In the wake of a fatal ICE shooting Wednesday in Minnesota, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is concerned about reports that the Trump administration plans to ramp up immigration enforcement activities in Phoenix.
“I've said this repeatedly since day one of the administration,” Hobbs said. “The president ran on going after criminals, and these kind of indiscriminate roundups that gin up fear in communities and create these kind of circumstances are not making anyone safer.”
Hobbs made the comments a day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis. President Donald Trump claimed the officer was acting in self-defense, though local officials and some Democrats have accused the agent of using unnecessary force and called for an investigation.
“I have concerns, yes, just about community safety,” Hobbs said. “And, obviously that event is tragic and I hope that there is a full investigation.”
Last week, the center-right publication The Bulwark reported that the Department of Homeland Security plans to increase its activities in Phoenix, citing anonymous former DHS officials who believe the city is the next target of a large-scale ICE presence following Chicago and Los Angeles.
The Bulwark reported that DHS is expected to build new holding facilities in Arizona to hold thousands of people detained by the immigration agents. The Washington Post also reported that Arizona could be the site of a new detention facility.
Hobbs said the Trump administration has not “proactively” notified her office about plans to increase its presence in Arizona.
“So we're just continuing to reach out and get as much information as possible,” she said.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to confirm The Bulwark’s reporting.
“Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country including in Arizona. We do not discuss future or potential operations,” according to a statement from an agency spokesperson.
In the meantime, Hobbs said her office is looking at how it will react if the reporting on ICE’s plans in Phoenix proves accurate.
“We're certainly having a lot of conversations and planning,” Hobbs said.
That includes conversations with the state’s Department of Public Safety, Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and the Arizona National Guard, she said.
A spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Homeland Security said the agency is also involved in those discussions.
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Protests continued here and around the country over the weekend following the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good, a Minneapolis woman who was shot through the windshield of her car by an ICE agent last week.
