Valley attorneys and activists brace for ICE enforcement ramp-up
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Phoenix-area immigration attorneys and activists are bracing for increased enforcement by ICE. Photo: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
Immigration attorneys, activists and others are preparing for a possible surge by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Valley.
Why it matters: As a major population center in a border state with large numbers of both documented and undocumented immigrants, a ramp-up in immigration enforcement by the Trump administration would affect hundreds of thousands of people here.
State of play: Concerns about increased ICE activity in the Valley are partly fueled by last week's report from The Bulwark that the agency is expected to ramp up arrests, detentions and deportations in the Phoenix area soon.
- The article cited three former senior Homeland Security officials who are still in contact with former colleagues at the agency.
- The timeline for expanded operations in the Valley is unclear, the article said.
- ICE did not respond to multiple inquiries from Axios.
What they're saying: Monika Sud-Devaraj, a Phoenix immigration attorney, said she's been hearing rumors of increased ICE enforcement from the Bulwark story, clients and colleagues.
- "I think people are a little more scared," she told Axios. "I don't think anybody is shocked that this is happening."
- Immigrant rights activist Salvador Reza told Axios that ICE conducted a raid at a Home Depot at 36th Street and Thomas Road over the weekend, taking two people into detention, and he views it as a sign of more to come.
- "I'd be surprised if it didn't happen," said Phoenix immigration attorney Gerald Burns.
Catch up quick: The Washington Post reported last August that ICE was looking to add more than 41,000 detention beds nationwide, including more than 1,700 across three locations in Arizona.
- Last month, the Post reported that ICE plans to renovate industrial warehouses that would house 5,000-10,000 people in seven cities, including Glendale.
Yes, but: Opponents are hoping to block a proposed 500-bed detention center at a shuttered private prison in Marana. Meanwhile the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, whose jail would have 720 of the 1,700 proposed beds, per the Post, told 12 News that it hadn't had any discussions with ICE about housing detainees.
Between the lines: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office spokesperson William Jinks told Axios it does not participate in immigration enforcement and has not been advised by ICE of the federal agency's plans.
Zoom out: In communities targeted by ICE and U.S. Border Patrol last year, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Charlotte, raids unfolded at apartment complexes, construction sites, hardware store parking lots and county courthouses.
- The federal agencies have said the raids targeted "violent criminals," but reports indicate that the majority of people swept up did not have criminal records.
- The arrest tactics employed by ICE have sparked litigation across the country, leading to the release of some detainees.
What we're watching: Protests spurred by raids in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and other Democrat-led cities prompted the Trump administration to deploy the National Guard — a tactic that further escalated tensions and that the feds have walked back.