Judge hears arguments over targeted foreign students; Fatal high-speed chase in Atl.

Summary

Georgia Today Podcast Summary
Release Date: April 17, 2025
Host: Peter Biello, Georgia Public Broadcasting

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1. Federal Judge Hears Case on Targeted Deportations of Foreign Students

In the opening segment of today's episode, host Peter Biello discusses a significant legal case unfolding in Atlanta involving the deportation of foreign students. A federal judge is currently hearing arguments from over 130 plaintiffs who seek temporary protections against visa cancellations enacted by the federal government.

Key Points:

• Legal Standpoint: Immigration lawyer Charles Cook emphasized the students' right to due process, stating, "The students are legally entitled to due process" (01:36).

• Students' Plight: With their visa statuses in limbo, the students fear further governmental actions. Cook added, "When the government doesn't follow the rules, it requires people to stand up. That's what these students are doing" (01:39).

• Judicial Response: Federal Judge Victoria Calvert expressed tentative support for granting a temporary restraining order but requested additional information from both parties before making a final decision (01:43).

• Academic and Public Reaction: The case has sparked widespread protests across major Georgia universities. At the University of Georgia, math professor Joseph Fu remarked, "I felt abandoned" (02:14), highlighting the unprecedented uncertainty faced by the academic community. Similar protests have been held at Emory and Georgia State universities.

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2. Call to End High-Speed Police Chases Following Fatal Crash in Atlanta

The podcast shifts focus to a tragic incident involving a high-speed police chase that resulted in the death of an uninvolved 19-year-old bystander in Atlanta.

Key Points:

• Fatal Incident: The crash has ignited calls from activists and Democratic state lawmakers for reforming law enforcement tactics. Kate Weaver, a family friend of the victim, stated, "This fatal accident could have been prevented" (02:47).

• Statistics Highlighted: According to a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, over the past five years, Georgia State Patrol has conducted more than 6,000 pursuits, leading to nearly 2,000 injuries and 63 deaths, including bystanders and passengers (02:50).

• Government Stance: A spokesperson for Governor Brian Kemp attributed the fatalities to "those who break the law and act recklessly," opposing immediate policy changes (02:50).

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3. Language Barriers Jeopardize Healthcare for Older Adults

Ellen Eldridge reports on the challenges faced by non-English-speaking older adults in Georgia's healthcare system, illustrating the issue through the story of Lou Saspina.

Key Points:

• Case Study: Lou Saspina, a 73-year-old diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, experienced severe neglect due to language barriers at a long-term acute care facility. Despite legal requirements for translation services, staff communicated solely in English, leading to misdiagnosed conditions and inappropriate medication (03:25).

• Family Advocacy: Saspina's daughter, Linda Perez, fought tirelessly to secure proper care for her mother. She recounted, "I felt abandoned" (04:03) and highlighted the inadequate translation resources, such as unusable phone lines (04:47).

• Broader Implications: With nearly 1.5 million Georgia residents speaking a language other than English at home, the lack of adequate interpretation services poses significant risks. Sunyeon Choimoro of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum noted, "The services aren't as common as they should be" (05:22).

• Regulatory Oversight: The Georgia Department of Community Health oversees long-term care facilities, allowing fines up to $1,000 for severe breaches related to language barriers (06:05).

• Impact on Families: Ellie Bookman shared personal insights, explaining how language barriers add stress to family caregivers, often forcing them to act as intermediaries to ensure proper care (05:53).

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4. Record Enrollment Numbers in Georgia's Public Colleges and Universities

Peter Biello reported a significant uptick in enrollment across Georgia's public higher education institutions.

Key Points:

• Enrollment Statistics: Spring enrollment reached an all-time high of approximately 345,000 students, marking a resurgence from declines experienced in 2022 and 2023. Undergraduate numbers saw a 14% increase, while master's programs grew by 12.5% (07:09).

• Institutional Developments: The University System of Georgia's Vice Chancellor of Research and Policy Analysis highlighted the positive trends, attributing growth to renewed student interest and expanding academic programs (07:09).

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5. Deneen Milner Wins the Townsend Prize for Fiction

The podcast celebrated literary achievements by announcing Deneen Milner as the winner of the Townsend Prize for Fiction for her novel One Blood.

Key Points:

• Award Significance: The Townsend Prize, established in 1981 by the Atlanta Writers Club and the Georgia Writers Museum, honors outstanding novels or short story collections by authors residing in Georgia (07:54).

• Winner's Work: One Blood explores four generations of Black mothers, delving into their trials and secrets. At a gala event at the Callenwald Fine Arts Center, George Weinstein praised the prize as a celebration of Georgia's literary future, stating, "The next Alice Walker is writing her great work right now" (08:56).

• Author Interview: GPB's Orlando Montoya interviewed Ellie Bookman, a poet featured in Milner's podcast series Narrative Edge. Bookman discussed her own collection, Love 6th Century, and the interplay between love and sickness as central themes (08:20–16:40).

  • Notable Quotes from Ellie Bookman:
    • "Love sometimes means romantic love within the book, but it also just means the human impulse to seek connection with another human." (11:08)
    • "I felt abandoned." (06:41)

• Future of Georgia Writers: The podcast emphasized the vibrant literary community in Georgia, encouraging listeners to engage with local writers through initiatives like Narrative Edge (08:58).

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Conclusion

Peter Biello wrapped up the episode by encouraging listeners to stay informed through GPB News and to engage with Georgia's dynamic community through education, activism, and the arts. The episode provided a comprehensive overview of pressing legal, social, and cultural issues impacting Georgia, underscored by personal stories and expert insights.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "I felt abandoned." – Linda Perez (04:03)
• "The students are legally entitled to due process." – Charles Cook (01:36)
• "This fatal accident could have been prevented." – Deneen Milner (02:47)
• "Love sometimes means romantic love within the book, but it also just means the human impulse to seek connection with another human." – Ellie Bookman (11:08)

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For More Information: To explore the full stories and stay updated, visit gpb.org/news or subscribe to the Georgia Today podcast on your preferred podcast platform.

Transcript

[Peter Biello]

DBHDD is warning all Georgians that half.

[Sarah Kalis]

Of all opioid deaths happen at home when people take an Oxy or a.

[Peter Biello]

Perc with a glass of alcohol for stress or to sleep. Learn more about protecting families from opioid.

[Sarah Kalis]

[e-mail].

[Peter Biello]

Welcome to Georgia Today. This podcast features the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, a federal judge hears arguments over foreign students targeted for deportation, allegedly without due process. Activists call for an end to high speed police chases after a fatal crash in Atlanta. And we'll hear how language barriers can put older adults at risk in our health care system.

[Linda Perez]

I felt abandoned.

[Peter Biello]

Today is Thursday, April 17th. Hi, I'm Peter Biello and this is Georgia Today. A federal judge in Atlanta heard a case today that would grant temporary protections to foreign students whose visa records had been removed by the federal government. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

[Charles Cook]

With over 130 plaintiffs, the case is the largest to go before a judge as foreign students across the country are facing visa cancellations. The students attorneys say their clients are caught in status limbo and fear more action will be taken against them. They are asking the court to grant a temporary restraining order to restore protections until a final decision is made. Immigration lawyer Charles Cook says the students are legally entitled to due process.

[Peter Biello]

When the government doesn't follow the rules.

[Sarah Kalis]

It requires people to stand up.

[Peter Biello]

That's what these students are doing.

[Charles Cook]

Attorneys for the federal government argued no real harm had been done to the students and that they could follow a reinstatement procedure. Federal judge Victoria Calvert said she is inclined to grant the temporary restraining order but is giving both sides time to file more information before she makes a ruling. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kalis in Atlanta.

[Peter Biello]

The case of these students has spawned protests around the state. Speaking at the University of Georgia yesterday, math professor Joseph Fu said he's never seen this level of uncertainty among students and faculty alike. At 67 years old now, never in.

[Charles Cook]

The United States have I seen this. Never did I ever imagined this was happening happen.

[Peter Biello]

Protests also have taken place at Emory and Georgia State universities. Activists are calling for an end to high speed chases by law enforcement after a fatal crash in Atlanta on Monday. A 19 year old not involved in the chase was killed. Democratic state lawmakers and others gathered yesterday to ask governor Brian Kemp to restrict the Georgia State Patrol's use of high speed chases. Among those was Kate Weaver, a family friend of the victim.

[Deneen Milner]

This fatal accident could have been prevented.

[Peter Biello]

Recent reporting by the Atlanta Journal Constitution found that state troopers engaged in more than 6,000 pursuits over the past five years, leading to almost 2,000 injuries and 63 deaths, many involving bystanders or passengers. A Kemp spokesman blamed the deaths on, quote, those who break the law and act recklessly. Language barriers are putting older adults at risk in the healthcare system with without an advocate, Georgians who cannot speak or understand English well are more likely to suffer abuse and neglect. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more.

[Sarah Kalis]

Lou Saspina spent 38 days in a long term acute care facility last year. She was only supposed to be there long enough to wean off a ventilator after an Atlanta hospital discharged her. The 73 year old was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease, after a.

[Linda Perez]

Trip to the ER that led to respiratory failure. That's why she was on a ventilator.

[Sarah Kalis]

That's Ospina's daughter, Linda Perez. She's the one who fought to get Ospina transferred back to the hospital. Her mother wasn't improving in the long term care facility and she couldn't explain why. Because of a language barrier.

[Linda Perez]

I felt abandoned.

[Sarah Kalis]

Despite laws requiring translation services, doctors there spoke only in English.

[Linda Perez]

There was one person maybe that made a small effort to try to communicate with her. But the norm was no communication in Spanish.

[Sarah Kalis]

Ospina was left with little more than body language and her mental health declined. Every few days a psychiatrist stopped by and asked Ospina the same questions. Was she depressed? Yes, I am. That much she could confirm in English, but deeper communication in Spanish wasn't possible. Perez insisted the facility provide interpretation services.

[Linda Perez]

And they brought a phone with a cable that was so short that you couldn't even get the phone close to the patient.

[Sarah Kalis]

Alspina's chart didn't match what Perez was seeing.

[Linda Perez]

When I read the reports, it's like, patient is fine, she's fine, she's fine. And he didn't even use the translation line.

[Sarah Kalis]

Then her mother was prescribed anti anxiety medication.

[Linda Perez]

You should ask a neurologist what happens to a patient with myasthenia graves that receives Xanax twice a day. She could have died.

[Sarah Kalis]

Almost 1 1/2 million Georgia residents speak a language other than English. At home and under Title VI of the federal Civil Rights act, health care facilities must provide interpretation services. Plus, studies show that older adults with language barriers are at increased risk of hospital readmission. Sunyeon Choimoro is with the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum. She says the services aren't as common as they should be. And while it's tough enough to find Spanish translation services. Her parents speak Korean.

[Ellie Bookman]

My dad ended up having needing emergency brain surgery and that whole experience was so traumatic for them that they decided to move back. They they did not want to deal with the medical system here.

[Sarah Kalis]

Choi Morrow says language barriers mean more stress on family caregivers.

[Ellie Bookman]

Even if my dad can understand most.

[Sarah Kalis]

Of what the doctor says, he still.

[Ellie Bookman]

Wants me there because he wants to be sure.

[Sarah Kalis]

The Georgia Department of Community Health regulates long term acute care facilities in the state. Anyone can file a complaint with DCH online. If a lack of interpretation services leads to death or serious injury, the healthcare facility could be subject to a fine of up to $1,000. Perez fought to get another neurologist to send her mother back to the hospital. Alpina says she felt better immediately after.

[Linda Perez]

Me senti muchisimo mejor.

[Sarah Kalis]

Perez believes her advocacy saved her mother's life.

[Linda Perez]

But there are so many people that don't have advocates.

[Sarah Kalis]

It's a year later and Alspina no longer needs to steady herself with a walker. She gets around just fine. Perez is happy her mom is okay, but she won't forget the families still struggling in silence. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldredge.

[Peter Biello]

Enrollment at Georgia's public colleges and universities reached an all time record for the spring at about 345,000 students. The University System of Georgia's vice chancellor of research and policy analysis reported the numbers yesterday. They are up from last year after declining in 2022 and 2023. The largest growth was among undergraduates, with a 14% increase over last spring. Master's degree programs grew by 12.5%. Also yesterday, the regents voted to name Georgia Tech School of Public Policy after former president Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter. Jimmy Carter attended Georgia Tech in.

[Ellie Bookman]

The.

[Peter Biello]

Atlanta Writers Club and the Georgia Writers Museum have presented the Townsend Prize for Fiction. The award has been given every two years since 1981 and recognizes an outstanding novel or short story collection written and published while the author lived in Georgia. It's named for Jim Townsend, founding editor of Atlanta magazine. The 2025 winner, announced on Thursday, is Deneen Milner. For her book OneBlood, she spoke with GPB's Orlando Montoya.

[Ellie Bookman]

This book is It's a figment of my imagination, but it is very much rooted in all the things that I ever wanted to know about my own mother.

[Peter Biello]

One Blood traces four generations of black mothers, their trials and secrets. It was selected by committees of in state and out of state readers from among 10 finalists and presented At a gala on Thursday at the Callenwald Fine Arts center in Atlanta. George Weinstein of the Atlanta Writers Club says the Townsend Prize celebrates the future of Georgia writers. The next Alice Walker is writing her, you know, her great work right now. You know, the next Terry Kay is.

[Sarah Kalis]

Out there working right now.

[Peter Biello]

It's a wonderful time to be in Georgia working with writers and trying to help them succeed. GPB's podcast Narrative Edge, a podcast about books with Georgia connections, featured Deneen Milner in her book One Blood. You can listen to all episodes of Narrative Edge by searching for it wherever you get your podcasts. The most recent episode of Narrative Edge features a poet, Ellie Bookman. She's a teacher of language arts at Padilla School in Atlanta. Her book Love 6th Century, is a collection of poems that beautifully contrasts words and images around big ideas. She spoke with GPB's Orlando Montoya.

[Deneen Milner]

So I understand you had journalistic parents. Can you tell me a little bit about if that influenced your writing as a child?

[Ellie Bookman]

Yes, both my parents were journalists, and actually my grandfather was as well, my mother's father. And it definitely influenced me in the sense that the written word was always very revered in our household. And as I was growing up, I wrote all the time. I didn't really discover poetry until later. And so in high school, for example, I still was pretty interested in maybe pursuing journalism. I was really active in my high school newspaper, and my father kind of cautioned me against it, not to say that I shouldn't do it, but just to say, you know, it's a hard field. Just make sure you think about it. And I went off to college and chose poetry instead, which was not exactly an easier field. Right.

[Deneen Milner]

An even harder field, perhaps.

[Ellie Bookman]

Right.

[Deneen Milner]

Well, let's talk about the book, Love 6th Century. What was the idea behind the book?

[Ellie Bookman]

The idea was I wrote all these poems over many years, pretty much close to a decade, really. And the idea was, how do they all come together? And I do believe they do come together. I think over the course of writing them all, I figured out some things or I came to a deeper understanding of some things about the world and how I see the world.

[Deneen Milner]

Now I sort of got a couple of themes from this book, but before I get into what I thought they were, I'll ask you, what do you think are the themes that bind these poems together?

[Ellie Bookman]

I mean, the title's a big clue, Love and sickness. And love sometimes means romantic love within the book, but it also just means the human impulse to seek connection with another human.

[Deneen Milner]

And.

[Ellie Bookman]

And then Sick is sort of the darker side of that coin, which is when you are so hungry to hold onto and keep those connections or keep whatever it is you have, that can become a sort of darker impulse.

[Deneen Milner]

It's a very topical book, I must say. There's a lot of topical references in there, even though we're not specifically pointing.

[Ellie Bookman]

Out, you know, news headlines very purposefully. I mean, I look at the news a lot of the time. Maybe that's to go back to the journalism theme. I look at the news a lot when I'm sitting down to write, and I don't. You know, I don't put the name of an event or the name of a person in a poem, but I might read a headline and feel very confused and conflicted and hurt or some kind of emotional response to a news event. And then I try to write the.

[Deneen Milner]

Poem out of that ones that I. That stood out to me. The first, of course, is the opener. Today it starts today. A war started, but thousands more were already in bloom. So it felt like going for groceries. It's almost a statement of how has war become so common?

[Ellie Bookman]

Exactly. Yeah. I mean, what's more common than just going and buying groceries? And the poem lists several of the most basic kinds of groceries, including frozen pizza. And I, even though it might seem, I think that's what I was going for is that strangeness of a poem that acknowledges that wars are happening all over the world, and yet you could just be going about your business buying a frozen pizza. The first few poems bring in the theme of war and violence, which has always been a fascination of mine. Not in a good sense necessarily, but I've always been obsessed with trying to understand why wars happen. And then the theme of really. Of sort of falling in love is in that first section as well. And it's equally as loud in some ways. So there's that really violent example of war juxtaposed with the feeling of falling in love and forming a deep connection.

[Deneen Milner]

The other one, let me see, was Living Alone.

[Ellie Bookman]

That one has a sort of clever opening that people tend to like.

[Deneen Milner]

I will be a woman with a drill, not a woman with a neighbor with a drill. Yes. Were you ever a woman with a drill or the woman with a neighbor with a drill?

[Ellie Bookman]

Oh, I was the woman with the drill. Of course. That's the resolution that the poem makes, which is. And that was, I think, the first time I was living alone, which was. I was pretty. This is one of the oldest poems in the book, actually. This was written while I was in Graduate school, and I was living on my own. And I had to install a window air conditioning unit by myself because I had no air conditioning in North Carolina in August. And I had to go buy a drill to be able to get it into the frame of my window. And then I wrote this poem about that experience.

[Deneen Milner]

I think I liked it because I lived alone for many number of years. And it's sad in a way, but you learn to live with it and you do things on your own.

[Ellie Bookman]

You get skills that you wouldn't get otherwise because you have no other option, right? You have nobody else to ask to help you with installing the air conditioner or fixing the sink or whatever it might be. So there's a strength, I think, that comes from it. And it is a sad poem in a way, but it. In a lot of ways, but it also is a celebration of that strength that comes from that kind of experience.

[Deneen Milner]

So tell me about your New Yorker break. How did that happen?

[Ellie Bookman]

That was so very exciting. I mean, I submit poetry all the time. I submit to every magazine that I would ever want to be published in. And usually I expect rejection. So it was one random summer afternoon I submitted a group of poems to the New Yorker and then forgot about it and thought I would never hear anything back. So that was in the summer, and I think it was In January of 2017, I think it was when I got an email back from them saying we would like to publish one of these poems. The poem was privilege. It didn't actually appear in the magazine until that August, but it was a thrill seeing it there. And I've had two poems published there again since. And it's always a really exciting thing.

[Deneen Milner]

And now you're a teacher, so that's a lesson for your kids.

[Ellie Bookman]

I actually usually start my school year. Every time I have a new group of students in front of me, I tell the story of how that poem was written, how I submitted it and revised it and edited it, how I waited and how I, you know, the anticipation and the excitement. And I tell them that whole story of. From the first draft to publication to kind of earn some credit with them that as a writer, you know, it's a difficult path, but. But it's so rewarding. And I want to kind of show them that it's possible and show them that I at least know a little bit about what I'm trying to teach them.

[Deneen Milner]

Okay. Ellie Bookman, your collection of poems is called love 6th century. Thank you so much for coming and speaking with us.

[Ellie Bookman]

Thank you so much. It's been wonderful.

[Peter Biello]

And that's it for Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you want to learn the latest updates and all the stories you've heard, go to gpb.org news and remember to subscribe to this podcast. We are off tomorrow, but we'll be back in your feed on Monday afternoon with all the latest news from Georgia. And your feedback is welcome. Send it via email. The address is Georgia todaypb.org I'm Peter Biello. Thank you so much for listening.

[Charles Cook]

This is Tonya Moseley, co host of Fresh air. You'll see your favorite actors, directors and comedians on late night TV shows or YouTube. But what you get with FRESH AIR is a deep dive. Spend some quality time with people like Billie Eilish Questlove, Ariana Grande, Sarah, Stephen Colbert, and so many more. We ask questions you won't hear asked anywhere else. Listen to the FRESH AIR podcast from NPR and whyyy.