"Try that in a small town" came home to two different Alabama towns in recent weeks, and the results were very, very different.

Now, I won't cast aspersions alluding to different socio-economic status - I'll let you all come to your own decisions.

Sylacauga, AL is a little burg outside of Talladega with a smidge over 22,000 people with a median household income of $29. 533.

It has kind of a unique claim to fame for being the first place an object from space was documented for ever smacking someone on the gourd.

...Sylacauga is the site of the first documented case of an object from outer space hitting a person. On November 30, 1954, a 4 kg (9 lb) piece of what became known as the Hodges Fragment from the Sylacauga Meteorite crashed through the roof of an Oak Grove house, bounced off a radio, and badly bruised Ann Hodges, who was taking an afternoon nap.^[4]

They've also made the news recently for having other unwelcome and equally painful, uninvited arrivals.

Alabama residents clash over Haitian immigrants in Sylacauga Council meeting

Alabama Representative Ben Robbins (R-District 33) announced he planned on attending the city council meeting to listen to the concerns and provide information sent a letter to Homeland Security… pic.twitter.com/OWucCSe0Kd

— Andrea Shaffer, Employment/Labor Law (@Andreafreedom76) September 20, 2024

...Residents are upset that the immigrants are receiving free housing vouchers, free phones, food vouchers and free healthcare and not having to do a thing for it.  Its hurting the availability of housing, increasing rents.  

Residents want to know how much money the city is getting from the federal government and why they are ignoring the problem or are complicit.  Speaker says its hurting the residents of Sylacauga by raising prices and raising tax values on properties.  The senior citizen says I hate having my tax money spent on the immigrants.  Its against our rights and the people did not consent to having the city flooded with immigrants. 

Alabama Representative Ben Robbins (R-District 33) announced he will be at the meeting to listen to concerns and provide information sent a letter to Homeland Security  Mayorkas stating; 

"As the Secretary of Homeland Security, you are charged with overseeing immigration enforcement and refugee resettlement. Recently, my District (Alabama State House District 33) 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. 

Your failure to inform our rural community before dropping off immigrants has created panic and confusion. Residents are seeking answers to basic questions, such as why did the immigrants appear in Sylacauga, Alabama, how many immigrants are here, where are the immigrants working and where are they living within the community. Due to your agency's ineptitude to relay any information, local leaders are helpless. These inefficient policies have caused fear, which threatens the peace and tranquility of our small town. 

Further, rural Alabama does not have the support services nor the resources to house a wave of immigrants. We have a housing shortage. Additionally, there is no support system in our community for Haitian Creole speaking individuals including assistance in our schools for non-English speakers. As such, your organization has failed the local community and the refugees.

The folks there have suffered a Biden-HARRIS Haitian dump. Thanks to Springfield they are getting some national attention. Thanks to their tiny size and modest means, they are in serious financial trouble as a town.

Sylacauga District 5 Councilwoman Laura Barlow Heath is still seeking answers to address constituents' concerns about the increasing influx of Haitian migrants into town.

At the September 5 City Council meeting, District 2 Councilwoman Tiffany Nix shut down public comment when the citizens asked for an explanation of this sudden wave and why it was occurring.

..."I work for the people and my people are alarmed. You know, I got a job to do, and it's hard to do your job when you're just constantly hitting roadblocks and dead ends, and there's no answers to give to the people."

Heath said she had a productive meeting with Congressman Mike Rogers's (R-Saks) assistant, and they worked to put the puzzle pieces they did have in place.

"It was like you were missing all the middle pieces that made the puzzle, you know? Heath said. "I hate to not have information for the people, but it's not from the lack of trying."

The citizens' alarm and Heath's grave concerns over migrants flooding the town have nothing to do with race and everything to do with resources.

"It's a Catch-22 with the entire situation. It's not fair to anybody," Heath stated. "And it's especially not fair to city leaders who do not have the adequate resources to provide to the community. I mean, it takes away from the people we serve."

Down I-65 and then a hard left at the I-10 interchange, with a bit of a trek East, then a right turn South, you'll come to an idyllic fairyland on Mobile Bay's Eastern Shore known as Fairhope - population 22,600 and a median household income of $85,456.

They have also suffered a recent illegal migrant scare, which has roiled the whole community. It turns out the panic was brought on by one city councilman and a couple of state reps who signed a letter that, in retrospect, perhaps they should have consulted with some other folks about first.

Fairhope city councilman, two state reps committed to refugee resettlement in their communities; Request funds from Biden administration

State and local officials from all 50 states signed a letter to President Joe Biden asking for continued support for the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). The letter states that the "majority of Americans across the country and across party lines support refugee resettlement."

Fairhope City Councilman Corey Martin and State Reps. Travis Hendrix (D-Fairfield) and Thomas Jackson (D-Thomasville) were among the 477 officials who signed the letter by the Welcoming Refugees campaign.

Welcoming Refugees believes that refugees bring immense contributions to communities and to the economy and the group wants to offer goodwill to those seeking safety. However, the campaign stated that the federal program needs more federal funding to help local governments provide improved services and support for refugees.

In the letter, the signees express support for resettling refugees in the midst of "a forced migration crisis of historic proportions." They claim they have heard from locals who want refugees in their communities.

When Fairhopians got wind of this? It wasn't a lead balloon - it was the Hindenburg going off.

Fairhope councilman Corey Martin was doing some tapdancing, blaming a misunderstanding - he thought they meant "Ukrainian refugees."

...Martin says he did sign a letter of support for the United States Refugee Admissions Program that started during the Reagan administration but he signed the letter in 2022.

“At that time Ukraine was just bombed, Ukraine was just invaded and what I’m seeing on TV is women and children and elderly being displaced, murdered, and killed and this is when this came across my desk and I thought this was the right thing to do.”

Okay, dude. Whoever he says he thought they meant, Fairhope residents are buying none of it.

'You are gaslighting every single one of us': Fairhope residents express concern, frustration over potential Haitian refugee influx

 The Fairhope City Council heard from concerned citizens Monday night following what Mayor Sherry Sullivan called "rumors" about a possible influx of immigrants.

Citizens came out in droves after the release of a letter signed by Councilman Corey Martin and two state representatives dated "September 12, 2024" welcoming refugees and information that around 1,000 Haitian migrants could be resettled in Baldwin or Mobile Counties. So many people came to the meeting that chairs were placed in the lobby.

...The citizens said they have seen what's happened in other parts of Alabama and the nation and want the city to be prepared.

Abby Unrath, of Magnolia Springs, told the emotional story of the deaths of her mother-in-law and another woman, who were both killed in a crash caused by a Haitian immigrant in Michigan.

And while the well-heeled residents of Fairhope squeezed semi-comforting words out of the public officials they were confronting the other evening, I really hope they took a moment to step back and listen to everything the mayor and council were saying while trying to placate their residents.

In effect, the little towns around them in Baldwin County - one of AL's poorest - have significant illegal migrant problems.

..."As you know, we have a large influx of non-English speaking folks in our more rural schools, not necessarily Fairhope, but Silverhill has 26% of their class is non-English speaking," she said. "There's an issue with teaching English to those students. Summerdale's 30% and in Baldwin County, we have upwards of 40% of our students who speak non-English or are trying to learn English."

As immigration issues arise across the state, Fidler said she is educating herself on the process and hopes lawmakers can make changes on the state level to address some of the issues already being seen.

Rebecca Watson, a Fairhope resident and chair for the local chapter of Moms for Liberty, said she has already experienced firsthand what federal policy has done to Baldwin County. Watson was involved in a crash with an illegal immigrant in Baldwin County. She said the driver had no driver's license or insurance and was not arrested. Watson and her children were hurt and she claimed she had to pay for damages out-of-pocket.

The county surrounding the affluent, picturesque Eastern Shore enclave is rapidly being crushed under the weight of a foreign influx.

And all officials can do is mouth platitudes and excuses about federal law and "hope somebody in Washington" does something.

Holy smokes.

Now, Baldwin is a red county through and through; even Fairhope, as monied as it is, votes Republican.

The only thing that is going to save the rural side of the house from utter collapse under the weight of the Biden-HARRIS invasion is electing Donald Trump.

And that will creep into Fairhope. The way they drive the invasion may come tragically crashing into Fairhope sooner than later, and they will find themselves at a loss.

We do not owe the world our country.