Council votes to make Birmingham a sanctuary city

In the wake of President Donald Trump's contentious executive order banning immigration from seven specific countries for 90 days and all refugee immigration for 120 days, the Birmingham City Council unanimously voted today to declare Birmingham a sanctuary city.

The measure was introduced by Council President Johnathan Austin declaring Birmingham "strives to be a community free of hostilities and aggressions and uphold the commitment to be a community free of prejudice, bigotry and hate." The resolution declares Birmingham to be "a city with places of safety for people seeking sanctuary and helping them integrate into our communities."

The full text of the resolution, which Austin posted on Twitter, included the creation of a sanctuary task force "to ensure a safe, secure and welcoming community for everyone, promoting respectful relations and collaboration between community members and those providing public safety services."

Nearly 200 people gathered at City Hall for the resolution, with about 25 people speaking in favor of it. None at the meeting opposed it. All six council members present -- Austin, Steven Hoyt, Kim Rafferty, Valerie Abbott, James Roberson and Marcus Lundy -- approved the measure.

“We want to see our city of Birmingham be safe for everyone who comes here,” Austin said.

“Birmingham stands with immigrants,” Austin added, echoing the wording of a sign that he attached to the front of the council dais during the debate.

“What was done the other day was an injustice on America,” said Council President Pro Tem Steven Hoyt said, referring to Trump’s order.

“This country was built on immigrants,” Hoyt said.

Councilors Kim Rafferty and Valerie Abbott – while expressing sympathy for the aims of the resolution – suggested that some of the specific wording be changed.

But Hoyt said that whatever the council does can be amended or “tweaked.”

Abbott also made a motion to send the issue to an executive session to discuss some of the legal ramifications of the resolution.

Abbott and the city’s legal department raised concerns that Alabama municipalities – and even individual elected officials – can face legal penalties if they violate either federal immigration law or the state Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, better known as controversial immigration law HB56.

However, Abbott’s measure was defeated on a voice vote, and council attorney Freddy Rubio assured Abbott that he saw “no policy [in the resolution] that will violate” Beason-Hammon. Rubio's wife, Isabel Rubio, is the executive director of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama.

He said he also saw “nothing that can jeopardize anything the law department states.”

Voting yes were Austin, Hoyt, Abbott and Rafferty, as well as councilors Jay Roberson and Marcus Lundy.

There was a long line of citizens who sought to speak in support of the resolution before the council held its vote, most of whom spoke of the fear and uncertainty on the part of people in immigrant communities in the wake of Trump’s order.

“People are facing oppression from an over-the-top administration,” Birmingham attorney David Gespass.

He said that Birmingham was a “negative example” nationally during the civil rights turmoil of the 1960s. “Now is the time for the city to be a positive example of standing up for human decency,” Gespass said.

“We ask you to take a stand on civil rights,” Birmingham resident Julia Juarez told the council, warning that “a new civil rights atrocity is brewing.”

Julie Brasfield recounted the time in 2007 when her life partner, who she said had become like a father to her children, was deported after a traffic stop. “I can’t even explain the devastation that caused,” she said.

UAB student Robert James said that “today’s Birmingham should be a proactive leader in civil rights.”

“Birmingham has come a long way in 50 years, but our progress means nothing if we stop now,” James said.

Regarding Trump, James said that “we must act quickly on this atrocity.”

Birmingham attorney Kira Fonteneau, a member of the Alabama chapter of the ACLU, said the organization “believes that Trump does not have the legal right to deny funding to cities” that defy his order.

Rev. Angie Wright of Greater Birmingham Ministries said that the essence of a sanctuary city designation is that the police in a city – while properly enforcing the law – do not involve themselves in immigration enforcement. “No person should live in fear of law enforcement,” she said.’’