Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs issued a statement on Friday regarding a potential immigration crackdown in Phoenix. No official announcements have been made by the Department of Homeland Security. Still, tensions are running high with residents. This comes following a week of protests after an immigration officer in Minneapolis took the life of a civilian in cold blood. A similar shooting also took place in Portland, Oregon.
In Hobbs’ statement, she said that “Arizona will not participate in indiscriminately rounding up individuals, violating civil rights, or enforcement activities that harm our communities.” However, not all officials in Arizona took such a stance. Arizona Senator Warren Petersen thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for the actions of ICE. He said that the recent spike in violent incidents across the U.S. were the fault of criminals. “People are breaking the law and this administration is enforcing the law,” Petersen said.
Hobbs was also quick to point out in an interview that if the rumors were substantiated, she would be unable to prevent ICE from entering Phoenix. However, she maintained a strong stance regarding the potential presence of ICE in her state. “It’s not making communities safer,” she said of the administration’s handling of the crackdown on immigration.
Comments online regarding Hobbs’ statement were mixed. “They couldn’t handle the south, they won’t be able to handle the Wild West,” wrote one TikTok user. Another urged Hobbs to leave office.
What now?
Currently, the rumors remain unfounded, at least until ICE confirms or denies whether or not operations will ramp up in Arizona. The agency is famously tight-lipped about its operations, however, which has no doubt contributed to the distrust with which many people approach the organization.
Multiple news sources have reported on community efforts in Phoenix that plan to tackle the issue head-on. Some residents of Phoenix, Arizona are educating others using knowledge they gained during a previous increase in immigration arrests in the early 2000s. Arizona-based immigrant rights group Proyecto Progreso is also preparing to offer help to those who may need it in the form of pro-bono legal work and advocacy.
