Federal immigration authorities arrested 1,226 people across Georgia in August as part of "Operation Safe Community – Atlanta," according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with 720 of those arrested facing criminal charges or convictions and 506 with no criminal history, CBS News Atlanta reported.
The operation is part of a broader national enforcement push that has kept pace through the summer. ICE arrested roughly 50,000 people nationwide in August, matching a record of 49,571 set in July, according to NBC News.
Along Buford Highway and in neighboring DeKalb County communities, the enforcement activity has strained local support networks. Lily Pabian, executive director of We Love Buford Highway, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that her organization began hearing about increased immigration operations and detentions affecting residents across the metro area starting in early July. In one incident that month, three workers were detained at a Norcross public safety building construction site, according to the AJC, with the arrests confirmed by a contractor and a nearby resident.
STAND, a DeKalb County mutual aid organization co-founded by Matthew Woodruff, has responded by expanding food distribution to apartment complexes where residents have grown afraid to leave home amid the enforcement activity, according to WABE and Decaturish. The Latin American Association's food pantry on Buford Highway distributed 340,000 pounds of food over the past year — 100,000 pounds more than the previous year — as need has grown.
The current wave echoes a similar episode in January 2025, when ICE conducted what an agency spokesperson called "enhanced targeted operations" in Chamblee, Brookhaven and Doraville on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, with agents also appearing at a Tucker church that day, according to Decaturish and Georgia Public Broadcasting. Chamblee Mayor Brian Mock said at the time that city government and police had not been notified beforehand, adding that "a person's behavior in our community is far more important than how they got here." Brookhaven issued a statement the next day, Jan. 27, saying the arrests "disrupt lives, separate families, and create an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty" and citing the city's designation as a "Welcoming City." Chamblee's population is 38.9% Hispanic or Latino and Brookhaven's is 20.6%, according to Decaturish's reporting on Census data.
In response to ongoing concerns, the DeKalb County Board of Education drafted a policy in May 2026 called "Safe Spaces to Learn," which would require ICE or other outside law enforcement agencies to present a signed warrant or court order — first reviewed by the district's legal affairs office — before accessing a child or school campus, according to Decaturish. The board postponed a vote on the policy from a July meeting to its next meeting in August, after the 2026-2027 school year began; no vote outcome has yet been reported.
