In his recent blog post and in two interviews earlier this week, Irondale Mayor James Stewart, Jr. criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He suggested the agency was tearing apart or separating families.
He vowed the city would not work with its agents.
However, following national backlash and pushback from U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), he posted a straight-to-camera video on Facebook on Friday night to walk back those comments, saying, “We are not a sanctuary city.”
While experts do not agree on a single definition of what constitutes a sanctuary city, organizations on both sides of the aisle agree that any city that specifically states it will not work with ICE or leaders who vilify the agency would qualify.
The Congressional Research Service and the Department of Justice both note that sanctuary policies are what qualify a city, county or state as a "sanctuary." There is no requirement that the city embrace the term itself.
Stewart's video highlighted his desire to evade scrutiny for his policies.
“No, we're not a sanctuary city. By law, in the State of Alabama, you cannot even create a sanctuary city. I want to make that very clear to people, we are not a sanctuary city,” Stewart said emphatically, only to later say, "I'm not changing what I said, because what I said is what I said."
The whole saga started with a newsletter that Stewart now says, “was not an immigration piece.” The header of that piece, entitled “Bottom Line,” read in part, “watching ICE operations tear families apart in Irondale highlights the urgent need to address immigration policies affecting our community.”
Additionally, when AL(dot)com wrote “Irondale mayor says he will not help ICE ‘tear apart families,’” he reposted two versions of it.
When Latino News wrote, “Irondale mayor confirms city will not help ICE ‘Separate Families,” the mayor reposted it.
The Latino News post that was reposted read:
Irondale Mayor James Stewart asserted his priority is to reduce fear among residents of concerns generated by tightening immigration policies at the federal level.
In a recent post, Stewart expressed that ICE operations are “destroying families in Irondale” and pointed out the need to take a clear stand against these actions. The mayor explained that he decided to speak publicly to make clear to the community his position on immigration policies.
Stewart affirmed that the City will act with justice and equity towards all people in the community, regardless of their immigration status, emphasizing that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity.
His statements come amid protests in Alabama against ICE and discussions about potential bills that would increase ice participation. local police in enforcement of immigration rules.
In an interview with WBRC 6, Stewart said, “A lot of the things that we see now were the same things we saw three hundred, four hundred years ago.”
It was that interview that Stewart first said that, in spite of his prior comments and interviews, the City of Irondale was not a sanctuary city.
The U.S. Department of Justice has labeled cities sanctuary cities for having what they describe as sanctuary policies, policies that Stewart has discussed publicly in the last week including when he told AL(dot)com, "The city is also working with the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ACIJ), Stewart said, to host a community discussion clarifying city leadership's position regarding immigration policies."
The ACIJ posted earlier in the day, "ICE terror is in AL," while promoting the pages they are using to warn those in the state illegally and those harassing, doxxing, following ICE where to find agents.
The Alabama Coalition for Imigrant Justice was the second topic that the mayor addressed in his Friday night video saying, “I want to clear up about the city's relationship with the ACIJ. There was talk that we gave $2,500 for them to be able to stalk ICE agents. That is incorrect.”
"What we did was Resolution 2024 R-127, provided $2,500 for them to be able, the organization to be able to provide severe weather preparedness training. Because a lot of our Hispanic citizens live in the trailer parks. We wanted to make sure that they were protected when we get into these tornado seasons that we have here in the state of Alabama."
This detail was absolutely false. The agenda for the resolution passed by the city clearly stated, " to provide services for the LatinX community living in the City of Irondale, including, but not limited to, severe weather awareness workshops, and to promote the health, safety and welfare of its citizens.” Note the language "but not limited to."
There is zero indication on ACIJ or the City of Irondale's social media showing that the group ever provided any weather-related services. One social media post from ACIJ shows the organization saying they're providing weather-related training during a church children's event in another city.
On the other hand, the group has posted from the City of Irondale with several events, including one promoting abortion and decrying the state's abortion ban, several that noted they were providing information on reunification, and some that were broadly related to city events featuring food.
In the video, Stewart shared the responsibility for the city's decision not to assist ICE with the city council.
"The reason that we can't do that [assist ICE is], because we do not have an agreement to perform that task with them," the mayor said, referencing the 287(g) Program that approximately 50 Alabama law enforcement agencies have entered into with ICE.
Stewart pointed out that no Jefferson County municipalities are a part of the program.
"We stand here for the people. I am not changing my position, but I'm bringing clarity to it," he explained before giving his contact information.
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