285 South

08/08/2025

A 12-year-old boy who lost both his legs in an explosion in Gaza in April 2024 arrived in Atlanta on Sunday to undergo surgical treatment and be fitted for prosthetic limbs over the next year.

08/08/2025

Yassin Alghalban is the second injured Gazan child to arrive in Atlanta since 2023, and one of 11 Gazan children who arrived in airports around the U.S. early this week for medical treatment.

Yassin, who lost both his legs in an explosion in 2024, is among 11 injured children in Gaza who were evacuated for treatment in the U.S.

08/06/2025

An Augusta man who is an immigrant from Nigeria decided to self-deport using a mobile app that the Department of Homeland Security has branded as a way for undocumented people to leave the U.S. on their own accord. Then ICE agents showed up at his house and arrested him.

06/11/2025

The narrow sidewalk in front of Buford Highway’s Pollo Campero was packed with hundreds of people on Tuesday night. They spilled onto the grassy verge, and into the parking lot, many carrying flags and signs. When cars passing along the seven lanes in front of them honked their horns, the crowd responded with cheers.

Later, after most of the crowd had left, some fireworks were thrown, and officers dressed in riot gear moved in to disperse the remaining crowd using smoke bombs. Video on social media platforms showed at least two police cars being vandalized. Police reportedly took 6 people into custody.

Hundreds of protestors line a sidewalk on Buford Highway in Atlanta to protest ICE arrests. Later, after most of the crowd left, police arrested 6 people.

05/20/2025

After 30 years of supporting South Asian American domestic violence survivors in Georgia, Raksha, Inc is at a turning point.

In April, the organization learned that two of its Department of Justice grants were abruptly terminated.

Raksha is at a turning point after 30 years of service to Atlanta area communities.

03/25/2025

📢 285 South: Covering Immigration with Depth and Accountability

In Metro Atlanta, immigration isn’t just a policy debate—it’s a lived reality for thousands. 285 South, a Pivot Fund grantee, is ensuring those stories are told with nuance, urgency, and impact.

Led by Sophia Qureshi, 285 South is providing critical coverage on:
✅ The Laken Riley Act and how it’s affecting Latino communities in Georgia.
✅ Afghan families left without electricity despite paying their bills.
✅ New citizen voter registrations, adding 9,000 naturalized voters to Georgia’s electorate.
✅ Workplace raids and deportation threats impacting immigrant families.

"Immigration coverage often misses the most important perspective—the people living it every day," Qureshi says. "That’s why 285 South exists. Our goal is to ensure immigrant communities aren’t just a side note in local news but a central focus."

With The Pivot Fund’s support, 285 South is hiring new journalists, expanding its reach, and deepening its investigative work—ensuring that immigrants in Georgia have a newsroom that speaks to them.

📖 Read more: https://bit.ly/4ijXYXD

03/19/2025

Excited that Grist republished our story about Green Ramadan efforts in Atlanta!

At some places of worship, hundreds of people attend the evening breaking of the fast — which means a lot of discarded food and plastic water bottles. This year, more than a dozen sites of worship are planning “zero-waste” iftars to tackle the problem.

03/13/2025

At many mosques during Ramadan, hundreds of people attend the evening breaking of the fast—iftar- which means a lot of discarded food and plastic water bottles.

This year, more than a dozen sites of worship in Metro Atlanta are planning “zero-waste” iftars to tackle the problem.

At some places of worship, hundreds of people attend the evening breaking of the fast—which means a lot of discarded food and plastic water bottles. This year, more than a dozen sites of worship are planning “zero-waste” iftars to tackle the problem. How Atlanta area mosques are cutting down o...

01/27/2025

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested multiple people across the metro Atlanta region on Sunday. Though it’s not clear how many people were taken into custody locally, ICE agents arrested 956 people nationwide on Sunday. The daily average when former President Joe Biden was in office was 311.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Lilburn on Sunday. Photo courtesy of Mario Guevara News. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

01/03/2025

In 2024, brothers-in-law Angel Enriquez and Koushik Alam opened the halal Brothers Chimichurry food truck to make Latin American food—like grilled meats, empanadas and tostones—more accessible to metro Atlanta’s Muslim community.

Two brothers-in-law opened the business earlier this year to make Latin American food—grilled meats, empanadas, tostones, and more—accessible to a bigger share of the metro’s Muslim community.

12/18/2024

On the campaign trail, Trump promised mass deportations that could affect undocumented immigrants & refugees. How many of Trump’s promises will come to pass is now a major concern among immigrant advocacy orgs in GA. New from us:

Here’s how some Atlanta-area immigrant rights groups are getting their communities organized for a second Trump Administration.

12/13/2024

Born in Chicago into a Palestinian family, Duluth-based Wowbooza's Loqman Salem spent several years as a child in the West Bank, in a small village near Ramallah. In the summers, he became an ice cream salesman. Now Salem's bringing his love of Palestinian delights to Metro Atlanta, with a new cafe serving booza, crepes, baklawa, kunafa, and the viral TikTok sensation known as Dubai chocolate.

Loqman Salem’s new Gwinnett County cafe, Wowbooza, specializes in the chewy, elastic ice cream popular in the Middle East—but rarely found in the U.S.