In a significant development in metro Phoenix, federal authorities executed more than a dozen search warrants on Monday as part of an ongoing criminal probe.
Speculation has been rife for several weeks that Phoenix was the impending focus of federal immigration enforcement.
The scene outside the Zipps Sports Grill at 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard in Phoenix was marked by yellow tape, the glow of emergency lights, and masked agents, attracting the attention of protesters.
Among the crowd was Bill Andres, who expressed his frustration: “There is no reason to do this. They are persecuting cooks and busboys. They are not finding criminals. They are not after rapists. They are after anybody brown.”
Religious leaders, including Episcopal priest Rev. Erika von Haaren, were also present and called for reflection. “And I call upon them to change their hearts. And to change the direction they are going. And realize they’re human beings,” von Haaren stated.
Federal agents, masked and ready, were observed by KJZZ personnel at various Zipps locations:
– Warner Road and 48th Street in Phoenix
– Warner Road and McClintock Drive in south Tempe
– Mill Avenue and University Drive in Tempe
Authorities confirmed that 15 search warrants were executed as part of an extensive investigation.
The portal’s homepage says members of the public should use the form to report potentially unlawful activity by federal personnel from agencies like ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations.
Weeks have passed since a national report by The Bulwark said Phoenix would soon become the focus of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Now Phoenix police say they don’t use tactics the federal agency has become known for.
Pinal County’s top prosecutor says his enforcement agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement remains in effect despite the Board of Supervisors having declared it void.
It’s been a year this week since Trump reentered office and issued a slew of Day 1 executive orders on immigration, bringing into question everything from asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, to whether people born in the U.S. are guaranteed citizenship.
Four people have been wounded or killed in ICE shootings across the county this month — including US citizen Renee Good, who died in Minneapolis after an ICE agent shot into her car’s front window.
In the wake of a fatal ICE shooting Wednesday in Minnesota, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is concerned about reports that the Trump administration plans to ramp up immigration enforcement activities in Phoenix.
Amid media reports that a surge of immigration enforcement agents could be coming to Phoenix, Sen. Ruben Gallego accused the agents of racial profiling and called on Arizonans to remain vigilant.
Protests continue nationwide in the wake of an ICE agent’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman. That includes Phoenix, where a crowd gathered for the second time in as many nights on Thursday to denounce the killing of a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and mother of three who was shot through the window of her SUV.
