Louisville mayor defends decision to end sanctuary city status amid criticism

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg is standing by his decision to end Louisville's status as a sanctuary city.

In late July, the city announced a major change at Louisville Metro Corrections. The facility now honors 48-hour immigration detainers for inmates in local custody who are in the country illegally.

The decision was met with criticism and pushback from some immigration advocates.

On Tuesday, the mayor said he believes he made the right decision after seeing the large-scale ICE raids in cities like Chicago and Portland.

"I've run into several folks over the past couple weeks who have said to me they had questions about the decision when it was first made," Greenberg said.

He added that those people "now understand why that decision was made and why this decision -- while nobody likes it, including myself -- why I still believe we're protecting the most number of immigrants in this community."

Jail officials said 102 federal immigration detainers have been issued against inmates at Louisville Metro Corrections since Aug. 1.

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