Clarkston, a tiny haven in DeKalb County for newcomers from abroad, is weighing whether to limit cooperation with federal deportation officers amid the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. Activists are preparing to call on Clarkston's much bigger neighbor -- Atlanta -- to follow suit next week and adopt a similar policy.
The moves follow the highly-publicized arrests of scores of unauthorized immigrants across Georgia this year, including many Somali nationals in Clarkston this month. The discussions also come as President Donald Trump is seeking to strip federal funding from “sanctuary cities” that don’t fully cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. On Tuesday, a federal judge in California temporarily blocked a key part of Trump’s executive order that would withhold the money.
Proponents say restricting cooperation with ICE would make their communities safer by helping bring unauthorized immigrants out of the shadows. Immigration watchdogs say the rule of law, security and taxpayer dollars are at stake.
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