Morgan Fischer
Audio By Carbonatix
Tuesday morning, the Mesa Police Department arrested longtime Phoenix advocate Martin Hernandez for trespassing while he was filming immigration enforcement activity. Nearly five hours later, after an outcry over the arrest and a protest in front of a Mesa police facility, Hernandez was released.
In a statement to Phoenix New Times, Mesa police spokesperson Jesse Macias said officers responded to the west Mesa area after receiving a call from a “concerned citizen” who referenced “a man who ran from law enforcement and was hiding inside a business.” Macias did not specify the business but said Hernandez was “asked multiple times to leave the private property” but “refused to comply and was subsequently detained for trespassing.”
He was then transported to the Mesa Police Department’s Northeast Mesa Public Safety Facility and booked on a charge of third-degree trespassing, a misdemeanor. Police issued him a citation and then released him.
In the meantime, activists had rallied outside the holding facility to demand Hernandez be set free. They also called bullshit on the police narrative that he was trespassing, saying that Hernandez was arrested for filming law enforcement officers.
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“This is one out of, probably, I would say, hundreds of times he’s documented interactions between police and ICE,” said immigrant rights activist Erika Andiola. “He knows what he was doing and he’s allowed to document.”
After his release, Hernandez told KJZZ that he was targeted by law enforcement after he saw them “taking this young lady from this apartment complex” and officers “took immediate action to take me away from the area, because they knew what I was doing.”
“As leaders in our community, we should not let officers scare us,” Hernandez said in a video posted by activist and former state Sen. Raquel Terán on Instagram after his release. “We need to continue our journey and our duty to our community to protect them from injustices from ICE and the separation of families.”
The 61-year-old Hernandez is a longtime union organizer for Valley food workers, including dispensary employees, and is the organizing director for UFCW Local 99. In a statement after Hernandez’s release, UFCW Local 99 thanked Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Sen. Ruben Gallego and other elected officials and community activists who advocated for Hernandez’s release. “We will work with all involved authorities to fully understand why this happened and make sure that all responsible parties are held accountable,” the statement read.
A Mayes spokesperson confirmed to KJZZ that she put in a call on Hernandez’s behalf.
“She believes he was wrongly detained and is grateful he was released,” spokesperson Richie Taylor told the outlet.
Hernandez has been part of Phoenix’s advocacy ecosystem for more than 20 years, dating back to his opposition to the immigration raids led by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Recently, he has been a staple of filming Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in metro Phoenix. He has also helped organize “No Kings” protests and community actions at Home Depot.
Sal Reza, another longtime immigration advocate in Phoenix, organized with Hernandez during the Arpaio days. Reza described Hernandez as a “very gentle, polite organizer,” and recalled a time in 2010 when the duo walked down Washington Street toward the 4th Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix. Hernandez asked Reza where he was going, to which Reza responded, “I’m gonna get arrested, wanna come?” The two men then approached the jail, blocked officers’ access to the building and were subsequently detained.
Those who rallied to his cause on Tuesday feel Hernandez was targeted.
State Rep. Lorena Austin, who represents the area where Hernandez was arrested, was also at the holding facility demanding Hernandez’s release alongside state Sen. Analise Ortiz.
“We cannot be sowing fear into our community members by having their constitutional rights taken away,” Austin said. “I want people to know that they should be safe in their community.”
