Tuesday’s Phoenix City Council study session to work on plans in case of ramped-up federal immigration enforcement was hijacked by pro-immigrant protesters.
Phoenix leaders also voted to draft an ordinance for how to respond if authorities target the city for a crackdown like in Minneapolis.
City staff have 45 days to come up with a framework for investigating allegations of crimes by federal immigration authorities. They also need a plan to collect data on how city services are affected by a dragnet, and training for city employees on how to handle warrants.
Mayor Kate Gallego cited an incident during the recent raids of Zipps Sports Grills.
“At 32nd Street and Shea (Boulevard), ICE agents pepper sprayed protesters with no cause whatsoever. That appears to be assault,” Gallego said.
Tuesday’s meeting abruptly ended after about 30 minutes.
Council members were starting to discuss the ordinance being called a transparency initiative when pro-immigrant protesters interrupted.
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Mexico’s foreign secretary says 14,000 Mexican nationals remain in immigration detention in the United States as Mexico pursues consular and legal action. -
Lawyers who spoke to KPBS said immigration judges are now ordering bond amounts that previously were only used for criminals on international wanted lists. The U.S. Department of Justice says the courts are following the law and that the claims are "baseless." -
Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Mike Wisniewski says this latest surge comes on the heels of a similar operation last month, which led to the arrest of dozens of undocumented immigrants. -
A kitchen manager at the center of the Zipps Sports Grill immigration raids has been sentenced to five months in federal prison for his role in hiring undocumented workers. -
Every year, Arizona State University Barrett Honors College professor Abby Wheatley brings her class on transnational migration to the Arizona borderlands.
