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U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Monrovia) said Athens is seeing an influx of Haitian migrants, like many other cities in North Alabama, due to the Biden administration’s “damaging” immigration policies.

“For months, my office has partnered with local law enforcement to identify the immigration status of the migrants in question,” Strong said in a statement. “The Biden Administration’s open border policies, coupled with lax vetting of new arrivals, have destroyed the public’s trust in our federal immigration system.”

Strong said schools, hospitals and other taxpayer-funded resources were overwhelmed by rapid population growth, adding that returning to “Trump-era border policies” may be the only way to reverse the damage.

“This administration’s disastrous immigration policies have overwhelmed our schools, inundated our hospitals, and strained public services funded by taxpaying citizens. This situation is no exception,” Strong said.

SEE ALSO: Charter buses seen dropping off alleged Haitian migrants in Marshall County; Residents demand answers

“I am committed to reversing the damage inflicted upon our communities by the Biden Administration’s mass migration agenda and returning to Trump-era border policies that secured our homeland," he added.

Strong joins the growing list of state and federal officials committing to address mass immigration in Alabama after a controversy in Marshall County over chicken plants busing Haitian migrants to and from work brought the issue to the political forefront.

The Pilgrim’s Pride chicken plant in Russellville has since said it would no longer be running the buses, according to State Sen. Wes Kitchens (R-Arab).