Lt. Governor Threatens Decatur’s Funding Over Perceived ‘Sanctuary’ Status
Decatur has not declared itself to be a sanctuary city and has not acted on requests to adopt this status.
Bryan Cox / Associated Press
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who is running for governor, says he wants to cut off state funding to the city of Decatur for being a “sanctuary city.”
Cagle said in a Facebook post, “Liberal politicians in the City of Decatur are trying to put the interests of criminal illegal aliens ahead of our safety – and I will not allow it! I have led to outlaw and defund sanctuary cities, and we will always enforce our laws. If Decatur wants to provide sanctuary to criminal illegal aliens then they will have to operate without our funding!”
The city isn’t a sanctuary city, however. It has not declared itself to be a sanctuary city and has not acted on requests to adopt this status.
A sanctuary city is one that restricts cooperation with federal immigration agents. Decatur did recently agree to put a longstanding policy in writing regarding cooperation with Immigration Customs Enforcement. The city said it does not detain immigrants without a valid warrant from ICE and never has.
Cagle also sent a letter to state Auditor Greg Griffin instructing him to “verify if the city of Decatur is in violation of their annual immigration compliance reporting obligation.”
Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett provided a response by the city attorney addressing the letter.
The attorney said, “The City of Decatur continues to comply fully with the State of Georgia’s local government sanctuary policies law (O.C.G.A § 36-80-23). On September 29, 2017, the Decatur Police Department amended its General Order Manual to memorialize in written form what has been the Police Department’s practice for the past decade. This policy addresses arrest, detention and custody of individuals pursuant to judicially-issued warrants, consistent with the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
“The Decatur Police Department’s policy does not address, nor does it prohibit or restrict, communications or cooperation with federal officials or law enforcement officers with regard to reporting immigration status information,” the attorney continued. “The policy does not constitute a ‘sanctuary policy’ as defined by state law and there has been no violation of the state sanctuary policies law. The city of Decatur continues to meet its annual immigration compliance reporting obligation as required by state law.”
WSB-TV first reported the news, which was posted on Cagle’s Facebook page.
This story was originally published on decaturish.com.
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