Reporting from the Washington Post this month uses internal government documents to show the Trump administration plans to double ICE detention capacity by the end of this year.
According to the Post, three Arizona facilities will either be newly designated or expanded under the plans. Among them is Maricopa County Jail — it’s the only Arizona site on the list that’s not privately-owned.
Noah Schramm, policy strategist with the ACLU of Arizona, says it’s still not clear how, or if, the jail would be used under the new plan.
“And of course, everyone remembers the history with Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the immigration raids of that era, and there’s been a court-appointed monitor since,” he said. “The bottom line is we’re concerned about this expansion of collaboration at a time when the federal government is cracking down on immigration in ways that are abusive and in some cases unconstitutional.”
Earlier this week, a spokesperson with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office told 12 News the office had not been involved in discussions or agreements with ICE about the facility.
The Sheriff’s Office was stripped of its agreement with ICE years ago amid a class action lawsuit that found deputies were making unlawful stops and violating the constitutional rights of Latinos — an order then-Sheriff Arpaio and others within the department were later held in contempt of court for violating.
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His comments come after the Arizona Sheriff’s Association accused his office of refusing requests for assistance from Border Patrol. -
The Arizona Sheriff’s Association issued an open letter calling out the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office over its response to the public safety concerns surrounding the border wall construction in that area. -
Thousands of refugees in the U.S. lost health coverage on Oct. 1 as new Medicaid eligibility rules took effect. In Arizona, unlike in most states, even children and pregnant women are being dropped. -
On Monday, dozens of agents swarmed a stretch of private land where the activists had been camped in and around a centuries-old cottonwood tree. Contractors tore down the tree and agents made multiple arrests. -
New research shows the ancient site is much older than previously thought. In fact, it’s now confirmed to be the oldest known scientifically dated geoglyph in the Americas, 2,000 years older than the first Pyramids built in Egypt.
