Morning, y’all! It’s Tax Day, or at least it is for most of the country. Here in Georgia, our tax deadline has been pushed back to May 1 to allow extra time for people affected by Hurricane Helene. Sorry if you pulled your hair out trying to file on time. At least it’s done now! Let’s get to it.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS FILE LAWSUIT
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Seventeen current and former college students have filed a lawsuit claiming the federal government illegally terminated their immigration records. Seven of the claimants are from Georgia universities, including Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Emory and Kennesaw State.
- The lawsuit, filed in Atlanta, claims the government violated students’ Fifth Amendment rights by denying them due process. It also asks the court for a temporary restraining order to reinstate their legal status.
- Without action, the students could lose their employment and academic standing and be detained or deported.
What happens when immigration records are deleted
- The government maintains a database called the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System that documents foreign students studying in the U.S.
- The Georgia students say they had their records deleted without warning.
- Without a SEVIS record, students lose their I-20, a federal document that is required for a student visa and effectively cements the student’s legal status.
- That leaves them at risk for being detained by immigration authorities.
- SEVIS records can be canceled, but usually due to something serious like a criminal charge or dropped coursework. Some of the students involved have traffic citations on their record, but nothing more, according to the complaint.
🔎 An attorney discusses the students’ immigration lawsuit
More than 1,000 students at 170 colleges and universities have had their visas revoked, according to Inside Higher Ed. Outside of Georgia, students and leaders have been exploring different legal avenues to defend against the purge. In Vermont, a judge is considering whether he can intercede in the case of a Turkish Tufts University student who was apprehended on a Boston street by ICE and is being held in a Louisiana detention center after being moved through Vermont.
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STILL THE BUSIEST AT 100 YEARS OLD
Credit: Emma Hurt / AJC
Credit: Emma Hurt / AJC
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is celebrating its centennial this week, and there’s extra good (but entirely expected) news to boot: Hartsfield-Jackson was once again the world’s busiest airport in 2024.
- About 108.3 million passengers passed through Hartsfield-Jackson in 2024, up from 104.7 million in 2023.
- Hartsfield-Jackson has worn the “world’s busiest” crown since 1998, with the exception of 2020. You know, COVID-19 and all.
✈️ How does Atlanta do it? The AJC’s Emma Hurt has a delightful history of how a bankrupt racetrack and a gamble on airmail contracts evolved into the world’s most stressful TSA wait. I mean, the world’s busiest air travel hub. Same thing.
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE’S TARIFF TRADES
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene came out a winner during President Donald Trump’s will-he-won’t-he tariff moves last week, and now some of her peers — and her Georgia constituents — have questions.
- As stocks plunged last week after Trump’s big tariff announcement, holdings documents show Greene snapped up falling stock from some specific companies.
- When Trump reversed and/or paused some tariffs, those stocks shot back up.
- The whole ordeal has some lawmakers and finance insiders questioning the legality of the moves. Greene’s not the only one, since Trump literally posted an encouragement to buy stock before the reversals that boosted the market.
We need an investigation into insider trading by people like Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. We need an investigation into whether any K Street lobbyists or other big firms were tipped off by Donald Trump's actions.
In response, Greene said her financial advisor controls her portfolio without her input. “All of my investments are reported with full transparency,” she said in a statement.
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
📱President Donald Trump exempted some electronics like smartphones and laptops from his tariff plans for China. It has only added to the confusion, since more taxes may be coming on these items. But then he said they weren’t exempt. Or may be included in later tariffs. Just don’t drop your phone for a while.
🎤 The Trump administration turned away two AP journalists from Trump’s news conference with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele despite a court order that ruled banning the AP from White House news events violates the First Amendment.
🚗 Waymo is coming to Atlanta. The self-driving vehicle service will launch this summer through the Uber app. It’s been eight years since state leaders passed a bill allowing self-driving cars on public roads.
✍🏻 TODAY: Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign two major tax relief bills. One would deliver income tax rebates up to $500, and the other reduces the individual and corporate income tax rate from 5.39% to 5.19% this year.
STANDARDS AND HONOR RAISE
Credit: Bita Honarvar / AJC
Credit: Bita Honarvar / AJC
Every year, Atlanta’s own Spelman College hosts a series of pageants to honor some of its brightest young women. The Miss Spelman Pageant is a big deal, and its winners are big deals.
It may seem odd to some that an academically rigorous HBCU like Spelman would do so-called beauty pageants. But participants and HBCU leaders say it means something much different than a crown and a smile. It’s a celebration of every facet of Black beauty and achievement.
💙 Inside the Miss Spelman pageant and what it means to Spelman students past and present
Campus queens are not symbolic placeholders — they are ambassadors of culture, progress, and advocacy. At Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), queens help cultivate school pride, support student initiatives, and serve as role models for both their peers and the broader community.
Competitors undergo a rigorous interview process and develop social platforms to advocate for, like reclaiming Black narratives or prioritizing mental health. There’s also... a group dance routine [excited squealing]!
“It’s important for Black women to be seen in pageants because representation matters,” said this year’s winner, Taylor Nicole Mills.
💙 What it’s like to be an HBCU queen on campus
NEWS BITES
Vice President JD Vance fumbles Ohio State’s National Championship trophy at White House visit
On one hand, it’s automatic bad luck. On the other, “The Curse of the Vance” has a nice gothic ring to it.
UConn star Paige Bueckers goes first in WNBA draft to the Dallas Wings
The Atlanta Dram picked South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao, a 3-point sniper and former national champion.
Some wisdom from the Georgia Gardener: Strawberries don’t ripen off the vine
So that’s why out-of-season grocery store strawberries are always so sad.
Sleek metal torches unveiled for 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina
Those look dangerous! Very “Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with a sleek metal torch.”
ON THIS DATE
April 15, 1912
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
From the front page of the Atlanta Journal: TITANIC CRASHES INTO ICEBERG, STILL FLOATS ... Giant White Star Liner, Largest Steamer in the Word, Wrecked on High Seas 600 Miles off Newfoundland ... Not a Single Life Was Lost in the Disaster.
Another fascinating glimpse of history in real time. Do the math with me: The Titanic hit its fated iceberg early April 15. The story says word didn’t reach Halifax until after 4:00 p.m. This is the evening edition of the April 15 paper in Atlanta, so the story was put together in mere hours.
A valiant news effort, but ultimately incorrect to a morbid degree. “Not a single life was lost in the disaster.” As time would reveal, it was more like 1,500 lives. Yikes.
ONE MORE THING
I’m still thinking about that 1912 Atlanta Journal edition. It radiates anxiety to me, but not because of the major maritime disaster. I may be wrong, but it appears the front page was supposed to be all about Woodrow Wilson and someone had to do some serious newspaper Tetris at the very last minute to make it all fit. There’s more evidence: lots of typos, a graphic pulled together with old-timey Photoshop (read: some scissors and a pen). We feel your pain, long-dead newspaper staffers. You did your best.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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