Teach Larry Stutts to Count...or Read...or Something

 

Republicans in the state legislature have published their agenda for the February session. There's good, and there's dog whistles. Illegal immigration is one hot topic, but according to Sen. Larry Stutts it's much worst than anyone thought.

Per 1819 News' account of the recent Shoals Republican meeting:

Stutts concluded the discussion and saw the solution to the illegal issue as "getting control of the borders." Stutts alleged that many of the millions here in the state of Alabama are not necessarily looking for a better life and have no desire to learn Alabama's values or assimilate.

Millions of illegals? That was news to us. What do actual statistics say? Here's a few numbers to put the illegal immigration problem into perspective:

* Alabama has 183,500 immigrant residents, which is 3.6% of the state's total population.

* Alabama has an estimated 55,400 undocumented immigrants, which is 34% of the state's immigrant population. A second source gives the number at 62,000.

The last time we checked, 55.4K (or 62K) people are no where close to two million. Why are Alabamians so ill-informed? Perhaps because its leaders are...