Weeks have passed since a national report by The Bulwark said Phoenix would soon become the focus of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Now Phoenix police say they don't use tactics the federal agency has become known for.
In a preemptive statement, Phoenix police say that while officers do not do immigration enforcement, they cannot interfere with ICE operations.
ICE has been subject to widespread criticism for agents wearing face masks and not identifying themselves. Phoenix police are banned from using those tactics.
But officials did not encourage ICE to follow the city’s example, said local attorney Ray Ybarra Maldonado.
“The Phoenix Police Department has the opportunity to get in front of that and put out a more bold statement. Yet they choose to put out this mild statement which really doesn't say anything,” he said. “I do take it as a sign, and we’re seeing a lot of other signs around the Valley, that ICE activity will increase in the very near future.”
ICE agents are currently on the ground in Minnesota and Maine.
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Last week, the Department of Homeland Security purchased a massive warehouse in Surprise for over $70 million, ICE has plans for a 1,500-bed processing facility. -
Among them is a proposed county ordinance banning state, local and federal law enforcement from wearing masks. -
The policy was first laid out last summer and overturned when a federal judge found it violated a U.S. statute guaranteeing lawmakers the right to make unannounced visits to ICE facilities. -
The Phoenix Union High School District has posted a video online educating students and families about their rights when encountering ICE agents. -
Over 1,000 people gathered on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe on Friday as part of a coordinated nationwide protest against increasingly violent enforcement activities, particularly in Minneapolis. -
Businesses and schools across Tucson took part in the national strike, which called for people to stay home from work and school in protest of the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month, along with other ICE actions. -
Gov. Katie Hobbs on Thursday called the comments by Attorney General Kris Mayes about possible dangers from confrontations between citizens and law enforcement officers "inappropriate."
