Alabama
Migrant controversy hits heartland as Alabama council meeting boils over, state officials slam feds' 'mess'
Residents of a small Alabama city were up in arms at the migrant influx during a recent city council hearing that lawmakers suddenly cut short amid the outcry.
Meanwhile, state leaders demanded answers from the feds as the migrants appear to be in the country legally under Temporary Protective Status provisions extended to Haitian nationals by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
In Sylacauga, just south of NASCAR’s Talladega Superspeedway, City Council President Tiffany Nix abruptly curtailed public comment as residents demanded accountability for the at least 50 migrants that appeared in the city.
“We’re done,” Nix responded to resident David Phillips, who had criticized council’s attitude as “entirely unacceptable” during the meeting last week.
“[Haiti is] a failed state – their president (Jovenel Moise) was assassinated in 2021 – there is no way the State Department can vet these individuals,” Phillips said before Nix cut in as another resident called out, “Please let him talk.”
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Nix then made a motion to adjourn the meeting and ordered the gallery cleared.
“This is our city,” a woman in the gallery said. “Good to know, they don’t want to hear the truth,” another said.
Another resident wondered aloud how local schools will be able to handle the new migrants, noting that financial resources would be needed for children that only speak French-Creole and not English.
Amid the murmuring, Nix could be heard asking, “What would you like us to do?”
Earlier in the meeting, Nix said there is no reason to launch a municipal investigation and that people should not treat others “differently because of how they look.”
State Rep. Benjamin Robbins, who represents the city, wrote a letter Thursday to Mayorkas, demanding a federal response.
“As the secretary of Homeland Security, you are charged with overseeing immigration enforcement and refugee resettlement,” he wrote.
“Recently, my district has seen an influx of Haitian immigrants. You and your agency have failed in your responsibility to notify our community of the relocation of refugees, provide any information to local leaders or answer questions.”
Robbins said the situation has caused “panic and confusion” and left local leaders “helpless.” Robbins said he would demand Congress investigate if DHS does nothing.
Sylacauga Mayor Jim Heigl separately told Alabama’s 1819 News that information the migrants were in his city legally “came out from [Gov. Kay Ivey’s] office and also came from Mike Rogers’ office, [Sen.] Katie Britt’s office and [Sen. Tommy] Tuberville’s office.
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Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt/File)
Rogers, the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, called the situation in his district “yet another example of the Biden-Harris administration’s moronic immigration policy failures.”
“Those two never cease to amaze me with their total incompetence and outright antagonism toward hardworking Americans. The way to fix this is to re-elect President Trump,” Rogers said.
Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter added his biggest concern is the lack of information from the feds on the migrants already inside the state.
“We have asked repeatedly,” said Ledbetter, R-Rainsville. “Once they are here, communities like Sylacauga and Albertville are left to deal with the disaster. Our schools don’t have the ESL resources to support the immigrant children, housing these people is an issue, crime is an issue, and the federal government has offered zero support whatsoever.”
Tuberville told Fox News Digital the feds are abusing their parole authority, which he said is supposed to be used sparingly and only for humanitarian purposes.
Instead, he said the administration is using it as a tool of “mass amnesty to millions of people.”
“We have no idea who most of these people are,” Tuberville said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the city and was directed to Nix’s email but did not receive a response.
Meanwhile, in Montgomery, state Senate President Pro-Tempore Greg Reed, R-Jasper, said Monday the Biden administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants to “pour in” and cause a crisis.
“The immigration catastrophe they have … openly incentivized is hitting home right now for Americans across the country, including right here in Alabama,” he said.
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Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 7, 2023, in Lukeville, Ariz. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“Alabama officials are prepared to use the tools at our disposal to clean up the mess and confusion their reckless policies have created,” Reed went on, adding that the crisis in Sylacauga emphasizes the importance of the presidential election.
A spokesperson for Ivey responded to a question about the mayor’s comments by saying her office has not received any facts or communications from the feds or to local officials on the matter.
“Separately though, Alabamians and Americans all over the country are rightfully concerned over the current Biden-Harris pro-illegal immigration policies. No doubt this is a contributing factor to the concerns of people in Sylacauga and other areas,” Gina Maiola said.
“People are on high alert. Gov. Ivey will continue taking action to enforce the law, doing everything in Alabama’s authority to secure the U.S. southern border and protecting our citizens from the harmful effects of illegal immigration.”
DHS did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
As expected, running back Tai Phillips made his pledge to the Crimson Tide. He camped in Tuscaloosa a few weeks ago and the Bama staff was sold. Phillips canceled his official visit to Florida State and will OV the Capstone starting Friday. Alabama will hold their second High School Camp this weekend with several other prospects visiting as well
Also in the running for his commitment were Ohio State, NC State, and Penn State.
In 2025, Phillips had 116 rushes for 919 yards (7.9 ypc) and 12 TD in just seven games. He has been clocked at 10.86 in the 100 and 22.04 (1.2) in the 200. He is rated 3-stars but is rising fast. Don’t be surprised if he gains another star by December. Updated rankings will likely come sometime after the summer camps conclude and the Dead Period begins (June 22). Phillips is from Fayetteville, NC, but will play at Irmo HS in Columbia, SC this fall.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama’s use of nitrogen gas to put people to death needs more study of whether it violates a constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment, a federal appeals court decided Monday.
The state first used nitrogen for capital punishment in 2024, and the ruling could upend Alabama’s next scheduled execution on Thursday. The method involves strapping a respirator to the person’s face and replacing breathable air with pure nitrogen, causing death from lack of oxygen.
The three-judge panel on Monday night reversed a judge’s May finding that the nitrogen method does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment and remanded the case for additional consideration. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed last year by Jeffery Lee, a man on death row who is scheduled to be executed with nitrogen on Thursday at a south Alabama prison.
The panel stopped short of staying Lee’s planned execution. However, the panel asked the judge to consider whether his proposed alternative of a firing squad was feasible.
The U.S. Supreme Court requires a two-prong test for people challenging the constitutionality of an execution method. They must show the method provides a substantial risk of superadded pain and that a feasible alternative method is available. The appeals court said Lee met the first test but sent it back to the trial court to consider the second.
The appeals panel raised concerns about the nitrogen method and how long it might take the subject to lose awareness.
“In our view, the overall suffering described by the district court, which lasts for one to three minutes, presents a substantial risk of serious harm over and above death itself,” the panel wrote. “Counting to 60 or 180 seconds is not a quick exercise, and constitutionally speaking, that timeframe is intolerable given the suffering that would likely take place under Alabama’s nitrogen hypoxia protocol.”
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office did not immediately issue a comment on the decision. The state has maintained the method is constitutional.
Opponents of the method cheered the decision.
“For the first time a court has acknowledged what I and so many others have seen with our own eyes. Nitrogen executions are a unique form of horror,” said the Rev. Jeff Hood, who was the spiritual adviser at two nitrogen executions.
Nitrogen has been used in eight executions nationally — seven times in Alabama and once in Louisiana. Lee’s attorneys argued it causes excessive suffering. Alabama’s last nitrogen execution took more than 30 minutes to complete.
Lee was convicted of two counts of capital murder for killing Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson while robbing a pawn shop on Dec. 12, 1998. Prosecutors said Lee entered Jimmy’s Pawnshop with a sawed-off shotgun and shot Ellis, the owner of the store, and Thompson, a store employee.
A jury voted 7-5 that Lee should receive a sentence of life imprisonment. However, a judge overrode that recommendation and sentenced Lee to death. Alabama in 2017 ended the practice of judicial override and no longer allows a judge to disregard a jury’s sentencing decision in death penalty cases.
The ruling came several hours after a vigil was held at the Alabama Capitol urging the governor to reduce Lee’s sentence to life imprisonment.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he opposed the clemency request.
“The people of Alabama have not forgotten Jimmy and Elaine. I have not forgotten them,” Marshall said. “Anything short of carrying out the sentence imposed by the court falls short of justice for the victims, and that is not what victims of this state deserve.”
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Two long-vacant Montgomery properties are slated to undergo significant redevelopment after being bought by an Alabama-based investment group.
Leitman Perlman, a Birmingham commercial real estate company, announced Monday that Noble Investments, an investment management firm located in Anniston, has purchased 1702 Norman Bridge Road and 1614 South Decatur Street for a combined $480,000.
According to Leitman Perlman, the purchase is part of an ongoing effort by Noble Investments to revitalize the surrounding neighborhood and promote long-term stability within the community.
The property at 1702 Norman Bridge Road once served as a medical office building but has remained vacant since 2013. Similarly, the property at 1614 South Decatur street currently houses a vacant neighborhood strip center that has been underutilized for many years.
Noble said it will clear out the buildings over the summer to prepare them for future tenants and will look to lease the spaces to local small business owners.
Mark Cornwell, CEO of Noble Investments called the properties part of a much larger commitment to the area.
“This corridor holds significance for our team and me personally,” he said. “I grew up in this area, I’ve driven by these buildings my whole life, and my family still lives in the neighborhood. Noble’s investment here has been steadily increasing with a long-term perspective, it’s personal.”
Cornwell said the end goal is to create spaces that are clean, safe and economically viable for residents and local entrepreneurs.
In 2019, Montgomery Investment Group, a sister company of Noble Investments, acquired and redeveloped the nearby Flats on Felder apartment complex along Felder Avenue. More recently, Noble purchased 1708 Norman Bridge Road. The space is now home to two small business.
The company has invested more than $23.5 million in River Region developments since 2017.
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