Arizonans protest immigration raids at Zipps Sports Grill locations

After Homeland Security officials raided 15 Zipps Sports Grill restaurants across the state, activists gathered at a Phoenix location to oppose immigration crackdowns in Arizona.

Local residents held a protest outside a Zipps Sports Grill in Phoenix on Tuesday in response to the Trump administration’s immigration raids at multiple Zipps locations a day earlier.

Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (D-Phoenix) spoke to the crowd before the protesters marched all the way to the Central ICE Field Office in Downtown Phoenix. Ansari called the actions by the Trump administration “despicable” and criticized Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

“They are putting brand new recruits into the field with close to no training, offering them insane salaries and weapons and playing to hate and fear with propaganda campaigns to drive up officer numbers,” Ansari said. “They are out on the streets fully armed with tear gas, ready to terrorize people. This is what authoritarianism looks like.”

The protest and march came after federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted raids at 15 Zipps locations across the Valley on Monday as part of a criminal investigation, according to the US Department of Justice. It’s unclear what the investigation was for, however, and community members quickly gathered outside the scene at several Zipps locations to observe and protest.

In a statement, Zipps Sports Grill said they are “cooperating fully,” with law enforcement and that the nature of the investigation, along with charges, have not yet been announced. The chain remains closed for now but hopes to reopen its locations by the end of the week.

After news of the raids spread on Monday, about 200 protestors and observers gathered at the Zipps in midtown Phoenix. After a tense confrontation, federal agents left the restaurant with nobody in custody as hundreds protested outside the restaurant. Other locations saw similar but smaller protests, including at the Zipps at 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard, which saw about 50 protesters gather. As federal agents left the restaurant, a video obtained by the Phoenix New Times shows federal immigration agents pepper-spraying protestors from a moving truck.

Ansari on Tuesday called on fellow members of Congress to support impeachment proceedings against DHS secretary Kristi Noem following the fatal shooting of two US citizens in Minneapolis, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. Both Good and Pretti were killed by federal officers while observing immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.

The resolution has the support of House Democratic leadership and currently has the support of 162 House Democrats. Senate Democrats are also vowing to oppose a House-passed measure to fund the government until $64.4 billion for DHS, including $10 billion for ICE, is removed.

Ansari also criticized Arizona Republicans’ failure to condemn violent and chaotic immigration enforcement operations that have sparked outrage across the country. She pointed to Rep. Andy Biggs, who is running to be the next governor of the state, who tweeted in support of law enforcement after federal agents killed Pretti.

Alejandra Gomez, executive director of Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA), called on everyone to stand with immigrant communities, emphasizing that the Trump administration isn’t just going after immigrant communities, but after citizens, too. 

“What we are seeing is cruelty and violence at unprecedented levels,” Gomez said at the protest. “Immigration is the excuse of the Trump administration. We are living through a regime using fear and force to impose its power. His goal is not just to deport families, it is to destroy the very fabric of our democracy and crush the will of any opposition to his agenda across this country.”

After arriving at the ICE field office, protestors held a community clap and organizers encouraged the crowd to get involved with local organizations to push back against the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda.