An Alabama city council member is speaking out against her colleagues for kicking all residents out of a meeting while they were asking questions about Haitian migrants in their small town of only 12,000 residents.
Sylacauga city council member Laura Barlow Heath took aim at council president Tiffany Nix for abruptly calling to adjourn the meeting in an interview with Fox News Digital, warning it could have unintended consequences.
“I will never agree that it’s okay to shut people down. Whether I agree with what they’re saying, whether it’s an uncomfortable conversation, they still have to be heard and validated,” she said.
Residents have been speaking with Heath about their anger and fears about the migrants in their community, questioning why they are there and how they will provide for themselves without any jobs. She is concerned that an incident could occur that would engulf the community in turmoil.
Sylacauga City council member Laura Barlow Heath speaks about Haitian migrants crisis hitting her tiny town. (Fox News Digital)
“Why Sylacauga?” she said. “We already have a housing crisis, and we don’t have a lot of jobs. And there’s just so many uncertainties. And their uncertainties lead to conspiracy theories and stuff because there’s no leads. And so I have a lot of concern that it’s going to cause civil unrest if we continue to not have answers to give to the people.”
“I believe that people [in this town] are very protective of their properties and, you know, there’s fear with them not working. That when people are hungry or are in need, that they’re going to start breaking in,” she added. “The results would be disastrous.”
Heath said she felt bad for the Haitian migrants because they are in an unfamiliar country.
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The migrant issue came to head for the small town when Nix adjourned the meeting after several attendees pressed the council for answers. Nix dismissed concerns and said she believed the Haitians should instead be welcomed into the town as contributors to the economy.
“I’m going to ask all of you to leave because this meeting is over,” Nix told the residents. She then motioned to adjourn, which was supported by other board members.
“To cut off public comment in the middle of a meeting is a violation of public law,” a resident told President Tiffany Nix. (Fox News Digital)
Residents could be heard groaning and complaining in the background.
“Good to know they don’t want to hear the truth,” a resident said.
“I don’t know what you want us to do,” Nix responded.
“To cut off public comment in the middle of a meeting is a violation of public law,” another resident said.
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Heath said the locals are feeling “unsafe” because there’s no documentation of who is coming in or what their backgrounds are.
“We don’t know these people,” she said.
However, there are some in the community that have embraced their new neighbors.
“When it comes to legal and illegal immigration, that’s a discussion for city hall. In the church, our message is ‘Jesus Loves You,’ and that’s what we’re focusing on,” First Baptist Church of Sylacauga Pastor Rick Patrick told a local news outlet. The pastor is holding an event to help English-speaking members of the congregation to learn some Haitian Creole.
Resident in Springfield, Ohio, speaks about crime caused by migrants. (Fox News Digital)
According to State Representative Ben Robbins, there isn’t a lot of information about the number of migrants in Sylacauga and how they got there.
“I think we as a community are entitled to answers to these basic questions, where are they working, why did they get here, how are they being supported then on the back end there’s questions we need to ask on behalf of the immigrant, why would you bring them to a community that doesn’t have available jobs or creole speaking support systems, why or how are you allowing this to happen if you’re not directly allowing it, you’re indirectly allowing it,” Robbins said. “Because we don’t know how many people are here, you can’t definitively say how all of them got here. Some might’ve come by a federal program, some might’ve come by a van load with the promise of work, some might’ve driven their car here because their cousin was here. It’s probably a mixture of things, but because we have no way of monitoring, we have no way of answering that question.”
Heath is worried that her town could face
“There is a fear here of becoming the next Springfield, Ohio. You know, when is enough enough? When do they stop coming in?” she said.
Springfield has become a flashpoint for national narratives about the migrant crisis. Residents have been pointing to an uptick in crime, mayhem and car crashes due to the massive influx of new residents. In a town of 58,000 people, about 20,000 Haitians have arrived in recent years, according to city officials.
Hannah Grossman is a Reporter at Fox News Digital.
