Southern metropolis announces it is no longer a sanctuary city as it unveils tough new anti-migrant measures
Mayor Craig Greenberg announced on Tuesday that the city will reinstate a policy requiring ICE to receive 48 hours' notice before inmates with immigration detainers are released from jail, reported WAVE.
The policy requires that inmates booked at Louisville Metro Corrections be fingerprinted and entered into a federal database accessible by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
If Homeland Security informs Metro Corrections that an inmate has a detainer, the jail will provide immigration with a 48-hour notice before the inmate is released.
The city had a 48-hour policy until 2017, but had reduced it to a 5 to 12-hour window, which landed them in hot water with the federal government, according to Greenberg.
The mayor said he received a letter from the Department of Justice in June saying that Louisville was violating federal law and is listed as a sanctuary city.
'Louisville stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants if we remain classified as a sanctuary city,' the mayor said.
'Many of those funds are used to provide food, rental assistance, and medical care to our most vulnerable residents. I will not risk hurting them either.'
He explained that Louisville was the only city in the state not complying with the 48-hour immigration policy, and he believed the reversal would ultimately benefit immigrants.
'This change in designation is critical. Cities on the sanctuary city list right now are experiencing a terrifying increase in raids by ICE, including mass raids. Just look at what's gone on in LA and other cities across the country,' Greenberg said.
'We have tens of thousands of immigrant families in Louisville. We do not want to see highly coordinated and often violent federal enforcement action here, especially in workplaces, residential areas, schools, places of worship, parks and other areas where law-abiding people gather.
'We do not want the National Guard occupying the streets of Louisville. I will not risk the safety of our broader immigrant community.'
The mayor claimed that fewer than 100 inmates in the jail each year are charged with crimes and impacted by the detainer.
'I have been assured by the U.S. Department of Justice that, if we reinstate the 48-hour detainers for inmates who've been arrested for crimes, Louisville will be taken off the federal sanctuary city list,' Greenberg said.
'Accordingly, Metro Corrections will begin honoring 48-hour federal detainers as soon as practical because the stakes are too high.'
Attorney General Pam Bondi praised Greenberg's decision and called it a 'major victory for the Department of Justice.'
'In a major victory for the Department of Justice, the city of Louisville is dropping its sanctuary city policies as a result of a strong written warning from my office,' Bondi said on X.
'This should set an example to other cities. Instead of forcing us to sue you — which we will, without hesitation — follow the law, get rid of sanctuary policies, and work with us to fix the illegal immigration crisis.'
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The next day, Gomes da Silva's girlfriend and the other seniors at Milford High School graduated under a cloud of angst. Gomes da Silva, an 11th grader, was absent, as were two of the graduating students and the families of many others who feared arrest and deportation if they showed up. "I heard many stories of people who didn't cheer for their children," for fear of being exposed to immigration authorities, Coleen Greco, mother of a volleyball teammate of Gomes da Silva's, told USA TODAY. Federal officials said they were targeting Gomes da Silva's father, who owns the car he was driving, because he is undocumented and has a history of speeding. Gomes da Silva's attorney Robin Nice said his father has no arrests or convictions for speeding. The family moved to the United States from Brazil when Gomes da Silva was 7 years old and overstayed their visa, according to Nice. At the school's graduation ceremony, Milford High School Principal Joshua Otlin referred to the community's lingering "fear and anxiety" after Gomes da Silva's arrest. "There is wrenching despair and righteous anger, where there should be gratitude and joy," he said. Gomes da Silva was later released from the ICE detention facility after six days in custody. He has applied for asylum in the hopes of avoiding deportation. A new surge of fear for immigrant families with school children Officials at schools with large immigrant populations say many students have been fearful since Trump ramped up immigration enforcement. "There's been very high levels of anxiety in the community about immigration enforcement for many months," said Otlin. Many immigrant families in Los Angeles County, where Sontay Ramos and Garcia Lara lived, avoided graduation ceremonies after Trump sent National Guard Troops to the Southern California city when Angelenos protested ICE arrests there in June. How LA school graduations Became the epicenter of fear for ICE family separations Los Angeles Unified School District has produced "know your rights" cards with directions on how to respond if approached by immigration agents to students who request them, said Christy Hagen, a spokesperson for the district. Officials there are urging parents and guardians to update their students' emergency contact information and designate a trusted adult as an authorized caregiver in the event they are detained, she said. School officials elsewhere said they are also making plans to aid immigrant students ahead of the new school year. Garcia, the high school principal from Detroit, said the school may increase English language instruction for students who speak it as a second language. He wants to give students "more agency in knowing their rights." "We have to be more up front and honest with students about the dangers that we're currently experiencing in our country, especially for those who are not citizens." he said. While Garcia Lara won't return to nearby Torrance Unified in the fall, Myers, the spokesperson for his old school district, said the school community's concern about the young boy and his father's well-being has "reaffirmed our district's belief in the human spirit." Contributing: Ben Adler, USA TODAY; Max Reinhart, The Detroit News Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@ Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez.
