Despite the false claims of immigration activists and Democrats, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is here in Alabama (and other red states), and the majority of our citizens and neighbors are just fine with their presence.
Since 2025, several state and county law enforcement arms signed cooperation agreements with the Department of Homeland Security for targeted immigration enforcement.
At least nine such agreements with sheriff’s offices are active in six Alabama counties, with three more pending — two with county sheriff’s departments and one with a local police department. These agreements, known as 287(g) programs, deputize local officers to enforce federal immigration laws.”
[…]
“Colbert, Crenshaw, Elmore, Etowah, Franklin and Henry counties have at least one agreement with ICE. The Houston County Sheriff’s Office and Level Plains Police Department in Dale County have pending agreements.
Franklin and Lawrence counties also signed on last summer, while Marshall County signed on in September.
Has the average citizen even noticed? Perhaps, but most remain unbothered. Some protests have surrounded the ICE detainment of particular individuals, such as UA doctoral student Alireza Doroudi and “social worker” Giovanna Hernandez-Martinez, but most of these groups seem to target Trump’s tenure in the White House more than the policies of the Department of Homeland Security and their use of ICE enforcement. There have been few public arrests and open confrontations because our law enforcement officials honor ICE detainers, allowing them into the jails to arrest illegal immigrants. Most critical, the especially awful illegal element is being removed from our communities.
That helps most of us breathe easier.
Cities like Minneapolis are different. They choose to oppose ICE, allowing protesters to cause chaos and destruction in their city, while cursing ICE’s presence, harassing them, and almost willing something terrible to happen.
That terrible occurred last week when anti-ICE activist Renee Good, targeted, stalked and harassed ICE agents working to do targeted arrests of criminal illegals. Several video angles made this clear. When the agents had enough and told her to exit her car, she aimed her vehicle toward an agent rather than comply. The agent fired his weapon in self-defense and Good died because of her own foolishness.
This incident and the back and forth between President Donald Trump, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has been ugly. Walz and Frey have encouraged Minneapolis citizens to basically tear apart their city, and like the useful idiots that they are, the citizens have complied. Things continue boiling over in Minneapolis, leading Trump to threaten to invoke the Insurrection Act to restore order.
Frey has accused Trump of dictatorial behavior, demanding that ICE leave the city. Frey also furthered the false narrative that ICE is only targeting blue states and cities and that they should be in red states, too.
Newsflash, Jacob, they are in red states … and Alabama welcomes them. Most Alabamians neither tolerate nor support the type of unrest unfolding in Frey’s city.
Illegality and criminality often hide in plain sight. The benefit of law enforcement partnership with ICE is not just the removal of these dangerous characters, but exposure of the trans-state and international criminal influence that became embedded in our state right under our noses thanks to the Biden administration’s porous border. ICE enforcement in Alabama has been doing this legally, quietly, and without bringing harm to the citizenry.
An excellent example of this is the apprehension and arrest of Arely Guzman, a 28-year-old real estate agent from Albertville, Ala.
Guzman is not an illegal: according to the criminal complaint, she is a United States citizen and was an upstanding member of the community, involved with the Albertville’s Chamber of Commerce. The partnership between ICE and local law enforcement revealed that this seemingly upstanding young woman was not only spouting anti-ICE rhetoric, but she had doxed an ICE agent. But here’s the kicker: Guzman was further embroiled in a national criminal enterprise.
It’s like the plot of a Lifetime movie.
‘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. …
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, [Alex] Corona.
So Guzman was charged in both Texas and Alabama, but after release in early January, charges and pending prosecution moved to the Texas Western District Court. No doubt the process will reveal more about Guzman’s involvement with SANTOYO-Guzman and just how she went about moving illegal immigrants and embedding them into Alabama communities.
WAAY TV revealed more about how Guzman was taken down.
Authorities say they have identified Guzman as an active participant in the criminal enterprise since 2024. She faces charges under Title 8 United States Code 1324 for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens.
…
A search of Guzman's seized cellular device revealed extensive involvement in human smuggling ventures and communications with other conspirators, including SANTOYO-Guzman.
Had it not been for cooperation between state, county and local law enforcement with ICE, this entire enterprise could have continued to operate in the shadows, with the innocent face of Guzman at its front. Albertville has been better served thanks to her removal.
In Alabama, we try not to burn our communities and allow them to be given over to criminality and destruction. Yes, there is more work to be done on many levels, but what we are doing right is allowing our law enforcement and ICE to perform their work – not throwing protests and putting lives in danger because we have issues with the president.
Jennifer Oliver O'Connell, As the Girl Turns, is an investigative journalist, author, opinion analyst, and contributor to 1819 News, Redstate, and other publications. Jennifer writes on Politics and Pop Culture, with occasional detours into Reinvention, Yoga, and Food. You can read more about Jennifer's world at her As the Girl Turns website. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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