About 200 people protested near one of the Phoenix locations of Zipps Sports Grill where federal authorities served a search warrant on Monday.
Federal authorities say more than a dozen search warrants were served Monday in metro Phoenix in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation.
Rumors have swirled for weeks that Phoenix would be the next target of federal immigration authorities.
Yellow tape, flashing lights and masked agents drew protesters to the parking lot of the Zipps Sports Grill near 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard in Phoenix.
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Masked federal agents outside the Zipps Sports Grill near 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard in Phoenix on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Matthew Casey / KJZZ
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Masked federal agents outside the Zipps Sports Grill near Warner Road and 48th Street in Phoenix on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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Advocates with the Puente Human Rights Movement gathered outside of a Zipps Sports Grill in south Tempe, near Warner Road and McClintock Drive, on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Chad Snow / KJZZ
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Law enforcement outside Zipps Sports Grill on Mill Avenue near University Drive in Tempe on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Nick Sanchez / KJZZ
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A masked federal agent outside the Zipps Sports Grill near Warner Road and 48th Street in Phoenix on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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Zipps Sports Grill in south Tempe, near Warner Road and McClintock Drive, on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Chad Snow / KJZZ
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Masked federal agents outside the Zipps Sports Grill near Warner Road and 48th Street in Phoenix on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. About 30 people stood outside observing.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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Masked federal agents outside the Zipps Sports Grill near 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard in Phoenix on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Matthew Casey / KJZZ
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People record federal agents outside the Zipps Sports Grill near Warner Road and 48th Street in Phoenix on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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People record federal agents outside the Zipps Sports Grill near Warner Road and 48th Street in Phoenix on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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Masked federal agents outside the Zipps Sports Grill near 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard in Phoenix on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Matthew Casey / KJZZ
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A masked federal agent outside the Zipps Sports Grill near Warner Road and 48th Street in Phoenix on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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A masked agent sits inside Zipps Sports Grill near 48th Street and Warner Road in Phoenix on Jan. 27, 2026.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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An agent wearing a U.S. Border Patrol vest Zipps Sports Grill in Ahwatukee on Jan. 27, 2026. Federal agents served warrants at 15 Zipps locations around the Phoenix area.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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An agent wearing a Border Patrol vest stands outside Zipps Sports Grill in Ahwatukee on Jan. 27, 2026. Federal agents served warrants at 15 Zipps locations around the Phoenix area.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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An agent wearing U.S. Marshals gear stands outside Zipps Sports Grill in Ahwatukee on Jan. 27, 2026. Federal agents served warrants at 15 Zipps locations around the Phoenix area.
Tim Agne / KJZZ
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The Goldie's Sports Grill near 96th Street and Shea Boulevard, owned by Zipps Sports Grill, remained closed on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
Phil Latzman / KJZZ
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The Zipps Sports Grill location on Bethany Home Road and 16th Street was closed and had a sign outside on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026.
Camryn Sanchez / KJZZ
Among them was Bill Andres.
“There is no reason to do this. They are persecuting cooks and busboys. They are not finding criminals. They are not after rapists. They are after anybody brown,” he said.
Clergy were also on scene. Episcopal priest Rev. Erika von Haaren said those carrying out the raid should repent.
“And I call upon them to change their hearts. And to change the direction they are going. And realize they’re human beings,” von Haaren said.
Federal authorities served search warrants at Zipps Sports Grills on Monday throughout metro Phoenix. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office provided crowd control outside a Tempe location.
Masked federal agents were also seen by KJZZ staff at the following Zipps locations:
- Warner Road and 48th Street in Phoenix
- Warner Road and McClintock Drive in south Tempe
- Mill Avenue and University Drive in Tempe
Federal authorities say a total of 15 search warrants were served as part of an ongoing, long-term investigation.
Nick Sanchez
/
KJZZ
ICE enforcement in Arizona
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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."
