Atlanta’s Democratic mayor on Wednesday called the forced separation of migrant families at the country’s Southern border “despicable” and said the city won’t accept any new immigration detainees until she’s certain the separations have stopped.
The city has long had an agreement to house U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in the city jail. Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms signed an executive order Wednesday declaring the jail won’t take any more until she gets assurances from President Donald Trump’s administration that the policy has been rescinded and the separations have ceased.
“I, like many others, have been horrified watching the impact of President Trump’s zero tolerance immigration policy on children and families,” Bottoms said in a news release. The mayor added in the order that she “will not allow the City of Atlanta to risk being complicit in separating families as a result of this policy.”
Read this story now for free
To continue reading, sign up for our newsletter and get unlimited access to WABE.org
You can select your preferences for news and local content. We will never share your email address. Learn how your newsletter sign-up will support WABE and Public Media
