Editor's note: Some images contain explicit language.
ALBERTVILLE — President Donald Trump’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration inspired protests in Albertville Wednesday night as a large group marched downtown carrying posters and shouting chants critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The protest was organized online, with people told to meet at the Albertville Chamber of Commerce to protest “peacefully” in support of the local “immigrant communities,” a large portion of which are believed to be in the U.S. illegally. Well over 100 people attended, including young children and teens.
From the Chamber, the group marched down East Main Street toward city hall and stopped at a busy intersection by the Municipal Utilities Board. There they spread out down the sidewalk, lining the road with Mexican and American flags and signs with various slogans such as “Nobody is illegal on stolen land,” “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” and Keep ICE out of schools.”
Click to enlarge.
The chants, led by several people with bull horns, were similar to the posters: “Say it once, say it twice, we will not put up with ICE," "No one is illegal, power to the people" and "No border, no nation. Stop the deportation."
Several people honked their horns as they drove by, both in support of and against the protesters, and some vehicles burned out while waiting at the intersection red light. Other people stood in the backs of trucks or hung out a car window waving Mexican flags.
Albertville Assistant Chief of Police told 1819 News that the protesters were within their First Amendment rights to protest on public property and that the only issues his officers had to deal with that evening were traffic issues “related to reckless and exhibition driving.”
Cars and trucks are doing burnouts on main street. pic.twitter.com/dInQm7KVVz
— Daniel Taylor (@danieltaylornow) January 29, 2025
The group eventually made its way back through the town center and continued to protest at another busy intersection near the Chamber.
Albertville has long been a hotspot for immigration in Alabama, legal or otherwise, as many migrants flocked to the city to work in the chicken industry. Starting in the mid-1990s, the Hispanic population began to drastically increase to now comprising almost a third of the city's population. Last August, renewed concern over immigration exploded after large charter buses were seen dropping off Haitian workers downtown.
President Trump won the popular vote on a platform including securing the Southern border and reducing illegal immigration. According to a recent Ipsos poll, the majority of Americans, 66%, are in favor of deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Under the direction of Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, ICE already has 5,500 arrests and 4,300 detainers since Trump took office last week, according to ABC News.
To connect with the story's author or comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com or find him on X and Facebook.
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