was never meant to be an auxiliary of ICE or a tool for political theater. Every hour our Guard members spend doing ICE’s work is an hour they are taken away from protecting Georgians during natural disasters, crises, and true emergencies. Their mission is to safeguard our state, not to advance federal crackdowns that divide families, intimidate communities, and erode the very trust that makes us safer.

Rhonda Helms


Athens