Arely Guzman, the Albertville resident facing federal charges for allegedly smuggling illegal aliens into the United States, has been ordered to remain in U.S. Marshal custody pending an investigation to potentially satisfy the conditions of release.
Guzman went before Magistrate Judge Herman N Johnson, Jr., in Huntsville on Dec. 31, 2025, for a detention hearing and a preliminary hearing.
According to a court report, after waiving her right to the preliminary hearing, Guzman’s lawyer, Erin Atkins, argued for Guzman to be released on bond.
Judge Johnson determined that Guzman, the defendant, “has sustained its burden except for the reason set out,” the court report stated, referring to her place of residence.
Johnson ordered Guzman to be detained and remanded back into the U.S. Marshal’s custody. He also ordered a representative of the U.S. Parole Office to “investigate any proposed residence and provide a report to the court to determine if satisfactory for release.”
Guzman, a real estate agent in Albertville, was arrested on Dec. 19, 2025, on charges of doxxing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. That arrest notified Homeland Security Investigators in Eagle Pass, Texas, of Guzman’s whereabouts.
SEE: Albertville real estate agent accused in violent illegal alien smuggling enterprise
“GUZMAN has been previously identified by HSI Eagle Pass as a member of the criminal enterprise orchestrated by incarcerated inmate SANTOYO-Guzman, marked by her involvement in facilitating human smuggling loads and acting as a financial facilitator for the organization,” the criminal complaint filed in the Western District of Texas on Dec. 23, 2025, stated. “GUZMAN has extensive ties to SANTOYO-Guzman criminal enterprise through her relationship with Edgar Daniel GUZMAN, the cousin of SANTOYO-Guzman, as well as her relationship withAlex CORONA, a previously identified human smuggler for the SANTOYO-Guzman criminal enterprise.”
The complaint also accused Guzman of further “egregious acts,” including aggravated shooting of an illegal alien, extortion, and hostage taking, in Houston, Texas, in June 2024, and an “incident of physical assault” in DeKalb County in May 2025, along with her partner, Corona.
Guzman is well known in the Albertville community as a real estate agent and an outspoken critic of ICE and local law enforcement for enforcing immigration law.
The criminal complaint also identified Guzman as a “member of the Board of Commerce in Albertville, Alabama.” However, Albertville Chamber of Commerce president Stan Witherow told 1819 News that Guzman has never been a board member. She was a chamber member as a real estate agent, but is no longer a member, Witherow said.
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