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Small Alabama Towns with Haitian Populations Should Take Note of Springfield.
(VOR News) – Sarah Jacques struggled to adjust to a small Alabama city in the southernmost Haitian Appalachian mountain range from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The 22-year-old adjusted to quiet after a year. Jacques worked at a car seat manufacturing, founded a Creole-language church, and liked Albertville’s safety after her country’s political unrest.
Jacques said additional hurdles have arisen after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate made false claims about Haitian immigration in Springfield, Ohio, creating crime and “eating pets.”
“People would wave at us, say hello, when I first arrived, but now it’s not the same,” Jacques said in Creole via a translator. “People see you and seem either quiet or scared.” In this hostile context, nonpartisan Alabama religious leaders, law enforcement, and citizens took Springfield’s outcomes as a warning. Little US towns are welcoming Haitians.
Haitian migrants supported President Joe Biden’s 2023 proposal to admit 30,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelans every month for two years and allow work. The Biden administration may let 300,000 Haitians stay until February 2026.
In 2023, Alabama had 2,370 Haitians. As of now, there are unknown numbers in Alabama.
The immigration debate is ancient, says Albertville mayor’s executive assistant Robin Lathan. Immigration has increased for over 30 years. The city doesn’t track Haitian migration, but Lathan said “it seems there has been an increase over the last year, in particular.”
Last year, 34% of Albertville’s 5,800 students learned English as a second language, up from 17% in 2017. An August Facebook post of people getting off a bus to work at a poultry company aroused fears that it was hiring illegal immigrants, weeks before Springfield made national headlines.
The chicken producer told The Associated Press that all its workers may lawfully work in the U.S. At a public meeting, some neighbors asked about the federal program that allows Haitians to work in Alabama legally, while others called for landlords to “cut off the housing” and said the migrants have a “smell to them,” according to audio recordings
These remarks touched Albertville community organizer Unique Dunson, 27. “Every time Albertville gets a new influx of non-white people, there seems to be a problem,” Dunson said.
Dunson community store distributes gifts. With national tensions rising, she put English, Spanish, and Creole “welcome neighbor glad you came” billboards throughout town.
Dunston said the billboards “push back” against migrant hate. John Pierre-Charles said he knew Albertville Haitians only from relatives. Within 14 years, his Creole-language church Eglise Porte Etroite went from seven members in 2010 to 300. He’s adding English, drivers’, and podcast studios to the church for growth.
Pierre-Charles deems the past few months “the worst period” for Albertville’s Haitians.
“I can see some people in Albertville who are really scared right now because they don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Pierre-Charles. Some fear Haiti deportation. People fear not knowing others’ emotions.
After August public meetings, Pierre-Charles wrote to city officials requesting more housing and food to help his growing community adapt economically and culturally.
“That’s what I’m trying to do, to be a bridge,” Pierre-Charles said. He cooperated. Gerilynn Hanson, 54, hosted the first session to answer Albertville residents’ valid migration questions in August. Hanson is going to “focus on the human level.”
In September, Hanson, an electrical contractor and Trump supporter, created a foundation with Pierre-Charles and other Haitian community leaders to address the demand for permanent housing and English language instruction.
“We can look at (Springfield) and become them in a year,” Hanson said of the city’s hate and threats. “We can watch without acting. We could make everyone productive and talkative.”
Even places with less than 0.5% Haitian population have state event issues.
Sylacauga residents question Haitian immigrants in public forum footage. Only 60 Haitian migrants dwell in the 12,000-person town southeast of Birmingham, officials say.
Open Door Baptist Church in Enterprise, Alabama, discussed Enterprise’s growing Haitian community in September. Many cars are parked there. After the accident, Ma-Chis Lower Creek Indian Tribe chairman James Wright sympathized with the Haitians departing but worried migrants would affect Enterprise’s “political culture” and “community values.”
Other guests called Haitian immigration “lawless” and “dangerous.” To calm migratory anxieties, some arrived. Chief Michael Moore says Haitians haven’t increased enterprise crime.
“I think there were quite a few people there that were more concerned about fearmongering than the migrants,” Moore told AP.
Moore said his department encountered Haitian migrants in unlawful dwellings but rectified the issue by engaging them. Since then, his department hasn’t received reliable migrant crime complaints.
Moore said, “I completely understand that some people don’t like what I say because it doesn’t fit their own personal thought process.” “But those are facts.”
SOURCE: AP
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Officials were looking into any connections between the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning and New Orleans. One person was killed, and at least seven others were injured.
At a news conference, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Kevin McMahill stated that while the authorities “believe this to be an isolated incident,” they have not yet ruled out a connection to the New Orleans attack that occurred on Wednesday morning and killed at least fifteen people.
No additional danger to the community exists, according to Sheriff McMahill. The inquiry is continuing, but as of Wednesday afternoon, President Biden stated that there was no evidence linking the explosion to ISIS, the group he claimed was the inspiration for the attack in New Orleans.
Jeremy Schwartz, the acting special agent in charge of the F.B.I. in Las Vegas, stated at a news conference on Wednesday that the agency is investigating the possibility that the explosion “was an act of terrorism or not.”
In his statement, Mr. Schwartz acknowledged that the word “terrorist attack” is capturing the attention of many. That is our objective, and we are striving to achieve it.
At around 8:40 a.m. local time, the Trump Hotel was the scene of an explosion, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
According to Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo’s post on X, his office collaborates with authorities and will ensure all required resources are accessible.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo wrote on X that his office is coordinating with authorities and will ensure they have any necessary resources available.
In a post on X, Elon Musk wrote Tesla is investigating the matter.
”We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself,” Musk wrote.
“The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle,” Musk added, noting that the Cybertruck directed the blast upwards and helped contain the explosion. “Not even the glass doors of the lobby were broken.”
Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump organization, also posted on X that the “safety and well-being of our guests and staff remain our top priority.”
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Las Vegas Fire Department and local law enforcement for their swift response and professionalism,” Trump wrote.
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Today, at approximately 3:15 a.m. CST, an individual drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 10 and injuring dozens of others. After hitting the crowd, he exited the vehicle and fired upon local law enforcement.
Law enforcement returned fire, and the subject was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two law enforcement officers were injured and transported to a local hospital.
The subject has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas. He was driving a Ford pickup truck, which appears to have been rented in New Orleans, and we are working to confirm how the subject came into possession of the vehicle.
An ISIS flag was located in the vehicle, and the FBI is working to determine the subject’s potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations.
Weapons and a potential IED were located in the subject’s vehicle. Other potential IEDs were also located in the French Quarter. The FBI’s special agent bomb technicians are working with our law enforcement partners to determine if any of these devices are viable, and they will work to render those devices safe.
The FBI is the lead investigative agency, and we are working with our partners to investigate this as an act of terrorism. We are aggressively running down all leads to identify any possible associates of the subject in New Orleans.
The FBI has set up a digital tip line, and we ask anyone with information or video of the incident to submit them to www.fbi.gov/bourbonstreetattack or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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(VOR News) – It was on Tuesday that he made the announcement that Donald Trump anticipates attending the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 100.
Former President Carter passed away. It is projected that Trump will succeed Donald Trump as the next president of the United States of America.
Donald Trump will lead the United States.
Donald Trump shared his intentions with reporters who were present at the New Year’s Eve celebrations that were held at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. These events took place around midnight. The evening of December 31 was scheduled for these activities to take place.
Without a doubt, I will be present at that location. Donald Trump asserts that we were issued an invitation to attend the event that was being talked about.
After being asked a follow-up question, the Republican reacted by saying, “I’d rather not say.” This was in response to the question that was made to him. This is what was delivered in answer to the question that was made. This statement was made in response to the question of whether or not he had communicated with any members of Carter’s family members.
Carter, a Democrat who held the office of President of the United States from 1977 until 1981, cast his vote in the presidential election of 2024 through the use of the postal voting system. His election to the position of President of the United States of America was successful.
His family members have claimed that he intended to vote for Kamala Harris, who is competing against Donald Trump for the position of Vice President. This information has been provided by members of his family. As a result of the presence of witnesses who were present during the election, this information was gathered.
Carter is going to be laid to rest on Saturday in the state of Georgia, which is where he was born and reared. All of the arrangements for his funeral have been made.
Carter began his professional life as a peanut farmer and eventually rose through the ranks to become President of the United States of America.
Donald Trump’s Washington National Cathedral funerals continue until January 9.
According to the current consensus, it is anticipated that President Trump, along with other dignitaries, will be present during the length of the ceremony.
When it comes to the eulogy that will be delivered during the celebration of life event, there is a significant possibility that Vice President Joe Biden, who will be in his final weeks in office, will be the one to deliver it.
This is because Biden will be the one who will be in charge of the event. Specifically, this is due to the fact that Biden will be the individual in command of the event.
President Donald Trump was present at the state funeral in 2018, which took place after the demise of former President George H. W. Bush, who had been in office from 1989 to 1993.
A number of other past presidents, including former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton, as well as their spouses, were physically present at the funeral. This funeral was held in honor of the previous president who had died away, and it was held in memory of him.
A private funeral and burial will be performed for Carter in Georgia after the service that will be held in Washington. The remains of Carter will be carried there after the event. After the conclusion of the service, this will take place immediately.
This will take place just after the completion of the service which is now being held. The funeral service will take place immediately after the viewing, which will take place in the immediate aftermath of the viewing.
SOURCE: NDTV
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