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won’t take any more until she gets assurances from President Donald Trump’s administration that the policy has been rescinded and the separations have ceased.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.”
An ICE spokesman declined to comment on the mayor’s decision.
Photos of children held in cages at border facilities have dominated the news in recent days, and audio recordings captured young children crying for their parents. The images and recordings have provoked a national uproar, sparking questions of morality.
