MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Republican Congressional candidate Caroleene Dobson recently pledged to push for legislation requiring that the federal government notify state and local officials when relocating migrants to communities.
The pledge comes in the wake of hundreds of migrants, many of them Haitian, that have recently relocated to Alabama communities, with local officials noting the influx has put a strain on some resources, and some residents voicing concerns.
“Our government is supposed to be open and transparent and make taxpayers feel safe and secure, but the current federal program of forcing migrants into local communities has been closed and opaque and makes taxpayers feel unsafe and less secure,” Dobson said in a statement.
Around 15,000 Haitians have been given temporary protected status by President Joe Biden in recent months due to the current political instability in Haiti.
Dobson has leaned heavily into curbing immigration on the campaign trail, and said her new pledge was prompted specifically by the Cuba-Haiti-Nicaragua-Venezuela Parole Program, a program implemented in 2023 under the Biden administration that allows for up to 360,000 people per year to immigrate from those countries under certain circumstances.
In 2023, there were 2,370 people of Haitian ancestry in Alabama, according to census data. There is no official count of the increase in the Haitian population in Alabama since the program was implemented, The Associated Press reported last week.
“People often fear the unexpected and become suspicious when important information is purposely withheld, so the current discord and worry in many of our communities could have been easily avoided with openness, honesty, and a bit of advance notice from the federal officials.”
In a statement shared with Alabama Daily News, Shomari Figures, Dobson’s Democratic opponent in the congressional race, argued that Dobson’s new pledge neglected what he argued were more pressing issues for the residents of Alabama’s Second Congressional District.
“We are running on local issues; my opponent is running on a national Republican party strategy of using lies and conspiracy theories to drum up fears about immigrants,” Figures said Tuesday.
“It’s very telling that her first and only legislative proposal will do nothing to expand Medicaid in Alabama, re-open the rural hospitals that have closed in the past year in this district, or bring infrastructure investments and jobs to District 2.”
Alabama’s Second District is the most contested of the state’s seven districts this election cycle, largely due to the federally imposed redrawing of the state’s congressional districts to give Black voters an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice in District 2.
Previously a Republican stronghold for decades, the new map made District 2 suddenly in play for Democrats.
While the newly drawn District 2 now favors Democrats based on past election data, which showed Black-preferred candidates winning 15 of the past 17 election contests, Republicans, as well as some political science experts, say Dobson still has a fighting chance in the race.
The general election will be held Nov. 5. The voter registration deadline to participate is Oct. 21, and the last day to apply for an absentee ballot by mail is Oct. 29, and in person is Oct. 31.