We all deserve to feel safe in Birmingham

Leading up to the World Games, the City of Birmingham signed a secretive pact with United States immigration enforcement that undermines the safety of everyone in the city—residents and visitors alike.

 

• Birmingham hastily rushed into a contract with United States immigration enforcement that turns our city’s police officers into national Customs Officers for ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)

 

• This dangerous ICE contract will create a chilling effect in the city. Those of us who already feared ICE now have reason to fear this city’s police officers. We rightfully fear that talking to the police or reporting a crime will result in the police asking for our immigration papers, contacting immigration enforcement, or jailing the victims and witnesses of crimes for the purpose of “ICE holds”

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Residents and visitors deserve to feel protected by the city’s police department

We should all feel safe to report crimes and talk with Birmingham police officers, no matter our national origin,

skin color, or ability to speak English.

 

Birmingham politicians may point to Birmingham’s violent crime problem and claim that this bargain with ICE

is the only way to enforce laws against human trafficking. But if immigrants and visitors are afraid to talk to the police,

how can the police protect us?

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The ICE Out of Birmingham campaign started on November 2nd, 2021, with a group of Birmingham community leaders, activists, and local organizations supporting the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice in opposing the City of Birmingham collaborations with ICE. Read more about the campaign.