ATLANTA — Atlanta's mayor said she will decide over the next couple of weeks if she will make her suspension of housing ICE detainees permanent.
The Atlanta City Jail is one of three facilities in Georgia that hold ICE detainees for federal authorities.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says no more -- because it's the right thing to do.
"I did feel the time to act was now," Bottoms said in a news conference Thursday.
That's why Bottoms told Channel 2's Dave Huddleston that she signed an executive order suspending the city's long-running practice of housing the detainees.
"There are moments in our world history where abnormal is ignored and it suddenly becomes the norm," Bottoms said.
She said she didn't want Atlanta to be a part of children being separated from their parents.
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"I did not want us as a city to become complicit in the president’s policy," Bottoms said.
The city received $78 a day for housing detainees.
The chief of the Atlanta City Jail confirmed there are currently 203 ICE detainees inside the jail.
"There is no plan to move the current detainees we have, but as of last night, we turned away nine new detainees," Bottoms said.
The city has received millions of dollars from the long-standing agreement, but Bottoms said the loss of revenue or pushback from the White House is not a concern.
"This is a moment in time that we as a city should be prepared for whatever may come our way. I think history will judge us fairly on this," Bottoms said.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson told Channel 2 Action News that the Atlanta City Detention Center represents less than 10 percent of the capacity in Georgia.
The mayor’s order quickly became a political football in the Republican race for governor, a July 24 runoff between Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
Cagle tagged the mayor in a tweet late Wednesday, declaring he has “led to outlaw and defund sanctuary cities and WE WILL uphold our laws.” And Kemp said the city should honor its “longstanding agreement” to house the detainees.
“Public safety – not partisan politics – must always come first,” Kemp said.
Both Republicans have defended Trump’s “zero-tolerance” policy and pledged tougher state crackdowns. Cagle has long scrapped with Decatur over immigration policy, and Kemp aired ads vowing to “round up criminal illegals” himself.
Bottoms responded sharply to the GOP attacks on the policy shift, which comes after years of criticism from immigrant-rights advocates who slammed Atlanta for holding ICE detainees.
“I don’t take advice from people who hold shotguns at children,” she said, referring to one of Kemp’s recent tongue-in-cheek television campaign ads. “Obviously, it’s political season and people will posture accordingly.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this article.