We hear every day about the United States' border crisis, but with Alabama 1,375 miles from the closest Mexican border, it can seem as if we're far removed from this important national issue.
That's why Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver, Rep. Jamie Kiel and Russellville Police Department Chief Chris Hargett took part in the annual Federation for American Immigration Reform's (FAIR) Border School held September 23rd-25th in McAllen, Texas.
The annual event offers state legislators and law enforcement officers to see first-hand what's happening at the U.S.-Mexico border and to receive training to help mitigate the impact of illegal immigration in their home states.
Based on 2020 Census data, Russellville has the highest percentage of Hispanic/Latino residents, at 39.3%. Compare that to the statewide Hispanic/Latino percentage of 4.6.
By no means are all those residents here illegally. And regardless of their parents' immigration status, children born in the United States are citizens from the day they're born. And Russellville City Schools near 60% Hispanic/Latino enrollment shows the young Hispanic/Latino population is growing rapidly.
According to its website, www.fairus.org, FAIR is a 'non-partisan, public interest organization with a support base comprising nearly 50 private foundations and over three million diverse members and supporters...free of political party loyalties and special interest connections.
By its nature, though, an issue defined as a crisis is clearly political. FAIR policy is based on 'reducing the negative impact of uncontrolled immigration on the nation's security, economy, workforce, education, healthcare and environment.'
Much of the Franklin County trio's interaction at the FAIR Border School was with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and those agents said they've seen a significant difference in illegal border crossings from 2017-2020 (Donald Trump's Presidency) as compared to 2021-2024 under President Joe Biden.
“The numbers have not only increased, we learned, but they've increased to record levels. That's what these officers working our borders told us,” Hargett said.
In 2022, illegal crossings, according to the U.S. Office of Homeland Security, surpassed 2.2 million, an all-time high, as Biden rescinded many of Trump's restrictions.
Hargett said he learned that, under current policy, if someone crossing the border illegally doesn't have a criminal record either in the United States or their home country, they are allowed to go through into the country.
“And some of the countries they are coming from don't share criminal histories with the United States,” Hargett said.
Hargett learned that law enforcement officers in Texas are enforcing a new 2024 law that allows anyone caught illegally crossing the border into Texas to be charged with trespassing. With that pending criminal charge, ICE agents have to take those individuals into custody and vests Texas judges authority to order them deported.
That policy has led to reduced border crossings into Texas, but increased crossings into New Mexico, Arizona and California, Hargett said.
Constitutional challenges have been filed alleging the Texas law is an example of a state unlawfully interfering in federal policy. But from what Hargett saw at the border, the policy is working for Texas.
Although Biden left in place Title 42, a policy began during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed border agents to quickly deport those caught crossing the border illegally, his administration also declined to enforce Title 42 as it relates to unaccompanied minors arriving without parent or guardian. Predictably, those numbers have soared in recent years.
Hargett said the countries from which migrants enter the United States have also increased. While most used to come from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, migrants from Columbia, Venezuela and even some African and Asian nations have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in growing number.
And the number of deportations grew to almost 750,000, more than any Trump Presidency year. But customs officials attribute that to the record number of illegal crossings under Biden's administration.
Hargett, Oliver and Kiel visited the border and met with Texas and federal officers near the high-impact border areas.
Hargett's takeaway from the Border School reiterated something he sees in his law enforcement job every day—illegal entry into the United States isn't just a federal problem. It's not just a border state problem. It's creating unprecedented issues for law enforcement across the country.
“When you see the border first-hand and hear from the men and women enforcing border security, it's much more of an issue that most people realize. And we can use what we learned this week to address the issues we face with illegal immigration in Franklin County,” Hargett said.
