Throughout January, rumors persisted that metro Phoenix would become the next target of sweeping immigration enforcement a la Minneapolis.
But the actions taken against Zipps Sports Grill locations do not fit that pattern.
Metro Phoenix may still yet experience thousands of federal agents searching the streets for undocumented people. But the Zipps raids, in contrast, were targeted enforcement.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service spent a year focused on the case. Agents crosschecked evidence drawn from federal forms with state data.
And when they went into Zipps on Monday, they did so with judicial warrants.
Now federal prosecutors say three undocumented people face charges of lying on employment forms.
They also say the person in charge of hiring at all Zipps locations is undocumented.
