Rumors fuel anger against Sylacauga’s small Haitian community, officials say: ‘They just want to work’

Talladega County is the latest in Alabama to be engulfed by concerns about Haitian immigrants, with residents demanding answers from elected officials, prompted by stories shared on social media and elsewhere.

But as in other Alabama communities that see Haitian immigration, the stories don’t match reality.

A city council member told Fox News Digital that residents fear their city will become another Springfield — which has been a flashpoint in the 2024 presidential election due to wild, since-discredited stories about Haitian immigrants shared by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.

City officials estimate there are as many as 60 Haitians in the city, a far cry from the 15,000 who currently live in Springfield, Ohio, a predominantly white, working-class city of about 59,000.

The 2023 census estimates Sylacauga’s total population at just over 12,000; about 64% of its residents are white.

Residents asked about Haitian immigrants at a Sylacauga City Council meeting earlier this month. The meeting was adjourned after just 20 minutes when several speakers angrily demanded details.

Some of that same sentiment was on display Tuesday night, when the council reconvened and faced other residents wanting to know how many Haitians were in Sylacauga and what brought them there.

One man who spoke at the meeting wanted to know how much money city officials were receiving from the federal government “to ignore this problem or be complicit and enable it.”

“These are not the immigrants of the past,” he said. “These are immigrants who come here and get free homes, phones and health care, without having to do anything for it, because it’s like an invasion.”

“There has been a lot of confusion in this community”

Sylacauga police and school officials said large numbers of Haitians were failing to show up on police reports or were affecting enrollment in large numbers.

Dr. Rick Patrick, pastor of First Baptist Church of Sylacauga, heard from another pastor that rumor had it that a church had brought in two busloads of Haitians.

“It’s more of a diaspora,” he said. “It was a car here, a van here. It wasn’t the city that did it. It wasn’t the government that did it.”

Patrick recalls a mission trip his church took to Haiti more than a decade ago, when church members were helping those affected by a disastrous 2010 earthquake from which the Caribbean island nation has still not fully recovered.

Haitians began immigrating to the United States in greater numbers earlier this year, following unrest and gang violence.

See also: Haitian Immigrants Fleeing Unrest and Exploitation Find ‘Alabama Is the Best Place to Live’

“Our people came back, their lives changed forever,” Patrick said of his mission trip. “This is one of the poorest countries on the planet.”

Patrick said he began seeing Haitians attending church services.

Even though many do not speak English, they “sing when we sing, they pray when we pray.”

“There’s been a lot of confusion in this community,” he said. “A lot of misinformation.”

The local reaction isn’t all negative, he added. Other churches have called to offer help. An interpreter has been found. Some congregations are considering holding a Creole service. Some people have pledged money to help.

“The Haitians have not asked us for anything,” he said. “We have offered to provide them with transportation. We are prepared to do much more. People have offered jobs, assistance.”

Patrick said First Baptist is hosting two events this month — a general information meeting next Tuesday at 6 p.m., where state and federal officials are expected to be present to answer residents’ questions about the legality of Haitian immigrants and any concerns they may have.

A meeting, called “Welcoming Travelers,” will be held on September 29 and will provide residents with information on Haitian culture, the immigrant experience of moving to another country and other topics aimed at introducing immigrants to Christianity. There is talk of starting an English language class for those moving to the area.

“If you can’t stop it, then we’re going to have to stop it.”

Patrick said he hopes this two-pronged approach will help Sylacauga residents and Haitian newcomers.

“There’s the citizenship aspect, and there’s bringing them the message of Christ, and doing it in a loving way,” he said.

City Councilman Ashton Fowler, who attends Patrick’s church, first saw Haitians show up for services about two months ago, with attendance growing from two to about 10, he said. Soon after, he started seeing the stories circulating on social media.

City Council President Tiffany Nix said she met with Haitians in Sylacauga last Sunday. She spoke with them for about two hours through an interpreter — a Birmingham pastor who speaks Creole. She wanted to know, like residents who speak at council meetings, who these people were and how they got to Sylacauga.

For some, it was a bus – a Greyhound.

She said that when she started asking questions, they began gathering their immigration papers to prove they were in the country legally.

Nix and Fowler said the Haitians they spoke with are in the United States on 18- to 24-month work visas under a federal program that allows Haitian immigrants to enter if they have a sponsor, meet certain guidelines and submit to vetting.

The Haitians, she said, are employed by a temporary service and migrate from town to town as job opportunities arise. Nix said stories of hundreds of Haitians flooding the area are an exaggeration.

“People who are here today may not be here tomorrow because they are just looking for work,” she said. “If they are visible now, it is because their missions are over. They do not want to be disturbed. They just want to work.”

Fowler said residents have “every right” to ask questions about immigration.

“I think the frustration comes when we say we don’t know, they think we know more than we do, and that’s just not the case at the local level,” he said.

“We are seen as people who hold secret meetings,” Nix said. “Some people perceive us as people who don’t tell the truth. They spread lies and gossip on social media, which doesn’t really help. When we get information, we pass it on to the public.”

Sylacauga gained attention in the immigration debate after a video of its last city council meeting was shared by several national and state media outlets.

Tuesday’s meeting drew about 50 people, many of whom were there not for immigration reasons but to discuss a policy of compensating city employees for hours worked.

General government business continued. The budget was adopted. Members asked what could be done to address a flooding problem in the police department.

But the audience question time was again dominated by the issue of immigrants. An 86-year-old woman said: “There is no way these people can pay their own rent.”

“I hate that my tax money is being spent this way,” she said. “My money is being spent on this, and I’m sick of it.”

The man who accused council members of taking money linked Haitian immigration to stories of gang takeovers of apartment complexes in Colorado — stories that local officials say have been exaggerated.

“We didn’t agree to this,” he said. “When hotels and apartment complexes start getting taken over by like-minded individuals, what are you going to do? Are you going to stop it? If you can’t stop it, then we’re going to have to stop it. Do you understand?”

Another resident said the stories about Haitians were racially motivated. Other immigrant populations in recent years — Croatians, Mexicans, citizens of Middle Eastern countries — have not faced similar questions, he said.

“I find it incredible that such a small group of people can create such chaos in this city,” Patterson said.

“Where is all this conspiracy coming from about a few people wanting to work?… Leave me alone. These people are just here to find work.”