Arizona immigration attorney details recent ICE enforcement
PHOENIX - The anti-ICE protests in downtown Phoenix on Sunday night were nothing like what was going on in Los Angeles.
A local immigration attorney said, however, that it's time for everyone to turn down the temperature.
Anti-ICE protest breaks out in Phoenix as Los Angeles protest intensifies
An anti-ICE protest broke out in downtown Phoenix on Sunday night. An organizer said it's in solidarity with protesters in Los Angeles.
What they're saying:
"I had a front row seat. I was right there," said immigration attorney Nic Suriel.
He explained that what caused a tense interaction between ICE agents and protesters last month was due to the feds dropping cases suddenly, so ICE agents couldn't come into the building, detain them, and walk them out to an unmarked van outside.
Protests erupted with pushing and shoving.
"People say, ‘Why don't they get in line? Why don’t they do it right? Well, people going to court, people filing U-visa cases, people filing today. I had three hearings. We went to the hearings. We did what was supposed to be happening. Thats what we want," he said.
As violence erupts in Los Angeles, he says the temperature needs to be taken down.
Live updates: Los Angeles protests escalate after National Guard deployed
Protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles turned destructive and violent Sunday: Officers were injured, vehicles were set on fire, and protesters blocked freeways.
Dig deeper:
Even as an immigration attorney, he says there is a problem and enforcement is needed, but says court is not the place for it.
"It is true. Under President Biden, way, way too lax. I talked to a lot of people who came to see me a week or a month after they arrived here, and I said, 'How many questions did they ask you about what your well-founded fear was?' They said none," Suriel said.
He continued, "They didn't ask any. They were allowed in, and I thought, ‘This is not good.'"
Suriel says now, enforcement is happening.
"So what's happening now, the enforcement that's happening now. It's necessary. All I'm saying is, let's be reasonable. Low hanging fruit, meaning people with no criminal history, people that are showing up to court, people who are demonstrating peacefully, let's allow law to rule," he said.