US citizen detained by ICE amid multiple brawls at Phoenix protest

An Arizona woman, who is a U.S. citizen, said she was detained by ICE during a protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Phoenix Field Office.

Emily Despain, a 21-year-old Tempe resident, said she was filming a demonstration when an ICE agent pushed her face-first into the ground during a brawl involving multiple protesters and agents.

Despain said the agents threatened to take her away to Florence Correctional Center, a prison that has become a holding facility for undocumented people awaiting deportation. But roughly four hours later, around 1:30 a.m., she said agents let her go without explanation or apology.

ICE officials did not immediately respond to The Arizona Republic’s questions about the altercation.

MORE: ICE detains an Arizona grandmother of 11

The dispute was one of several brawls between agents and protesters outside the ICE office the evening of Jan. 22, near the parking lot shared also byArizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and her staff.

For months, protests have proliferated on a nearly daily basis across the Valley, including at Old Town Scottsdale, various areas of the West Valley, the state Capitol and university campuses.

The Jan. 22 incident marked an increase in tensions at protests that have otherwise remained mostly peaceful.

That tension has been the subject of concern for state officials, including Mayes, a Democrat who showed up in the aftermath of the protest. Demonstrators said she asked them for their accounts of what happened and encouraged them to send video and photos to her office.

Mayes has warned that she would prosecute federal agents for unlawful actions. She drew scrutiny in January 2026 after she told 12 News that she worried ICE’s escalation combined with Arizona’s Stand Your Ground laws could make for a combustible situation.

The Arizona Police Association criticized the comments as encouraging violence against federal agents.

What protesters said happened at Jan. 22 demonstration

Protesters who said they were part of a group called Neighbors Against Fear said they had gathered starting at 6 p.m., the same as they had the past several Thursdays, to oppose the agency’s mass deportation efforts pushed by President Donald Trump.

The protesters held signs, whistled and taunted the federal agents with insults and profanities. But the situation escalated in a matter of minutes when protesters said ICE presence suddenly grew from two to roughly 10 agents.

Exactly what happened leading up to and during the altercation at the protest remains unclear, and protesters said they were confused about what exactly provoked the escalation of force.

Several witnesses said the agents and protesters used strobe lights against each other’s faces during the protest. Protesters accused agents of shoving without warning and pepper-spraying them.

One protester, Gabrielle Hoffmeister, said an agent pointed his gun at her and claimed three others had Tasers ready, though they didn’t use them.

Videos of the incident, provided to The Arizona Republic by the protesters, appear to show two agents pointing something at the demonstrators. It was unclear whether the objects were firearms or something less lethal.

Disparate video clips show agents ordering protesters to move back. The demonstrators are gradually forced to retreat but continue hurling insults.

One agent shoves at least three protesters by the shoulders and gets in a brawl with someone before an unnamed woman appears to kick him. He lunges forward and appears to be hit by a flag.

Then the video shows him pinning Despain to the ground. She yells out, “That wasn’t me!”

Why was Emily Despain detained?

Despain is the fourth U.S. citizen from Arizona to have accused either ICE or Customs and Border Protection of detaining them. Unlike the other three people who were detained for deportation-related matters, Despain was detained after an altercation with ICE agent.

During the shoving between ICE officers and the protesters, Despain said an ICE officer threw her to the ground face-first around 9 p.m.

She accused the ICE officer of applying so much pressure while she was on the ground that she struggled to breathe properly.

Despain repeatedly yelled “it wasn’t me” while she was on the ground, according to videos obtained by The Republic.

The comments came after an agent was kicked and hit by a flag.

Despain did not kick, shove, slap or touch the ICE agents in any way, she said.

Despain said an ICE agent read her Miranda Rights.

The agents took her to a room for questioning, Despain said.

“And when I go to these protests, I always tell myself, there’s a chance I won’t make it home. … So tonight, the thing I was thinking about is, ‘I’m not going home tonight,’” Despain said.

While she was in the room, Despain said an ICE agent told her they were waiting for an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to get to the field office.

The FBI did not confirm whether they sent an agent to the ICE Phoenix Field Office to question Despain.

Despain said a male agent with the FBI showed her his badge and asked her about the altercation.

It was during this time that she requested a lawyer and a phone call, Despain said.

Despain tried to call a family member, but the call did not go through, she said. When the family member tried to call her back, Despain said the phone call was bounced between different call centers across the country.

Despain was released Jan. 23 around 1:30 a.m.

“If I hadn’t been let go, I don’t think anyone would know where I am right now,” Despain said.

Reporting by David Ulloa Jr and Taylor Seely, Arizona Republic