Immigration rights groups rally to close Georgia's detention centers

ATLANTA - Several Atlanta immigrant rights groups are banded together Thursday to demand the closure of Georgia’s immigration detention centers.

People gathered in front of the Atlanta ICE field offices in southwest Atlanta. The groups included Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, and Project South.

Organizers said this call for action is following the death of two immigrants who were being held in immigration detention centers

"These facilities are not equipped to handle the vast mental and physical needs of those they incarcerated and should, therefore, be shut down immediately and to avoid further harm to immigration communities across the country," said La'Die Mansfield, Project South.

There are four major immigration detention facilities in Georgia. Those are located in Atlanta, Gainesville, Ocilla, and Lumpkin.