The most compelling local journalism usually begins with a pattern someone notices on the ground.
A story about a Georgia State Patrol trooper by reporter Jules Feeney was no different. The story, published in May, generated an extraordinary volume of feedback by readers and people who watched the accompanying video on our social media. Here is how the story came to be, and why we published it.
The Tennessee/Georgia line in Walker County had become the site of multiple deportations involving local business owners and their families. More than one of our reporters heard from community members that the area had become known as a hot spot for arrests of people without legal immigration status.