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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The Chandler City Council is scheduled Thursday night to consider whether to renew a contract with a controversial tech company that makes license plate readers. -
A state judge says Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller was not allowed to sign an agreement with the federal Department of Homeland Security to allow his prosecutors to enforce federal immigration laws. -
Rep. Adelita Grijalva is calling the Trump administration to release a Tucson woman detained by immigration agents, saying she is protected by a federal program for undocumented people brought to the U.S. as children. -
A federal judge is once again weighing whether to intervene on behalf of a former Phoenix police sergeant fired for his behavior at an anti-ICE student protest in January. -
Audiences on each side of the U.S.-Mexico border watched the same movie just feet from each other during the Film on the Fence event.
