Concerned residents say buses of migrants are being dropped off in Marshall County
MARSHALL COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — People in Marshall County are upset over multiple recent sightings of charter buses they say have been bringing migrants to their area, with many feeling the border crisis is affecting their county.
Residents in Albertville and Boaz say it caught them off guard and claim officials failed to notify them about the drop offs, with some saying their officials are putting money over the people.
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According to Pilgrim’s Pride Food Company, they hired workers from a neighboring facility and have been providing transportation for those employees.
Some people in the area tell News 19 they believe issues at the border have turned Albertville and Boaz into hotspots for illegal immigrants.
One person, who did not want to be identified, feels officials were being secretive about it all – adding their leaders should be prioritizing the people of Marshall County.
“Pilgrim’s Pride should’ve warned everyone in this community, like hey don’t be alarmed but with it being so shady that’s why everybody’s asking and everyone is concerned,” the anonymous resident explained. “Our communities can’t handle it, we don’t have the infrastructure for that amount of people.”
The anonymous resident says the charter buses dropped off dozens at a time, and those individuals were getting off the buses with suitcases and other belongings.
Albertville officials said in a statement they’ve never received funding to house individuals from different countries.
”We want to make it abundantly clear that Albertville is not a sanctuary city, has never received funding to harbor individuals from any country, nor have any of our elected officials been
involved in such activities,” the city stated. “Our city government does not have the authority to enforce or affect federal immigration policies, but we are no stranger to the local impacts these policies have and the challenges they present are not new.”
In part of the statement, Albertville city leaders also addressed how they feel the concerns have impacted the community over the past few days.
”It is deeply unfortunate that as our students returned to school this week, they did so amidst a climate of controversy, baseless accusations, and hurtful rhetoric toward the families of some of their classmates. It is your right to ask questions of your elected officials and hold them accountable and Albertville city leaders will always work to be as transparent and diligent as possible in addressing your concerns, but we will not support or condone any narrative or discourse that seeks to marginalize individuals in our community based on their race or ethnicity.
To those who have expressed criticism, due or undue, without any form of understanding— we extend an invitation to engage with us constructively. Your elected officials are citizens just like you and welcome the opportunity to discuss the issues our community faces in practical and productive ways.”
Albertville City Leaders
The city’s full statement in response to their concerns can be here.
In a statement on X, Sen. Wes Kitchens said he spoke with the poultry company and assured the charter busses would no longer be running in Marshall County.
Kitchens added that he’d be meeting with Texas Border Patrol in the coming weeks to discuss improvement surrounding what he called a crisis that needs to be addressed.
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