BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Federal officials arrested 11 construction workers Wednesday morning at the site of the new Loxley Elementary School in Baldwin County, marking the second immigration enforcement action at a public school construction site in south Alabama in less than a month.
The Gulf of America Homeland Security Task Force made the arrests, according to a social media post on the FBI – Mobile’s Facebook page. The elementary school is expected to be completed in fall 2026.
Baldwin County Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler said in a statement the district is cooperating with federal investigators.
“Our contracts with our construction projects require compliance with federal law,” Tyler wrote. “At this time, we have no indication of any wrongdoing. We remain committed to transparency and accountability in all of our operations.”
Sharpe, Inc. is the general contractor on the Loxley Elementary School project, according to school officials. A message left for Sharpe Wednesday afternoon was not returned.
This is the second school construction site in south Alabama where ICE officials have made arrests in the past month. The first raid occurred on June 24, when federal officials arrested 36 people working at the Gulf Shores High School construction site. The FBI later confirmed that 20 of those arrested had a criminal history.
The general contractor on the Gulf Shores project, Rabren General Contractors, later told 1819 News the company was sorry for what happened.
“We have all of our subcontractors and trade partners sign immigration affidavits, but obviously, that is not enough to abide by all the laws of our great country. So, Rabren needs to do some things differently,” president and CEO Matt Rabren told the outlet in June.
School officials say they rely on contractors and subcontractors to follow federal and state employment law when hiring.
“Our superintendents are signing construction contracts, and we’re following state law and federal law,” School Superintendents of Alabama Executive Director Ryan Hollingsworth told Alabama Daily News.
Hollingsworth said superintendents expect general contractors — or subcontractors they hire — to ensure compliance with federal employment law.
State Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, said responsibility for compliance ultimately lies with the public entity.
“After the recent high-profile ICE actions on public construction sites, and regardless of where your contract assigns responsibility for ensuring compliance with federal immigration requirements, if you’re a public entity, you need to make sure your site is in compliance from here on out,” Elliott said. “The first couple may have been honest mistakes, but that’s not going to be a successful message moving forward. We overwhelmingly elected President Trump and he’s serious about deporting illegal aliens.”