‘Not really our issue:’ Gulf Shores mayor speaks on illegal immigration raid

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft spoke on the illegal immigration raid that happened on June 24 at the construction site of the new Gulf Shores High School.

We first broke that story after viewers called in and sent videos like these, showing the scene of what one federal agent said was “chaos.”

One witness says some workers locked the roof hatch door to try and escape the feds, even going down a rope.

36 total undocumented immigrants arrested on this construction site… 20 had criminal backgrounds.

Mayor Craft says despite the raid, he’s still confident in the general contractor who is overseeing this project, Rabren General Contractors.

“It is an issue that has to be dealt with but it’s not really our issue,” Craft said. “I hired the right people to do the right thing and we’ve done that and have a high degree in confidence that the school has been built appropriately. By contract, they are responsible that everybody that works for them and their sub-contractors use E-Verify.”

By law, E-Verify, a software that allows businesses to check the eligibility of their workers, must be used by contractors who are working on taxpayer-funded projects in Alabama.

In January, the athletic facility at the new high school collapsed. When I spoke to Special Agent in Charge for HSI in Alabama and Georgia last week, Steven Schrank, he brought up the collapse.

“We know at this very construction project there was a significant issue with the collapse a couple of months ago and that raises the very safety questions that we all probably are asking ourselves right now of what is the standard that is being applied by these individuals, many of whom who do not speak our language and do not have the necessary skills and certifications that we would expect, especially in such an important building where our children are going to grow up and be educated,” Schrank said.

Craft told me the facility falling over has nothing to do with the illegal immigration situation. He said it collapsed after workers had to leave due to January’s snowstorm and they weren’t able to brace the beams properly.

He said he is in full support of HSI and FBI arresting undocumented workers, but he has no responsibility in what happened.

“We understand Homeland Security job and we appreciate them for that, so I’ve learned a lot about making sure the clerical side and again I don’t think it’s my responsibility to make sure they’re doing the clerical stuff,” he said. “We’ve got a lot to do start overlooking quality, our contractors from their administrative stuff. We’ll monitor them on the construction, but the administrative side is something we just have to trust and they are doing what they need to do.”

Craft says the school’s completion date is still scheduled for the fall of 2026. He also said the city has taken steps to ensure the project is subject to rigorous oversight.

As for Rabren General Contractors, the company is still refusing to do an on-camera interview.

We’ll keep pressing.