Dobson promotes law requiring federal government to notify state, local officials when non-citizens are placed in communities

Caroleene Dobson, the GOP candidate for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, announced a timely proposal she would immediately push if elected, requiring the federal government to become more transparent in its placement of migrants, illegal immigrants, or other foreign nationals in communities across the country.

Dobson plans to introduce legislation that would require Federal officials to reveal the number of individuals coming to a community, their nations of origin, their sponsors, any known criminal records, their estimated length of stay, and projected unreimbursed costs to state and local taxpayers.

“Our government is supposed to be open and transparent and make taxpayers feel safe and secure, but the current federal program of forcing migrants into local communities has been closed and opaque and makes taxpayers feel unsafe and less secure,” Dobson said.

“With migrants, illegal immigrants, and others flooding our public school classrooms, emergency rooms, and other public facilities, a skyrocketing percentage of state and local taxpayer dollars are being spent on non-citizens who, traditionally, pay zero taxes themselves.”

She emphasized that the bill is needed, especially amid the recent resettlement of thousands of unvetted migrants into Alabama and the district she is running to represent in Congress. 

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“The federal government placed large numbers of migrants into communities in the Second Congressional District and across Alabama in the dark of night without preparation or even the courtesy of notifying local officials. People often fear the unexpected and become suspicious when important information is purposely withheld, so the current discord and worry in many of our communities could have been easily avoided with openness, honesty, and a bit of advance notice from the federal officials.”

Dobson said that her proposal was prompted by the Cuba-Haiti-Nicaragua-Venezuela Parole Program, commonly known as CHNV. The program was created without congressional authorization and has allowed 530,000 migrants to gain entry to the U.S. under unsanctioned “paroles” granted by President Joe Biden.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow home on X @ShipleyAusten