Decatur has adopted a policy limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities amid the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration.
Approved Friday by City Manager Peggy Merriss, the one-page policy prohibits Decatur police from arresting, detaining or transporting anyone solely on the basis of detainers issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE detainers are requests for jails to hold people for an additional 48 hours — excluding weekends and holidays — so the federal agency may pick them up and attempt to deport them. Critics point to federal court rulings that say jailing people based on ICE detainers can violate their constitutional rights.
Merriss said her decision Friday codified an unwritten policy Decatur police had been following for more than 10 years. It’s unclear what effect it will have since Decatur doesn’t have its own jail. Asked if the new rules are symbolic, Merriss said “symbolism is for others to decide.”
“The city was approached by a resident representing a group of city of Decatur residents in early 2017 with a request to implement a policy,” she said in an email. “Through on-going discussions we decided to review our practice and unwritten policy and determined that we would codify into written form what already existed.”
Her decision follows similar actions by Atlanta’s City Council last month and Clarkston’s City Council in May.
RELATED: Atlanta Council calls for limiting cooperation with ICE
RELATED: Georgia city votes to limit cooperation with immigration officers
Asked about Decatur’s policy, an ICE spokesman referred to a statement Acting ICE Director Tom Homan issued last month about “sanctuary jurisdictions,” or communities that don’t fully cooperate with his agency.
“Sanctuary jurisdictions that do not honor detainers or allow us access to jails and prisons are shielding criminal aliens from immigration enforcement and creating a magnet for illegal immigration,” Homan said. “As a result, ICE is forced to dedicate more resources to conduct at-large arrests in these communities.”
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