Immigration rally takes over Phoenix intersection
PHOENIX - A big gathering at a busy Phoenix intersection on Sunday night was filled with Mexican flags, chants and fireworks as dozens protested against immigration enforcement.
The Jan. 26 rally is in response to the recent illegal immigration crackdown since President Donald Trump took office for his second term on Jan. 20. This is the first weekend since his inauguration, and the protests come as a few big U.S. cities, like Chicago and Atlanta, are seeing deportations.
What we know:
The rally was near 75th Avenue between Thomas and McDowell roads.
By around 9 p.m., dozens of Phoenix Police cruisers arrived. Officers were seen wearing riot gear.
Protesters could be seen blocking traffic and driving erratically in the road. Those who were setting off fireworks and driving dangerously quickly left once officers arrived.
"Officers have been aware of developments of a large group of people gathering at 75th Avenue and Encanto Blvd. since about 5pm today. Added police resources had responded to the area to ensure the continued safety of the community as enforcement was taken on street racing and erratic driving seen in the area," Phoenix Police Sgt. Brian Bower said.
What they're saying:
A teary-eyed protester held a sign that read, "Don't bite the hands that feed you."
She spoke to FOX 10 but did not want to provide her name.
"I grew up here, we went to school. My sister graduated. I'm so glad to be here, so I don't want my parents to leave," she said. "Criminals, take 'em. But the people who are not doing anything, and are just hard working, why are they doing this to us?"
Another sign read, "More reformation, less deportation."
Another protester said, "There's people who can't speak. There's people like me that can. Our parents came here to give us a future. A future they couldn't have."
Big picture view:
Less than a week into his presidency, the Trump administration touted deportation efforts and published new rules Friday making it easier to remove people — part of a flurry of actions to make good on campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration. Amid officials’ latest show of force, waves of worry reverberated in parts of the country.
Trump's administration portrayed U.S. military planes carrying migrants that touched down in Central America as a start to deportations and announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement made 593 arrests on Friday and 538 on Thursday.
He also sent U.S. soldiers and Marines to the U.S.-Mexico border and lifted longtime rules restricting immigration enforcement near schools and churches.
ICE deported more than 270,000 people over a recent 12-month period, the highest annual tally in a decade, the agency said in a recent report. But it also said it made fewer arrests of noncitizens, in part because of the demand of sending staff to the border. Of those arrested, a greater proportion had serious criminal histories.
Some cities and states work with ICE to turn over people in their custody who aren’t U.S. citizens.
MORE: Where migrant ICE raids, arrests are already happening
Local perspective:
In Phoenix, there have been reports of ICE raids.
The DEA posted on X on Jan. 26 saying it, along with the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security, are conducting immigration enforcement.
In southern Arizona, there have been deportations happening in Tucson.
"Promises made; promises kept Tucson Sector is the wrong place to illegally cross! Tucson Sector Border Patrol partnered with Department of Defense to remove and repatriate 80 illegal aliens back to Guatemala. Cross the border illegally? You’ll be removed," said the Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector on X on Jan. 24.