FAIRHOPE — Attorney General Steve Marshall was in Baldwin County on Monday for town hall meetings on Title IX and immigration.
The Baldwin County Moms for Liberty chapter hosted the event at First Fairhope Baptist Church.
U.S. Rep. Barry Moore (R-Enterprise) and State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover) also participated in the discussions and answered questions from the nearly 200-person crowd.
TITLE IX TOWN HALL
The State of Alabama filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration's rule on Title IX that expands the meaning of "sex" to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
Marshall said groups such as Moms for Liberty and Alliance Defending Freedom have been litigation partners, allowing states to define public policy regarding Title IX.
"I can tell you that we don't always get all 26 of my colleagues that are able to stand together around an issue," Marshall said. "This has been one, as it involves Title IX, and I do have to commend not just 26 Republican attorney generals that have pushed back and prevailed in every case."
"… Every time we have gone before a judge, the last court to be able to decide the question has said that the Biden administration has gone too far," he added. "This is about the ability of Alabama as a separate sovereign to define the public policy that we have in our respective states."
DuBose discussed three pieces of legislation she plans to introduce in the next legislative session.
The first piece of legislation will be defining "male" and "female" by the biological definition in the state code,
"We all know sex is determined at birth and it's determined by God," DuBose said. "It's actually determined at conception. So, you cannot change your sex. You can choose to identify however you want to, but that does not change your sex."
DuBose said the bill has 90% support among Republicans and Democrats.
The second bill is to protect "women's spaces" such as dorm rooms, juvenile detention centers, women's prisons, rape crisis centers and overnight camps and educational programs.
The third bill would increase the age of medical majority or the age at which a person can make medical decisions independently, from 14 to 18.
Moore, who introduced legislation in 2023 to abolish the United States Department of Education and provide funding directly to the states for education, said some federal programs pertaining to education often go against state-level needs and wants. That's why he believes local leaders and school board members need to have the power to make decisions.
"So, very often we have a bureaucrat in D.C. that says, hey, and this bureaucrat may be from California, they may be from Massachusetts, or whatever wonderful blue state they may be from, and they think they know better for our kids often than we do ourselves," he said. "So, again, that's why we have to decentralize education."
IMMIGRATION TOWN HALL
Retired Homeland Security Special Agent Angelo Fermo joined the panel to discuss illegal immigration. Fermo said there need to be checks and balances with immigration policy. He said the lack of those checks has led to an influx of illegal immigrants.
The influx, Fermo explained, led to more control by Mexican cartels and more criminal activity, including drugs and human trafficking.
On the state level, Fermo said lawmakers should focus on the driver's license system and strengthen laws to ensure only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents get driver's licenses from Alabama. He said the same thing should go for car tags.
"The men and women of the Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, ICE, they're aggressive, and they will get out there and do their job if you allow them to do their job," Fermo said. "They can greatly impact our communities. Again, we want the criminal immigrants, you know, the ones that come here to do violence."
Marshall said the issues at the border have been frustrating for law enforcement. He reminded the crowd that the Biden administration immediately did away with President Donald Trump's policies to deport dangerous criminals.
"The Trump administration said, 'If you're here in this country, ultimately, if you harm a child and are convicted of harming a child and you are convicted to spend time in prison, we are going to deport you when you're done," he said. "Crazy, right? No. It absolutely makes sense, but yet with a stroke of a pen, this administration said, 'That's not going to be the philosophy of this country."
Marshall also expressed frustration with the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV) program, which has flown hundreds of thousands of migrants into the U.S. He said individuals are supposed to have sponsors who provide housing, work and integration into communities. However, he claimed that some of those "sponsors" do not exist.
"Who's sponsoring people to come in through the parole program?" Marshall asked. "Because clearly, they are not standing up to the role in which they've affirmed, and by the way, there's zero federal liability for them not doing what they state in a document that they will do."
"But while I tell you that this is an area of frustration, I do believe that in less than 20 days, we have the ability to wholesale change the immigration and policy in this country," he added.
Marshall stated that if Trump is elected, things will change course.
Moore agreed and said Biden's policy has allowed 380 individuals on the terrorist watch list to come into the U.S. He said the only way to fix the problem is to have mass deportations. However, he expressed that it could come with unimaginable opposition.
"If Trump starts to deport these people, which he said he's going to do day one, y'all get ready," Moore said. "Because you talk about, 'We alright right now, I'm with you, but y'all, they're going to lose their mind. They're going to call him every name in the book. They're going to come after us in ways you cannot fathom. But that's what it's going to take to fix the issue."
On the education front, Marshall said schools are burdened by a higher number of English language learning (ELL) students.
"There's no doubt that we see significant strain on resources as a result of what's going on," said Marshall.
He said federal law protects all children seeking an education. Marshall said the answer is a change in federal immigration policy.
Moore, who supports a school in Haiti, said a large influx of migrants brings with it cultural change, and there is still time to vote for strong leadership in Washington.
"You trust your gut on this," he said. "But we cannot allow this to happen. I don't blame the school boards. I don't blame the teachers. I don't blame the churches. I don't blame the ERs. I don't blame the communities that have to deal with this."
"I blame the federal government," said Moore. "This is on us and it's on this administration. We're going to fix it in 20 days, but then the pain begins. Then the things begin and we're going to have to do it, y'all. Pray for your nation."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email erica.thomas@1819news.com.
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