ALBERTVILLE — A group of concerned citizens gathered in Albertville Tuesday evening to discuss ongoing issues with mass migration to the city.
Albertville has long been a hotspot for immigrants, legal or otherwise, but a recent controversy over buses being used to transport workers to a Pilgrim’s Pride plant in Russellville thrust the issue back into the limelight and motivated community members to take action.
Mt. Calvary Baptist Church senior pastor David McMillen opened the meeting with prayer and encouraged the attendees to be “good Samaritans” and keep things civil during the discussion.
“We’re supposed to go out into the world and tell others about Jesus. But guess what? The world has come to Albertville. Our future as a community is going to rise and fall based on how we conduct ourselves toward the folks that have come into our community,” McMillen said.
He and the event’s organizer, Gerilynn Hanson, introduced Jay Palmer, the night’s speaker.
A Eufaula native, Palmer got involved in immigration issues when he blew the whistle on his former employer, Infosys, for fraudulently using HB-1 visas to displace American workers by hiring foreigners for lower-wage jobs. Infosys ultimately paid $35 million to settle the fraud charges.
Palmer now owns J. Bennett Palmer LLC, which counsels current whistleblowers and consults on immigration and employment issues.
“This is so important that you understand why this is happening,” Palmer said Tuesday. “This is not happening just because they [immigrants] chose to come here. They were sent here.”
He said the Biden administration had been allowing unfettered illegal immigration into the country to bolster the Democrats' voting block in future elections. He said Albertville was a “hub” for immigration due to its many chicken plants.
“It’s because of votes, and it’s because of cheap labor. That’s all this is about. It’s about money. That’s it,” Palmer said.
Several citizens expressed frustration with the immigrants' failure to assimilate into the community, the stress incurred on local resources and schools and with the city leadership's failure to act. One attendee said they had to move after several immigrants began dumping sewage in a nearby watershed. Others complained of unkempt yards and unpermitted housing modifications to accommodate dozens of people in a single-family residence.
“We’ve got to vote these people out of office,” one attendee said, ostensibly referring to Albertville’s mayor and council. “...I’ve been to Haiti… I’m not trying to be ugly but it’s got a smell to it. These people have smells to them. And I’ll tell you, these people are not like us. They don’t assimilate. They’re not here to assimilate. … [T]hese people are kind of scary.”
Palmer said the city’s “hands were tied” in dealing with many of these issues, but they could start by proactively enforcing codes and laws already on the books. He said local law enforcement likely didn’t have the training needed for proper code enforcement, but Marshall County Assistant District Attorney Adam Culbert responded by saying the Albertville Police Department rather lacked the time and manpower to be the city's code enforcement.
Hanson said she spoke with city officials, and they agreed to add a Hispanic and Haitian code enforcement officer to address the needs of those communities.
Beyond that, Palmer said the key to reversing the illegal immigration problem is to go after the people and organizations bringing them in. He said he plans to meet with Albertville leadership soon to discuss ways to address the community’s concerns over immigration.
“We didn’t get where we are overnight, and we won’t fix this issue overnight either,” Pastor McMillen said at the close of the meeting. “But losing our cool, being rash about these kinds of things is not going to help, so we have to have calm, cool heads.”
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