MARTA CEO resigns; Georgia woman detained twice by ICE despite Citizenship claim

Summary

Georgia Today Podcast Summary
Release Date: July 17, 2025
Host: Peter Biello

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MARTA CEO Resigns Amid Immigration Status Concerns

In a surprising development, the CEO and General Manager of Metro Atlanta's Regional Transit Authority (MARTA), Colleague Greenwood, resigned from his position. Greenwood, who had been leading MARTA since 2022, stepped down due to issues related to his immigration status as a Canadian national. Details surrounding his departure were not disclosed during the recent board meeting announcement. Jennifer Ide, the chair of the MARTA board, did not provide further comments on the matter.

Grant Blankenship, reporting for GPB, emphasized the complexity of immigration issues in the United States:

"It is very unfortunate that immigration is a very complicated issue in the United States today, but Mr. Greenwood needed to make the decision that was best for him and his family. And his MARTA family will miss him tremendously."
[07:15]

Earlier the same day, MARTA addressed a separate incident involving a stampede at the Vine City station following a Beyoncé concert. The escalator remained barricaded as maintenance had been recently performed. Although extra staff were present to manage the crowd, the area around the escalators lacked sufficient oversight, leading to overcrowding beyond the escalator's design capacity—a situation exacerbated by a 25% increase in ridership compared to two years prior. Rhonda Allen of MARTA acknowledged the oversight:

"Our escalators, really, we ask, you know, to use them when metering one person per step."
[10:32]

Alma Bowman's Struggle with ICE Detention Despite Citizenship Claims

Alma Bowman, a Georgia resident, has been detained twice by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite her assertions of being a U.S. citizen. In her second detention, Alma, who claims birthright citizenship through her American father, faced prolonged detention at the ICE Stewart Detention Center in South Georgia for over four months.

During an interview, Alma expressed her frustration:

"I kept trying to tell him when I was in court that, hey, my dad is an American citizen, you know, and it's just like one ear and out the other."
[03:00]

Grant Blankenship delves into Alma's background, highlighting that her father, Lawrence Bowman, was a U.S. Navy sailor stationed in the Philippines during the 1960s—a time when the Philippines was transitioning from a U.S. colony to an independent nation. Alma moved to the United States at the age of 10, assuming her citizenship was secured through her father. However, discrepancies in documentation and stringent federal requirements have led to her repeated detentions.

Samantha Hamilton, a staff attorney with Asian Americans Advancing Justice representing Alma, stated:

"They are saying that she needs to establish a blood relationship between herself and Lawrence Bowman."
[07:20]

Rose Cuison Villasor, a law professor at Rutgers University, pointed out historical precedents:

"Under the Immigration and Naturalization Act since 1790, a child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent should derive citizenship."
[06:02]

Despite presenting Alma's birth certificate as evidence, the federal government has demanded DNA verification to establish her relationship with her late father, a costly and invasive process. Alma's case underscores the challenges faced by children of U.S. military personnel stationed abroad in securing rightful citizenship.

Education Funding Disputes: Georgia Opts Out of Federal Grant Lawsuit

Georgia stands apart from 24 other states in their legal action against the Trump administration, which seeks the release of $6 billion in promised federal education grants. Attorney General Chris Carr announced that Georgia would not join the lawsuit, asserting:

"The president has the authority to ensure that these funds are being spent lawfully."
[01:19]

Contrastingly, U.S. Representative Lucy McBath criticized the administration's delays, emphasizing the direct impact on educational programs:

"Instead of being in your child's classroom, your money is sitting in Washington here because the secretary of education could not be bothered to meet a deadline."
[01:39]

Georgia's allocation from the $19 million settlement with e-cigarette manufacturer Juul is being utilized by the Marietta School District to install vape detectors in middle and high schools, enhancing student safety by detecting chemical emissions from vaping devices.

Community and Safety Updates

• Commemoration of Congressman John Lewis: Over 150 people gathered in Athens to honor the legacy of the late civil rights icon, John Lewis, during the Good Trouble Lives On National Day of Action. Protesters voiced their criticisms of the Trump administration, drawing inspiration from Lewis's enduring commitment to social justice.
  *> "Having him as that leader made me want to do more and continue to do more." — Gloria Heard
  [11:40]

• Home Insurance Costs Surge in Georgia: According to LendingTree's State of Home Insurance report, the average annual home insurance premium in Georgia has surpassed $3,200, a significant increase from the national average of $2,800 and a rise of over 35% since 2019. Factors contributing to this surge include escalating construction costs, inflation, and more frequent natural disasters.

• Tragic Loss in Macon: Three individuals—7-year-old Summer Lewis, her 10-year-old sister Skylar Worthen, and 28-year-old Johnny Collins III—were found deceased after going missing while swimming at Emerson River Park. Rescue efforts were initiated around 7:30 PM Tuesday, with authorities stating that the victims were wearing life jackets at the time of their disappearance.

Economic Developments

• Spirit Airlines Expands to Middle Georgia: Spirit Airlines has commenced nonstop flights from Macon to Fort Lauderdale, marking its third destination in Georgia after Atlanta and Savannah-Hilton Head. Aviation Director Doug Fayoire highlighted this move as a strategic effort to rejuvenate the Middle Georgia Regional Airport.

• Rivian Establishes East Coast Headquarters: Electric automaker Rivian announced the opening of its East Coast headquarters in Atlanta, intending to employ 100 individuals by year's end and expanding to over 7,000 employees at a nearby manufacturing plant in Social Circle. The headquarters will be situated along Atlanta's Beltline, reinforcing the company's commitment to the region.

• Record Job Growth in Georgia: The state surpassed 5 million jobs for the first time, with June's employment figures rising by approximately 9,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, with notable job gains in healthcare, social assistance, arts, entertainment, and recreation sectors. Conversely, manufacturing and state government witnessed declines.

Legal and Judicial Appointments

Governor Brian Kemp has appointed Judge Benjamin Land to the Georgia Supreme Court, filling the vacancy left by former Chief Justice Michael Boggs in March. Kemp lauded Land for his fairness, work ethic, and integrity. Prior to his appointment, Land served on Georgia's Court of Appeals and has an extensive background in civil litigation.

Corporate Announcements

President Donald Trump claimed that Coca-Cola had agreed to switch to real cane sugar in its flagship soft drink in the U.S., aligning its formula with international markets like Mexico. Coca-Cola has yet to confirm this change, though the company expressed appreciation for Trump's enthusiasm and promised further details on product offerings soon.

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Conclusion

This episode of Georgia Today provided listeners with a comprehensive overview of pressing local issues, from immigration struggles and corporate developments to community safety and economic growth. Host Peter Biello effectively highlighted the interconnectedness of these stories, offering insights that resonate with Georgia residents and those interested in the state's evolving landscape.

Transcript

[NPR Host]

These days there's so much news it can be hard to keep up with what it all means for you, your family and your community. The Consider this Podcast from NPR features our award winning journalism. Six days a week, we bring you a deep dive on a news story and provide the context and analysis that helps you make sense of the news. We get behind the headlines. We get to the truth. Listen to the Consider this podcast from npr.

[Peter Biello]

Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, the Canadian CEO of Atlanta's public transportation system resigns over an immigration problem. Marietta installs vape detectors in the district's public schools. And the story of a Georgia woman who has been detained by ICE twice, despite her claim that she was born American.

[Alma Bowman]

I kept trying to tell him when I was in court that, hey, my dad is an American citizen, you know, and it's just like one ear and out the other.

[Peter Biello]

Today is Thursday, July 17th. I'm Peter Biello, and this is Georgia Today. 24 states are suing the Trump administration to release $6 billion in promised federal education grants. GPB Sarah Kalis reports. Georgia is not one of them.

[Chris Carr]

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr says the state will not join the suit. He said the president has the authority to ensure that these funds are being spent law lawfully. The suit argues withholding the funds violates the Impoundment act governing how a president withholds funding. Meanwhile, U.S. representative and Democrat Lucy McBath called for the release of the funds on the House floor Tuesday. Instead of being in your child's classroom, your money is sitting in Washington here because the secretary of education could not be bothered to meet a deadline. That is the difference between a school having an after school program or not. Georgia school districts were supposed to receive around $40 million from the U.S. department of Education July 1 to pay for programs, including after school programs. For GPB news, I'm Sarah Kallas.

[Peter Biello]

President Trump was reelected largely because of his promise to enforce the nation's immigration laws. And Immigration and Customs Enforcement is detaining all kinds of people in Georgia. That includes a woman named Alma Bowman, who has been detained by ICE twice in her life despite her claim that she was born American. GPB's Grant Blankenship explains Alma Bowman's kids.

[Grant Blankenship]

John and Chris Mitchell, still live in the same place. Alma graduated high school, Jones county in central Georgia. All right, so during Trump won, she was detained. And so I've come to John's home to learn more about Alma's story. But not long after we start talking. How did she get. I'm sorry. John gets a call that sounds important from his mom. It is her. Oh yeah. I'll see if she would like to say anything to you. Yeah, I'd love. Give me one quick sec. She's calling from the ICE Stewart Detention center in South Georgia. She's been there for over four months. I'm doing pretty good. We're currently doing an interview after I press my mic up against John's phone. Alma says neither this detention nor her first one eight years ago or anything she ever imagined happening, because my father.

[Alma Bowman]

Is an American citizen. He's my father, so that's all I know.

[Grant Blankenship]

John Mitchell says what his mom thought she knew and what the federal government says they know first came into conflict in 2017 in Cobb County. It was a regular traffic stop. Alma got pulled over. They ran her records and stuff and saw that she had, she had a record, a non violent criminal record for which she'd already served time. But Cobb county had a so called 287 agreement with ICE. And so when Alma's name came back as someone with legal permanent resident status or a green card, ICE asked the county to hold Alma for them. And during the detention that followed, Alma says she tried to tell immigration officials there's no way this should happen.

[Alma Bowman]

I kept trying to tell him when I was in court that, hey, my dad is an American citizen, you know, and it's just like one ear and.

[Grant Blankenship]

Out the other for three years. The reason Alma was so convinced she was a citizen when the government wasn't is both really simple and kind of complicated. First, her dad was an American. Lawrence Bowman was born and raised in Illinois. He was also a sailor in the US Navy in the 1960s. That's how he met Alma's mom, Weleda Katarungan, in the city of Manila in the Philippines. The Philippines had actually been a part of the United States, a US Colony when Alma's mom was born. After independence, the US maintained a military presence in the Philippines. That's why Lawrence Bowman was there in the 1960s. And so Alma says when he left.

[Alma Bowman]

The Navy, he went back with my mom to the USA just to finish college so he can get a house and a job before they come and.

[Grant Blankenship]

Got me, which they did when Alma was 10. And what did your dad ever say to you about the paperwork or the legal stuff that had to happen for you to be able to do that, to come, to come move to the States finally?

[Alma Bowman]

They never really mentioned anything I guess.

[Grant Blankenship]

You just assume a dad's gonna take care of that kind of thing, Right?

[Alma Bowman]

Right. Of course. I was only 10.

[Grant Blankenship]

Samantha Hamilton is a staff attorney with Asian Americans Advancing justice, and she represents Alma, and she says that's the story she had to tell as she bounced around ICE facilities acting as her own lawyer.

[Samantha Hamilton]

Yeah, I mean, she was getting up front of that immigration judge and, you know, giving it her best shot. I mean, what else could she do?

[Grant Blankenship]

Alma won her own release from detention. She and Samantha met after that and are still working on Alma's immigration case. Samantha says there's stories like Alma's pretty much anywhere the US Military has bases in a foreign country.

[Samantha Hamilton]

A lot of those servicemen have had children with local women in these other countries, and their children should be considered American citizens. I mean, they are American citizens.

[Grant Blankenship]

Rose Cuisson Villasor agrees. She's a law professor at Rutgers University, where she directs the school's center for Immigrant Justice. She says Alma should be a US Citizen under a very old law passed by Congress since 1790. The Immigration and Naturalization act says that if a U.S. citizen has a child that's born abroad, that child derives citizenship, acquires citizenship through the parent US Citizenship. The law only applied to white people until five years after the Civil War. It was extended to some people of Asian descent in the 1940s. Rose says for most of the nation's history, though, it didn't take a ton of documentation to claim an overseas born child's U.S. citizenship. She says things changed when the U.S. put those military bases in countries whose population were primarily people of color, like the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea. Congress passed the Amerasian Homecoming act in the 1980s to ease immigration for kids from some of these countries, but not from the Philippines. Alma's parents are dead now, but still, attorney Samantha Hamilton says if it's proof the government wants Alma, Alma has it.

[Samantha Hamilton]

We've got her birth certificate.

[Grant Blankenship]

Why is that not enough for the federal government?

[Samantha Hamilton]

They are saying that she needs to establish a blood relationship between herself and Lawrence Bowman.

[Grant Blankenship]

So how would we even do that?

[Samantha Hamilton]

By exhuming his body and spending $30,000.

[Grant Blankenship]

To compare their DNA. Rose Cuison Vilasor says that's not unheard of. She had a client who compared their DNA to their exhumed dad's, and they were able to then do a DNA test to prove 99% relationship between the father and my client. Today, the US State Department policy is that genetic proof a US citizen is the parent of a foreign born child is mandatory to transfer citizenship to the child, but that even a 99.5% DNA match is no guarantee. From 2020 to 2024, Alma lived a normal life at home. Then, two months after Trump's second inauguration, at her annual in person immigration check in, ICE took her again.

[Alma Bowman]

So we went downstairs. It just went straight out of the elevator, straight through the outside into an.

[Grant Blankenship]

Suv, straight here to the Stuart Detention Center. If Alma is deported, it would likely be to the Philippines. But Samantha Hamilton says that country won't claim her either.

[Samantha Hamilton]

The Filipino government has recently sent a letter to Alma saying that in their opinion, her birth certificate does not indicate that she is a Filipino citizen. I think she's an American citizen. In the alternative, I think she might be stateless. A person of no. A person under no flag.

[Grant Blankenship]

Meanwhile, Alma's daughter Chris Mitchell says her mom's trying to reconnect with relatives in the Philippines. Just in case. We don't have family in the Philippines. Like, there's no.

[Peter Biello]

Like she's mentioned her aunt. We don't know them.

[Chris Carr]

She doesn't know them anymore.

[Grant Blankenship]

There's nothing there, Mitchell says. For her mother, Alma Bowman, I miss you. Her family and her life have always been in the United States. Okay. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship.

[Peter Biello]

The general manager and CEO of Metro Atlanta's regional transit agency has resigned. Colleague Greenwood has led Marta since 2022. His departure has something to do with his immigration status. He's Canadian, but details were not shared during a board meeting when his departure was announced a few hours ago. Jennifer Ide chairs the MARTA board.

[Grant Blankenship]

It is very unfortunate that immigration is a very complicated issue in the United states today, but Mr. Greenwood needed to make the decision that was best for him and his family. And his MARTA family will miss him tremendously.

[Peter Biello]

Earlier in the day, MARTA officials provided an update on a Monday stampede that injured people on an escalator at a MARTA train station after a Beyonce concert. GPB's Amanda Andrews has that story.

[Chris Carr]

The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority says the escalator at the Vine City station remains barricaded. State inspection confirms maintenance was performed on it last week. After the concert, extra staff members were in place to manage the crowd entering the station, but not at the escalators. Rhonda Allen is with marta. She says they'll be more aggressive about staffing going forward.

[Grant Blankenship]

Our escalators, really, we ask, you know.

[Samantha Hamilton]

That we use when metering one person per step.

[Grant Blankenship]

And that is not what happened, you know, with that the of people trying.

[Chris Carr]

To come down the escalator.

[Grant Blankenship]

The Escalator was overloaded, you know, beyond its design capacity.

[Chris Carr]

MARTA also saw a 25% increase in ridership compared to the last Beyonce concert two years ago. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

[Peter Biello]

More than 150 people gathered in Athens for a protest to commemorate the late Congressman John Lewis today. WUGA's Emma Auer has more on one of the many events being held across the state.

[Chris Carr]

The protest was one of several nationwide as part of the Good Trouble Lives On National Day of Action. It borrowed from the famous words of late Georgia congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis, who died in 2020. Protester Gloria Heard joined the crowd for one reason for Good Trouble. The protesters lined a busy commercial corridor with posters critical of President Donald Trump's administration. Michael Kahl said he wanted to attend the event to honor Congressman Lewis.

[Samantha Hamilton]

I was a little boy when I.

[Grant Blankenship]

First saw, and the way that he spoke it inspired me to always keep up the fight. Having him as that leader made me want to do more and continue to do more.

[Chris Carr]

No counter protesters attended the event. For WUGA News, I'm Emma Auer.

[Peter Biello]

Governor Brian Kemp has appointed a new justice to the state Supreme Court. Judge Benjamin Land was named to fill the seat vacated by former Chief Justice Michael Boggs, who stepped down in March. Land has served on Georgia's Court of appeals since July 2022 and was previously a Superior Court judge. Kemp praised Land's fairness, work ethic and integrity in a statement. Before becoming a judge, Land practiced law for about 26 years, focusing on civil litigation in Columbia. President Donald Trump says that Coca Cola had agreed to use real cane sugar in its flagship soft drink in the US at his suggestion, the switch from high fructose corn syrup and Coke sold in the United States would put Coca Cola in line with its practice in other countries, including Mexico. Trump called the change a very good move. But the Atlanta based Coca Cola company didn't confirm the move, saying only that it appreciated Trump's enthusiasm while promising that more details on offerings within its products would be shared soon. Homeowners across Georgia are paying more than ever to protect their properties, and new data shows those costs are only climbing. According to LendingTree's State of Home Insurance report, the average cost of home insurance in Georgia is now more than $3,200 a year. That's well above the national average of $2,800, and that's up more than 35% since 2019. Experts say a mix of rising construction costs, inflation and and more frequent natural disasters are driving insurers to raise premiums. Three people who went missing while swimming at the Emerson river park in Macon on Tuesday evening have been found dead. That's according to Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones. The victims include 7 year old Summer Lewis, her 10 year old sister Skylar Worthen and 28 year old Johnny Collins III, a local DJ known as Young. Family members say Collins was the boyfriend of the girl's mother. Officials say the three went under and did not resurface around 7:30pm Tuesday, prompting someone to call 900. A dive team from the Macon Bibb County Fire Department recovered their bodies yesterday. Relatives told the Macon Telegraph the victims were wearing life jackets. The Marietta School board voted to install vape detectors in the bathrooms of middle and high schools in the district. The devices look like smoke detectors but sense chemicals emitted from vape instead of smoke and send a silent alarm to school administrators. Marietta School District Chief Communications Officer Chris Fiore says the district plans to install the detectors before the start of the school year.

[Grant Blankenship]

Our number one priority is student safety, right? And this, this is a part of of that, making sure that our kids can come to school and learn in a safe place that they can go to the restroom and not have to be worried about someone else vaping in there.

[Peter Biello]

The Marietta school district paid for the devices in part with money received from a settlement reached in 2022 between E cigarette manufacturer Juul and 34 states. Georgia was allocated $19 million in the settlement. A new airline is coming to Middle Georgia Regional Airport. Spirit Airlines will offer nonstop flights from Macon to Fort Lauderdale. Doug Fayoire is the airport's aviation director. He says it's part of an effort to bring customers back to the airport.

[Grant Blankenship]

We're taking baby steps to rebuild this and make a solid foundation, but the next step was an affordable carrier going to a destination that was popular for the residents.

[Peter Biello]

It's Spirit Airlines, third destination in Georgia after Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Savannah Hilton Head International Airport Electric Automaker Rivian plans to open east coast headquarters in Atlanta. The California based company said today the Office will employ 100 people by the end of the year, which with 500 people eventually working there as it ramps up operations at its Georgia manufacturing site. Rivian plans to employ more than 7,000 people at a factory near Social Circle, about 45 miles east of Atlanta. Its Atlanta headquarters will occupy the top floors of an already built office on the city's popular bike and pedestrian trail, the Beltline in the city's old Fourth Ward neighborhood. The number of jobs in Georgia topped 5 million for the first time ever. The Georgia Department of Labor today announced the number of jobs rose in June by about 9,000 to the new record. The state's unemployment rate remained unchanged from May at 3.5%. Job gains were highest in healthcare and social assistance and arts, entertainment and recreation. Jobs declines were highest in manufacturing and state government. That's it for this edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, check gpb.org news and make sure you subscribe to this podcast so we pop up in your feed automatically tomorrow. And if you've got feedback, send it our way by email. The address is Georgia todaypb.org I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

[Chris Carr]

When a massive chemical fire erupted at the Biolab facility in Conyers, thick smoke filled the air, forcing evacuations. But for many, it wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last. I'm Pamela Kirkland. In GPB's new podcast, Manufacturing the Biolab Story, I investigate what caused the fire, the response, response and what it means for Conyers residents today. [e-mail] podcast or wherever you get your podcast.