Morning, y’all! Happy birthday to us! It’s Georgia Day, the day the state was first founded in 1733 as the Colony of Georgia. We look pretty good for 292 years old, I will say. Do something extra Georgia-y today to celebrate. Perhaps eat a peach, or wear white flannel trousers and walk along the beach. Let’s get to it.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR SOME ICE DETAINEES IN GEORGIA
Credit: David Goldman/AP
Credit: David Goldman/AP
We know that dozens of immigrants in Georgia have been apprehended by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in the weeks following President Donald Trump’s return to office and enforcement of anti-immigration policies. The question is, what comes next?
Many people arrested by ICE in the region are taken to Stewart Detention Center in rural South Georgia. The facility is one of the nation’s largest immigrant prisons, and bookings have reportedly surged since the latest crackdowns.
What the path forward may look like:
- One attorney told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution some detainees are being deported via an expedited process that doesn’t allow time for a hearing in immigration court.
- ICE detention centers across the country are over capacity, and some immigrants could be detained for weeks or even months before being deported or given a hearing.
- Family members are having a hard time keeping in contact. Many don’t have the means to safely travel the 150 miles from metro Atlanta to the Stewart Detention Center.
- Two Georgia attorneys told the AJC the majority of people sent to Stewart likely don’t have criminal records, despite the Trump administration’s vow to prioritize immigrants who have committed serious crimes.
The bottom line: Capacity and logistics issues are creating complications with mass deportation processes. For individuals who have been arrested, their legal options are often impossible to divine.
Said immigration attorney Marty Rosenbluth, “I really don’t have solutions for folks right now.”
🔎 Read more of the latest on the immigration crackdown in Georgia.
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A PROMISING LITERACY WIN
Credit: Miguel Martinez/ AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/ AJC
Here’s some super encouraging education news: Atlanta leads the nation in fourth grade reading gains! Atlanta Public Schools was the only large, urban school system in the U.S. that showed significant improvement in fourth grade math and reading scores on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (sometimes called the Nation’s Report Card.)
A new program may be to thank for the bump.
- It’s called “the science of reading,” and it’s a research-based approach to literacy that focuses on phonetics, vocabulary building and comprehension.
- Last year, state lawmakers voted to require school districts to implement the program. The Atlanta school district has invested about $12 million toward the initiative, and other area school districts could follow suit.
- Atlanta Board of Education Chair Erika Mitchell, who co-authored the board’s first literacy policy, says former Superintendent Danielle Battle prioritized literacy when she took over in 2023, setting positive changes in motion.
- Georgia schools are still struggling in other areas and at other grade levels. They’re not the only ones, though. The NAEP noted chronic absenteeism is still a big problem nationwide.
- There’s other, larger challenges facing schools too, like supporting disadvantaged students so they can succeed.
🔎 Read up on what other challenges Atlanta-area schools are facing. (And opportunities! Because we’re positive thinkers.)
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
🏥 A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s plans to cut funding for National Institutes of Health research programs. With the cuts, more than $700,000 in support for Georgia institutions would be in danger of drying up.
🧑⚖️ Trump will get the opportunity to fill a vacancy on the largest federal trial court in Georgia. Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten Sr. announced he will retire in May, paving the way for the president to appoint a new federal judge in the state. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia covers 46 counties, including metro Atlanta.
🔌 The Georgia General Assembly is considering legislation to rein in the strain big data centers put on power grids to meet their outrageous energy needs. It’s a delicate line to walk: Companies get good tax breaks to come here, but their energy usage can leave regular businesses and users in the dark.
DON’T CHICKEN OUT
Go on and sell those chickens! Georgia agriculture officials have lifted a ban on sales, markets and swaps involving live poultry. The restrictions were put in place last month due to bird flu concerns. Two Georgia poultry processing centers were affected by the highly contagious virus, but containment efforts have led the GDA to give the all-clear.
However, bird flu is still a national concern, and consumers may still run into egg-stra* pain while grocery shopping. Some Atlanta-area stores like Trader Joe’s and Costco are limiting egg purchases because of the strain bird flu has put on industrial egg farms.
🍳🍗🥚 Friendly reminder that eggs and poultry purchased from grocery stores should pose no bird flu danger, especially if handled and prepared properly. And we’re already doing that, right? Just say no to medium-rare chicken.
*I am legally allowed one egg pun a day, and here it is.
THE CIRCUS IS COMING TO TOWN
Credit: Ringling Bros./GeoRittenmyer
Credit: Ringling Bros./GeoRittenmyer
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, the biggest name of big tops, is returning to Atlanta for the first time in eight years. The event will be in town for a total of 13 shows.
Phrases like “It’s not your mama’s circus!” sound a little rude, but it’s certainly the case. The new and improved RB and B&B has done away with animal acts following widespread concern about animal rights in the 2010s. The circus was shut down for a time, but has since been revived.
The 2025 version of the circus features all of the bells and whistles befitting an iPad kid crowd: video screens, daring high wire acts and lots of BMX bike tricks.
Oh, also, apparently there are no more clowns. So if that was a dealbreaker for you, it is a new era indeed.
🔎 More details, including dates and locations, are here.
NEWS BITES
These wellness gifts are a sweet pick for Valentine’s Day
“I love you?” How about, “Wow, babe you need some YOU time.”
Experts say Atlanta is one of the best places in the U.S. to spend your 20s
It’s true, there are a lot of great places to cry around here!
Yes, you can be allergic to bananas
More importantly, did you know banana plants are related to ginger plants? Wow, the things you learn from Georgia gardener Walter Reeves.
This Valentine’s Day, consider what all types of love bring to your life
Like, say, the love of local journalism! Aww, we love you, too.
ON THIS DATE
Feb. 12, 1933
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
From the front page of The Atlanta Constitution: Georgia to Celebrate 200th Birthday Today .. with thoughts turned back to a little band chopping down trees on Yamacraw Bluff for the first settlement … They came with hammers and saws, a yearning for growing crops and outstretched hands for the native Red Man.
“200 Years of Progress,” the paper’s banner reads, which wasn’t quite enough progress to get rid of slurs for indigenous people. It’s not pretty, but it’s a reason to always try and do better. What will we be proud of when we hit 300 years?
ONE MORE THING
Full moon people, today is our day! February’s full moon is called the Snow Moon because, well, it’s February. Maybe we can call it a Yellow Grass Moon, or a Medium-Weight Jacket Moon instead.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tellus@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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