Over 100 people attended the city council meeting in support of a resolution to designate Birmingham a sanctuary city. Photo by Surabhi Rao/Community Editor
Surabhi Rao
Community Editor
Over 100 members of the Birmingham community gathered at City Hall on Jan. 31 at the weekly meeting to support a City Council resolution that would designate Birmingham a sanctuary city.
Around 25 speakers shared their diverse stories and thoughts on President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on immigration. The room was continuously filled with applause, cheers and standing ovations as Birmingham residents came to the mic one by one to voice their concerns about what they felt was an “un-American” act by the President.
Among those who spoke included immigrants, representatives from various progressive interest groups, a man who sheltered a refugee family in the past and a woman whose husband was deported back to Mexico.
There are currently around 440 sanctuary cities in America, none of which are in Alabama. Being a sanctuary city means that immigrants and refugees will be given shelter, despite any policies that may contradict this.
“I think that a lot of what’s been passed in the last week has been atrocious,” Hanna Murphy, Clipper Magazine Marketing employee, said. “We have a lot of diversity in Birmingham and I want to keep that. This is an opportunity for Birmingham to show that we are past our past.”
The Council approved the resolution unanimously after discussion that resulted in frequent outbursts from the audience. Councilor Kim Rafferty of District 2 and Councilor Valerie Abbott of District 3 voiced concerns on the legal implications of being a sanctuary city, with an interest in following any federal and state policies first and foremost.
Surabhi Rao can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @CityRao17
