Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership
The Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership (ALIRP) is a non-profit organization founded in 2019 to educate the public about refugee issues and provide direct assistance toward the resettlement of refugees and asylum seekers in Alabama.
It originated with a Refugee Interest Group organized at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Birmingham in 2016 which expanded via partnerships with the Birmingham Islamic Society, the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, the Alabama Adelante Worker Center, the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, the University of Alabama Institute for Human Rights and the Sparkman Center for Global Health.
In 2019 the group adopted the name Birmingham Interfaith Refugee Ministry, which was updated to Alabama Interfaith Refugee Partnership in July. In September ALIRP joined with the Birmingham office of the Atlanta, Georgia-based Inspiritus Refugee Resettlement program.
In December 2022 the organization was asked by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana to help with assisting scores of migrants, previously held in detention facilities under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, to make their way to sponsors around the country. The Supreme Court's December 27 decision to keep the order in place, and President Joe Biden's expansion of the policy announced on January 5, 2023, negated that project.
Executive directors
- Lynda Wilson, October 2022–
References
- Whites-Koditschek, Sarah (January 1, 2023) "Birmingham volunteers to help migrant asylum seekers after release from Louisiana detention." AL.com