Illegal-immigration arrest stats

Alabama statistics bear out the effects of the federal government’s crackdown against illegal immigration.

AL.com’s Sarah Whites-Koditschek and Rebecca Griesbach report that the rate of arrests this year is double what it was in 2024.

As of June 26, 1,949 were arrested and alleged to be in the country illegally. In all of 2024, there were only 1,823 such arrests.

Of those arrested since Donald Trump became president, 596 are convicted criminals and 1,095 more have pending criminal charges.

That’s a lot of work for the limited ICE presence in Alabama, so local deputies have been called on. Said Alabama Sheriffs Association President Hoss Mack: “Under the new administration, there’s just simply been more resources allocated towards the overall immigration program.”

The 287G agreements between local law enforcement and the feds have perhaps been used the most in the Mobile area, where the most arrests have been. But 13 counties and one municipality in the state have joined the partnership.

Whose restaurant?

You may have noticed that Mexican restaurants –or Tex-Mex restaurants — in the States often have very familiar names. For example, words such as “fiesta” and “casa” show up on a lot of nameplates.

A theory on that would be that a new Mexican eatery might like to land on a name that Americans recognize, and there are only so many Spanish words that both work as a name and mean something to many of the local clientele.

Want an adjective for your restaurant name? Across the U.S., there are an awful lot of “loco” places to eat.

And it’s a name issue that has an owner of a restaurant chain wanting everyone to know that it wasn’t among those that were raided last week, reports AL.com’s Sarah Whites-Koditschek.

Fourteen businesses were raided last week across six Alabama counties as part of a long-term national investigation into human smuggling, drug trafficking and financial fraud that resulted in the arrest of 40 people who were allegedly in the country illegally.

WKRG reported that among the establishments that were raided was El Patron Mexican Grill and Cantina in Robertsville.

Which had Jesus Perez of El Patron Mexican Restaurant fielding worried phone calls, he said. El Patron Mexican Restaurant has locations in Birmingham, Moody, Attalla, Gadsden and Trussville.

“Please be advised that El Patron Mexican Restaurant is not, in any way, affiliated with or connected to the business currently in the spotlight,” the chain said in a release.

Also trying clear its name was El Jefe, one of the places that were actually raided. El Jefe is located by the Auburn-Opelika Mall. From the restaurant’s Facebook page: “There has been some confusion that the individual is still in this business with us. We are NOT associated with the individual and have NOT been since 2023.”

That individual is Cesar Campos-Reyes, who was a target of the raids and has pleaded not guilty to federal charges.

He owned a number of establishments, including a restaurant at the location that later became “El Jefe.”

Which is, incidentally, not the only “El Jefe” in Alabama.

Coal-ash concern

The environmental group Earthjustice said Northeast Alabama may have the dirtiest coal-ash site in the U.S., reports AL.com’s Margaret Kates.

The site is where Widows Creek Fossil Plant operated until it closed 10 years ago. There are four ponds there containing coal ash that were closed and capped in 2018 and two more coal-ash disposal sites at the plant.

There’s some question as to how many of the sites are releasing chemicals into groundwater, and how much. An Earthjustice attorney used the word “potentially” to describe the site’s effect on the environment based on the quantity of coal-combustion residuals and that the four legacy ponds are unlined and located along the Tennessee River.

Plus, the Widows Creek plant has a history of coal-ash violations. The attorney pointed to a 1993 finding by the state that area ground water was contaminated with lead and other heavy metals.

Scott Fiedler, a spokesman for the TVA, which operated the plant, said “TVA will continue to perform necessary and appropriate investigations and compliance actions, including actively monitoring our sites in accordance with state and federal regulations.”

By the Numbers

40

That’s how many consecutive years Alabama had a preseason first-team ALL-SEC defensive player before the streak was broken last week. The Tide did land wide receiver Ryan Williams and lineman Kadyn Proctor on the first-team offense.

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Born on This Date

In 1915, bluesman Floyd McDaniel of Athens. He was a singer but also a prolific guitar player, with many credits. With the band Five Blazes he helped back Sam Cooke for a bit in the 50s.

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