Amid rising concerns, immigrant advocacy groups in Phoenix are bracing for possible workplace raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The anticipated operations are set to target businesses previously scrutinized for employing undocumented workers.
To counter these potential actions, community organizations have rallied to provide support to families facing deportation threats. Efforts include organizing legal aid, know-your-rights workshops, and disseminating alerts to the public.
Community members are being urged to monitor and report any ICE activities through a designated hotline, documenting occurrences as they happen.
Ricardo Reyes, representing Common Defense—a group advocating for immigrant and veteran rights—has been actively patrolling the city since early Tuesday, seeking to confirm the presence of ICE agents.
“We want to make sure that if somebody says, ‘I’m scared to go back to my country,’ or ‘I have a court hearing pending,’ we want to have that on record,” Reyes stated. “We want to be able to push back when they say, ‘Oh, these are criminals. These are the worst of the worst.'”
The alert from advocacy groups follows a recent altercation in Peoria, where demonstrators clashed with local authorities during what was believed to be a coordinated ICE operation. The incident led to a protester being tased and detained by Peoria police.
According to a Peoria Police Department statement, officers were on-site for traffic control during a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operation, clarifying that the case was related to drug enforcement rather than immigration.
“Peoria Police continues to support the public’s right to peaceful assembly, but we also recognize the importance of safety for all involved – our community and our officers,” the statement affirmed.
In Phoenix, Reyes emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in these operations.
“We just want to record what’s going on,” he noted. “We want people to put that public pressure on ICE and Homeland Security to ensure that everything’s being done the right way.”
The Phoenix Police Department acknowledged the presence of federal immigration agents in nearby regions but confirmed their non-involvement in these operations.
“We encourage all community members to express their views in a peaceful and lawful manner, and we remain committed to supporting safe and respectful demonstrations,” a statement from the department read.
Reyes reiterated that any community response should remain peaceful.
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