Alabama city council meeting comes to abrupt close after questions about Haitian immigrants (2024)

A Sylacauga City Council meeting was cut short after only 20 minutes Thursday following questions from several residents about recent Haitian immigration to the area.

Council President Tiffany Nix brought the meeting to a close after several residents asked questions about how the city knew workers coming there were legal immigrants, who had determined this, and what effect they were having on crime and housing.

After three residents asked questions during the meeting, Nix brought it to a close. “I’m going to cut it off,” she said.

One resident, saying she was concerned, asked “who is heading up watching over this situation?”

Councilman Ashton Fowler said the first he was aware of immigrants in Sylacauga was when he saw them at church. He knows people are concerned, but immigrants can’t be watched as though they have committed a criminal act.

“We found out when everybody found out,” Fowler said.

“The first time I saw them, they came in our church. They wanted to come to Sunday School and church with us. That’s the first time I knew they were in town, and then there was three, then six, then eight. The ones at church with me are great people. They wanted to come to church, haven’t asked for a thing, worship and go home.”

Another resident asked why council members had not attempted to learn where immigrant workers are coming from on buses. Nix asked if anyone had actually seen anyone bused into town. From a video of the meeting, it did not appear anyone said they had.

“I also went by where they’re living, some of them, and they’re just sitting around there, not working,” the resident asked. “They supposedly came here to work.” Someone pointed out people work night shifts.

“I want to welcome anyone to Sylacauga that wants to come to Sylacauga,” Nix said. “If you’re here stimulating our economy, thank you. That’s how I feel about it. If people aren’t breaking the law, they’re not causing any problems, I don’t...I don’t see what the issue is.”

Another resident said, “the attitude of the council throughout this process is entirely unacceptable.”

“Do we know where the individuals we’re discussing are coming from?” he asked. “Where their point of origin is? Because you’re treating them like lawful U.S. citizens, which they are not.”

Nix jumped in at that point. “OK, so I’m going to cut it off...again, we have no reason to launch an investigation or to treat people differently because of how they look.”

“These individuals came here from Haiti,” the man said. “Haiti is a failed state. Their president was assassinated in 2021. There’s no way the State Department can vet these individuals...”

See also: Haitian immigrants fleeing unrest and facing exploitation find ‘Alabama is the best place to live’

Immigrant workers have been a contentious issue in two Alabama communities this summer, with city officials in Albertville and Athens facing questions, such as the effect on crime, school overcrowding and housing.

In August, photos of Haitian immigrants in Albertville being bused to and from work at a poultry processing plant prompted questions on social media, leading to what city officials called “baseless accusations, and hurtful rhetoric.” This led to a series of community meetings and the formation of a non-profit.

Officials in both Albertville and Athens say Haitian immigrants make up a small percentage of the population, and they have seen no increase in crime since larger amounts of immigrants began arriving this year following unrest on the Caribbean island.

On Aug. 26, Sylacauga Mayor Jim Heigl released a statement saying that the city is not a “sanctuary” city and does not have any plans to “pursue that option in the future.”

“As many of you know, current Sylacauga housing would not accommodate large influxes of population whether they are immigrant or citizens,” the statement read. “Year-to-year we struggle to accommodate new teachers and the general influx of local workers to house in Sylacauga, any additional increases in population would make those accommodations even difficult to attain.”

The statement continued, “As with most tightknit small towns, new faces out among our stores and restaurants are easily identifiable. Sylacauga has recently had an influx of legal immigrants come into the area. Employment was the primary draw for these individuals when obtaining their visas for legal immigration to the area. As you go about your regular routines of living in Sylacauga, please be sure to extend our small town hospitality to these new faces.”