A joint operation between ICE and local law enforcement swept through four northwest Alabama counties during the week of October 19, 2026, resulting in more than 180 arrests over five days. The operation covered Franklin, Lawrence, Colbert and Marshall counties and drew both official praise from a county sheriff and a protest of more than 100 people in Russellville.
According to WHNT, the operation led to more than 180 arrests, though a separate WHNT search-result summary of the same story put the figure at exactly 180 — a discrepancy that has not been resolved in public reporting. The arrests happened across Marshall, Franklin, Lawrence and Colbert counties over the five-day stretch, the station reported. Marshall County Sheriff Phil Sims confirmed his deputies worked alongside ICE agents during the operation and said a portion of the arrests directly impacted Marshall County.
Per Yahoo News, the sweep took place during the week of October 19 and was led by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations office in New Orleans, with assistance from local law enforcement agencies. Newsmax first reported the operation, and 1819 News later reported that Newsmax had first reported the arrests; ICE agents said they were focused on locating and removing what the agency described as dangerous criminals from northwestern Alabama communities.
Sheriff and ICE Describe Criminal Histories
Sheriff Sims said those arrested included people with criminal histories involving violent offenses, domestic violence, sexual offenses, DUI convictions and people who had previously been deported from the United States, the same WHNT report noted. ICE, in its own account relayed by Yahoo News, said some people arrested had convictions or previous arrests involving domestic violence, rape, driving under the influence and assault on a law enforcement officer.
1819 News, citing ICE, identified several individuals by name. Felix Cortez-Ortiz, a 45-year-old Mexican national, had reportedly been deported five times and convicted of DUI on four occasions, with prior arrests for domestic violence and leaving the scene of an accident. Pedro Gomez Matias, a 43-year-old Mexican national described as a suspected 18th Street gang member, had allegedly been deported seven times, had convictions for domestic violence and DUI, and was accused of using fraudulent immigration documents.
Other individuals named by ICE through 1819 News included Juan Batz Castro, a 54-year-old Guatemalan national who had reportedly been deported twice and convicted of providing false information to police, with a previous DUI arrest. Pedro Gutierrez, a 46-year-old Guatemalan national, had allegedly been deported three times and was convicted of disturbing the peace and criminal impersonation, with arrests for domestic violence and assault attributed to him by ICE. Luis Rodriguez Guzman, a 45-year-old Guatemalan national, was reportedly convicted of first-degree wanton endangerment, two DUI offenses and fleeing or evading police, and was subject to a final order of removal.
ICE also named Mario Canelas Quintana, a 37-year-old Honduran national with a final removal order who had a previous arrest for second-degree rape — a case in which he received deferred prosecution — along with a prior DUI arrest. Darwin Ordana, a 29-year-old Honduran national, had previous arrests for harassment, resisting an officer and hit-and-run, and was reportedly subject to mandatory detention under the Laken Riley Act over an alleged third-degree harassment offense dated October 18. Miguel Francisco-Juan, a 48-year-old Guatemalan national, was ordered removed in December 2011, was deported, and reentered the United States illegally; he had previous arrests for DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and assault on a female officer, per the 1819 News account.
Processing Moved to Etowah County
As protests unfolded, questions lingered about where arrestees were being held and how charges would be sorted out. An October 23 report from WAFF said the exact number of arrests and the charges involved remained unclear at that point in the week. The station also reported that people taken into custody were brought to the Lawrence County Jail before being transferred to Etowah County for processing, rather than being booked locally in Franklin County.
The same WAFF report documented the community response: more than 100 people gathered in Russellville on a Thursday night to protest the operation, reflecting the fear the enforcement sweep stirred in the area.
Part of a Broader Statewide and National Pattern
The northwest Alabama operation did not emerge in isolation. Earlier this year, twelve people were arrested in a separate ICE-assisted operation in Colbert County on January 28, according to Sheriff Eric Balentine, as reported by AL.com. Five Colbert County deputies trained by ICE as Task Force Officers assisted with those arrests, the outlet noted.
That local collaboration mirrors a larger national trend. NPR reported that more than 29,000 state and local officers were deputized by ICE between January 2025 and October 2026 — far more than the 11,600 deportation officers directly employed by the federal agency. NPR also found that the number of state and local officers working with ICE had doubled in the eight months leading up to its October report, and that agencies in Florida and Texas together accounted for roughly half of the more than 47,000 immigration arrests made nationally through the 287(g) program between January 2025 and August 2026, citing data from FWD.us.
The 287(g) program, which underpins these local-federal partnerships, is described by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as allowing participating state and local law enforcement agencies to assist federal immigration authorities with certain enforcement responsibilities.
