On Wednesday, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Mayor of Atlanta signed an order that will no longer allow the city jail to take in any immigrant who is facing deportation charges.
Her reason for this ban was to put an end to the separation of families that is happening at the border. While Atlanta doesn’t necessarily want to be a home for too many immigrants, it doesn’t want to be cruel. And the mayor is responding directly to a federal order that she is taking exception to.
She signed the order right after President Trump signed his order that now allows families to stay together while being held at the immigration detention centers.
Two of Georgia’s Republican U.S. senators signed a bill that supports Trump’s latest executive order for immigrant families. The families will stay together, but the immigration laws stay the same.
Atlanta Doesn’t Want to Separate Immigrant Families
The goal of all these orders is to keep the immigration laws in the U.S. while keeping families together.
“Holistic Fix” is a new order that House members are trying to vote on and discuss issues along the border, and a legal way to keep young illegal immigrants in the U.S.
However, Hank Johnson, U.S. Republican, argues that these detention centers are being paid for by American taxpayers. He stated that Trump is sending the message to refugees around the world that they are not accepted in America.
Yesterday, Atlanta’s jail was holding over 200 immigrants. Every day, the city is paid about $78 for each detainee.
The city was treating immigrants better than other facilities. Atlanta wants to ensure immigrants that they will have access to healthcare and resources that Americans have access to.
So far, Atlanta is the first city to take a step towards bettering the lives of immigrant detainees.
