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Steve Marshall: Haitian immigrants in Alabama ‘a legitimate concern’

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said firmly on Thursday that Alabamians have a right to be concerned about the surge of Haitian immigrants in areas across the state.

“I think that Americans have been struggling with and concerned about it for quite some time,” Marshall said, “and that is this increased flow across the borders, whether they are paroled through a program that’s being used in an improper way, whether they are seeking asylum, as we understand many of the Haitians are. This is a significant issue, and not only as it involves communities understanding what it means for public safety, but this is a great strain on public resources.”

Marshall said his office continues to investigate the matter, and explained what is causing the surge of specifically Haitian migrants coming to state’s like Alabama.

“We are definitely learning more every day,” he explained, “being in touch with some of our federal partners to understand a little bit about why, but it’s a legitimate concern, and I think it’s something that people need to be paying attention.”

RELATED: State Rep. Robbins: Mayorkas ‘created panic’ and ‘confusion’ for not informing Alabamians of Haitian refugee influx

Marshall discussed the situation Thursday on FM Talk 106.5’s “The Jeff Poor Show.”

“I don’t know that we’re getting satisfactory answers,” he added, “but we’re at least being given some understanding as the vehicle through which, particularly the Haitian community, are arriving, and that’s really more an asylum and parole than it is, say, illegally crossing across the porous border in Mexico.”

Marshall pointed out that he has been joining with other attorneys general across the country in fighting against the president’s immigration policies.

“We have fought, I mean, almost just since day one of the Biden administration, multiple efforts they’ve had around immigration clearly going beyond the bounds of programs that were established by Congress, exceeding the authority that’s been given to them to make decisions that they are not lawfully entitled to do,” he said. “But yet, it doesn’t mean that we don’t recognize and see the need to be able to continue to be aggressive on that front.”

RELATED: State lawmakers call for action following immigrant drop-offs in Marshall County

Last month, Marshall County residents took notice of suspicious drop-off patterns in charter busses that were later confirmed to be transporting Haitian immigrants to work at a food processing facility. An almost identical situation involving Haitian immigrants began publicly unfolding in Sylacauga last week.

A city council meeting in Sylacauga was ended early by city leaders last week after members of the community continued to ask about the influx of new immigrants in the city.

On Thursday, Attorney General Marshall concluded that the immigration crisis is just another reason to vote against Kamala Harris for President.

“This is where elections matter, and to the extent that we didn’t understand it completely, I think the debate showed it again the other night,” he said, “where you have a declared candidate for president who said that she wanted to not only encourage illegal immigration, but also, you know, provide gender changing surgeries for those who come into this country unlawfully. I mean, the insanity of that should not be surprising when we see what’s going on in the number of people that have come into this country,” Marshall said.

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

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