Free Giovanna Hernandez-Martinez

Calhoun County Democrats
Aug 9
2 min read

After being contacted by an individual on on FB, who informed us of Giovanna's situation - the Calhoun County Democrats in Anniston, AL shared all available information on FB.

CalCoDems put up a billboard today in hopes of getting more 'eyes' on the story of Giovanna Hernandez-Martinez, a 24-year-old woman taken into custody by U.S. ICE earlier this week.

"Young counselor faces deportation after traffic stop in Leeds." Gio, as her friends and family called her, came here when she was 7, and is a recent graduate of Jacksonville State University. Friends and faculty there speak very highly of her and many have signed a petition that currently has over 9,000 names. If you could mention her story and share this blog - that would certainly boost her case.

The billboard is located at 1604 Golden Springs Road, Anniston, AL 36207 barely beyond LifeKids Learning Center.

Here are a couple of links for more information:

https://www.al.com/news/2025/08/beloved-immigration-advocate-detained-after-leeds-traffic-stop-moved-to-louisiana-ice-detention-center.html

Leeds police contacted “federal partners, who informed Detectives that the female was in the United States of America illegally” and took her into custody, according to Irwin. Martinez is the latest local detainment in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, which is currently striving to arrest 3,000 people daily, according to previous comments from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

https://www.bhamwiki.com/w/Giovanna_Hernandez-Martinez:

"She learned English in Leeds City Schools and graduated as valedictorian of Leeds High School in 2018. With encouragement from her teacher, she enrolled at Jacksonville State University as the first member of her family to attend college. She was awarded a Bryant Jordan Scholarship as a student athlete, and initially intended to pursue nursing, before becoming interested in social work. She earned a bachelor of social work in 2022 and a master of social work in 2023, both at Jacksonville State."