State Sen. Wes Kitchens: Alabama lawmakers' southern border visit expected to spark legislative action

State Sen. Wes Kitchens (R-Arab) recently visited the U.S. southern border with a group of fellow elected officials to witness firsthand the ongoing immigration and border crisis.

The state lawmakers and Marshall County Sheriff Phil Sims attended a Border School in McAllen, Texas along with sheriffs and legislators from 20 states in an intensive, multi-day program aimed at addressing the pressing issues at the southern border.

The program featured speakers from around the nation and site visits in the Texas border town. Notable among the speakers was Michael Banks, widely referred to as the Texas Border Czar, who shared details on state programs that have helped reduce border crossings in Texas. Despite these efforts, border crossings have shifted westward, placing additional pressure on other states.

Kitchens was joined by fellow Marshall County lawmakers, including State Reps. Brock Colvin (R-Albertville) and Jeana Ross (R-Arab), as well as fellow State Sens. Chris Elliott (R-Josephine), April Weaver (R-Briarfield), Lance Bell (R-Pell City), and Keith Kelly (R-Anniston).

Kitchens discussed why he decided to take the trip on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”

“It seems like every week there’s a new area that pops up that’s facing these issues,” Kitchens said. “You know, in Marshall County, we’ve had an immigration issue for 20 or 30 years now, but over the past few years, since the Biden Harris administration, those numbers have just gone through the roof and and it’s not just here in Marshall County. I mean, we talk about Athens, we talk about Sylacauga down around enterprise. I mean, it really is. It’s affecting every corner of the state now.”

Kitchens explained where they were seen the influx of Haitian immigrants coming into the country, which has created issues recently in Alabama.

“There were a lot of Haitian people that were coming across the border in McAllen. We were in McAllen, Texas, in that area, which is the Rio Grande Valley region,” he explained. “The border is broken down into multiple regions with Border Patrol. Of course, Texas has done a great job in trying to curb it, and kind of pushed it a little bit further west, towards states like California, but there were still a lot of Haitians coming across, and they come in through the refugee resettlement program. So they’re coming in, they’re getting benefits from the federal government…but they’re able to come in and they give them a court date.”

While many of the issues rest squarely on the federal government, the Alabama Legislature should work on passing bills that protect the people of the state when they reconvene for the 2025 legislative session in February, Kitchens said.

“I think a lot of it does come down to November,” he said. “And I hate to say that, but there are some things that we’re already talking about at the state level, we’re looking at having some bills and seeing what can be done. Texas has a very strong bill right now that’s going through the legal challenges, so we’ll see what happens with that. If it’s something that we can mirror here in the State of Alabama… And I’ve already reached out with our attorneys down in Montgomery, and we’re looking at things that we can mold into Alabama law that we definitely I think will be seen coming up this next legislative session.”

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee