Tensions are boiling over in Marshall County as residents grow more concerned with the growing migrant population. Several residents in Albertville and Boaz have reported seeing large charter buses dropping off what appear to be Haitian immigrants in various locations at odd hours, often carrying baggage and other belongings.
Social media has been abuzz with speculation about who the people are and why they are being transported by bus.
The Albertville Police Department (APD) posted a statement on Facebook saying it was aware of the concerns.
“We've been notified about charter buses dropping off and picking people up throughout town. We have contacted the bus company in question, and they advised us that they have been contracted by a local company to transport workers to and from work,” the statement said.
The bus company, Starship Coah out of Muscle Shoals, told 1819 News it had contracted to transport employees to and from a local business. When asked if the local business was Wayne Farms, a local chicken processing plant near downtown Albertville, Starship Coach owner Brian Goodloe said, “Yeah, that’s it.”
Wayne Farms spokesman Frank Singleton said the poultry plant had no involvement or contract with Starship and only used work vans as part of a rideshare program to transport workers “of all ethnicities” between Gadsden and Albertville. Singleton further said that Wayne Farms in Albertville was currently “fully staffed” and that all employees are vetted through the E-verify process.
1819 News reached out to Starship Coach for clarification, but Goodloe declined to comment further. He said to contact Zeelo, which provides “software and shuttle services.” Attempts to contact the company were unsuccessful.
Aside from APD’s post, Albertville and Boaz officials have offered little explanation for the buses and migrants. However, they said they are investigating the issue.
Albertville Mayor Tracy Honea said he has been working with law enforcement and other local officials to get the facts. He said the buses appear to be contracted with Pilgrim’s Pride “dropping off workers throughout the county.” State Rep. Brock Colvin (R-Albertville) said he, too, believed the buses were working with Pilgrim’s, though it still needed to be confirmed.
1819 News contacted the Pilgrim’s plants in Guntersville and Russellville, but neither have returned calls. Attempts to contact the main headquarters in Colorado were unsuccessful.
Due to intense public outcry, Boaz City Councilman Matt Brannon issued a statement saying he was investigating the migrant buses and that he’s been in talks with local leaders to find a solution.
He said Thursday that his phone had “not stopped ringing” since he made that post, with concerned citizens reporting bus sightings and related complaints. He said he could confirm that a bus had dropped off a group of Haitians in Boaz within the last week.
“I don’t have any solutions. I don’t have any answers at this point in time,” he said. “All I know is I see the issue, and I’m working on it… I don’t know what the reason is, who’s funding it, where they’re coming from. It’s just all rumors right now.”
Residents have also complained about multiple Haitian families moving into single-residence homes, possibly in violation of the city’s housing ordinances. But Brannon, who also works in law enforcement, said enforcing those ordinances isn’t easy.
“By the Fourth Amendment [of the U.S. Constitution], we can’t just walk up on a Haitian’s doorstep and kick the door open and say, ‘Alright, who lives here?’” he said. “Ordinances are typically passed to just put lipstick on a pig, to be honest with you. They’re really hard to enforce, legally.”
He said the current national climate surrounding immigration issues and the crisis at the southern border may be heightening resident’s concern for their city, which is struggling to adapt to the influx of migrants.
“I get it. I get people’s frustrations. Man, I’m as frustrated as anybody,” Brannon said. “I got three children in the school system over here that’s busting at the seams because we can’t support hardly what we already got… I think people are tired of it. They’re fed up.”
Cullman and Athens have also reported an influx of immigrants arriving by bus.
Colvin said he’s seen concern about immigration in Albertville “skyrocket” over the past week. He’s spoken with the Albertville mayor, city council and U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville), and plans to meet with them in the coming weeks. He said the main problem lay with the federal government.
“They’re [Haitians] considered refugees, so they get social security income, they get Medicaid coverage, they get food stamps and WIC,” Colvin said. “We’re going to do all we can on the state and local level to see how to address and solve this, but until they clog the artery, AKA the federal government cuts this off, we’ve been dealt an impossible hand.”
Colvin said he was concerned that some bad actors may move into the area by taking advantage of the lax immigration laws.
“I’m as pro-business as you can get, but it’s frustrating to see what it’s doing to our community,” Colvin said “… Haiti is in crumbles, in shambles right now, the country and the government, with literal cannibal gangs. I’m wondering how many of them have slipped through and made their way to my hometown.”
A spokesperson for Aderholt said the congressman was working “to get to the bottom of why it is happening and doing what he can to put a stop to it,” putting much of the blame for mass illegal immigration in general on the Biden administration’s failure to secure America’s border.
“While most of the Haitian migrants are here legally, it doesn’t make what is happening right,” the spokesperson said. “The Biden-Harris Administration knows full well that communities like Albertville, Russellville and Kilpatrick have been overwhelmed with illegal migrants. And while these new migrants coming in might be here legally, it is making a bad situation worse by putting an even bigger strain on local resources, like law enforcement and the school systems. President Biden and his border czar Kamala Harris have, at every turn, done everything they can to make this migrant crisis worse and have zero concern about the communities it impacts.”
A group of Albertville citizens is planning to meet on Tuesday, August 13, to discuss immigration issues. Details have yet to be released.
To connect with the story's author or comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com or find him on X and Facebook.
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