Columbia County Commissioners issue proclamation regarding their sanctuary city status

EVANS, Ga. (WJBF) – Columbia County Commissioners met Tuesday to issue a Proclamation regarding the county’s status as a sanctuary county.

A sanctuary county, city, or state is a municipality that typically limits its cooperation with the Federal Immigration laws and the U.S. Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

During the meeting, County Chairman Doug Duncan read the proclamation to reiterate that Columbia County is not a sanctuary county. County Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt the proclamation.

The aim of the proclamation is to reassure the residents of Columbia County that the Commission and Sheriff’s Office comply with local, state, and federal guidelines regarding undocumented immigrants who have found a home in Columbia County.

The Center for Immigration Studies, an independent, non-partisan research organization, released an interactive map that has Columbia County listed as a sanctuary county.

WJBF spoke with Columbia County Sheriff Clay Whittle after the meeting, who was confident that, “Anybody that lives in Columbia County would know, we have never been a sanctuary county. We are currently not a sanctuary county, and I can tell you as long as I’m the sheriff and these commissioners are the commissioners, it will not be a sanctuary county.”

County Chairman Doug Duncan and Sheriff Whittle both echoed sentiments that the safety of the residents of Columbia County is at their top of their priorities list.

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