Tempers flare over Haitian immigrants in Alabama: 'Fear of becoming next Springfield'

Residents of a mostly white Alabama town cited conspiracy theories spread by the Republican presidential ticket and conservative media to question the arrival of several dozen Haitian immigrants.

Tempers flared at Tuesday evening's Sylacauga city council meeting, where residents demanded answers about the legal status of the newcomers and accused local officials of taking money from the federal government to "ignore" the problems they're hearing about, reported AL.com.

“They’re not like immigrants of the past,” said one man who spoke at the meeting. “They’re immigrants that are coming in here getting free houses, free phones, free healthcare, and not having to do a damn thing for it, because it’s like an invasion.”

The topic was first raised at the last meeting two weeks ago, when council president Tiffany Nix shut down public comment and abruptly ended the meeting, and councilwoman Laura Heath complained this week that she was falsely listed in favor of adjourning, while residents voiced their frustration with government officials, reported 1819News.

"Non-respectable speech is still protected speech," said resident Charles Mackin, "and this is a public forum so we have every right to say what we have in out mind and our opinion while we we're here."

Residents expressed concern that an influx of immigrants into Sylacauga – which has about 12,000 residents, with around 64 percent of them being white – would cause housing and other costs to explode, and Mackin claimed the majority of migrants are "military-aged males" who would likely engage in crime.

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"We all know how that works, a landlord, all they have to do is just tell the feds that it's $5,000 a month for this little old one-bedroom apartment or whatever, and it's really only, what, $800 a month," Mackin said. "But, at the same time, they're getting their money from the federal government; it's raising prices on everything else around in this community. It's hurting us. It's raising tax values on properties."

Nix and councilman Ashton Fowler told the meeting they had both met with Haitian immigrants to learn about their experience and found they were in the U.S. legally and had gone to Talladega County after hearing positive reports about the area from other migrants.

"The way it works is, they are here on a visa, they do have papers," Nix said. "There's an 18-month visa, so they're being employed by a temp service. I don't know which temp service it is, but from what they were telling me, the temp service employs them, and then the assignments only last for three months, so when the assignments end, they just go somewhere else to find employment."

“The people who are here today may be gone tomorrow, because they’re just searching for work,” she said. “The reason they’re visible now is because the work assignments they have are ended. They don’t want to be bothered. They just want to work.”

Haitian immigrants have fallen under new scrutiny after Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have peddled false stories about them stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, and residents and some elected officials expressed suspicion about their arrival.

“There is a fear here of becoming the next Springfield, Ohio, you know,” councilwoman Laura Heath told Fox News. “When is enough enough? When do they stop coming in? How many are there going to be? There’s no answers. We have none. The unknown and uncertainty is scary. We have 12,236 people in our community, and we just do not have the adequate resources to handle an influx of migrants. It’s going to take away from resources that are already struggling here.”

City officials estimate there are as many as 60 Haitian immigrants in Sylacauga, while Springfield, a mostly white city of about 59,000, has an estimated 15,000 living there.

“It’s more a diaspora,” said Dr. Rick Patrick, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Sylacauga. “It was a car here, a van here. The city didn’t do it. The government didn’t do it.”

Patrick said some of the migrants have been turning up at his church's services and actively participate, even though most speak Creole but not English, and he lamented the misinformation and mistrust over their arrival.

“(The Haitians) haven’t asked us for anything,” he said. “We’ve offered to give them transportation. We’re willing to do much more. People have offered jobs, assistance.”

One resident spoke out in support of the immigrants, saying the community reaction to their arrival was racist.

"I didn't hear a peep when there were Croatians working at Coosa Valley Healthcare," said resident Craig Patterson. "Nobody was asking about their immigration status, if they were legally vetted. We have a large Mexican population in this town. I don't hear anybody crying about their immigration status. Are they here legal or illegal? But then you go to all these restaurants and different businesses in town, they're working there. You still go in there spending your money."

"I don't hear anybody questioning the immigration status of all the people from the Middle East that are buying up convenience stores, gas stations and restaurants, with Mexicans cooking in them, and you're going there, spending your money, not concerned about if they're taking your money, their profits, send it back to the Middle East supporting terrorism," he added. "The bottom line is, you mad because they brought some Black people to Sylacauga, and that's it."