Immigrant rights organizations are on high alert this week amid reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents may be conducting workplace raids across the Phoenix metro area.
Organizers say the raids are expected to focus on businesses previously audited for hiring undocumented workers.
In response, a coalition of community groups is mobilizing to support families at risk of deportation. This includes offering know-your-rights trainings, legal aid resources and public alerts.
Organizers are also encouraging community members to report ICE activity to a local hotline and to document any incidents they witness.
Ricardo Reyes, an organizer with Common Defense – a national group that advocates for both immigrant and veteran rights – had been patrolling the city since early Tuesday morning to verify the presence of ICE.
“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 said. “We want to be able to push back when they say, ‘Oh, these are criminals. These are the worst of the worst.’”
The warning comes after a protest in Peoria turned violent. Demonstrators gathered outside what they believed to be a coordinated ICE action, accusing local police of assisting federal immigration enforcement.
The confrontation escalated, leading to one protester being tased and taken into custody by Peoria police.
In a statement, the Peoria Police Department said it was providing traffic control for a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operation, but said the case was drug-related and not immigration enforcement.
“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 read.
Back in Phoenix, Reyes says the broader goal is transparency and accountability.
“We just want to record what's going on,” he said. “We want people to put that public pressure on ICE and Homeland Security to make sure that everything's being done the right way.”
The Phoenix Police Department said it’s aware of recent federal immigration agents in neighboring states and in greater metro Phoenix. It said the department is not involved in those 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,” the statement read.
Reyes said any public response should remain peaceful.
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