ICE raids hit Valley businesses and neighborhoods: What we’ve seen

Editor's note: This story was updated Tuesday evening.

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As advocates warned, U.S. Immigration and Enforcement was particularly active in the Phoenix area Tuesday, descending on several Valley businesses and at least one residential home to make arrests in the morning.

It’s not clear how many people were detained or how many locations ICE raided, but Phoenix New Times was able to spot ICE and Homeland Security Investigations vehicles and personnel at at least three spots on the west side of the Valley on Tuesday morning. ICE has also been rumored to have appeared at other locations, though New Times has been unable to confirm those activities.

“We’ve seen raids all day,” said Ricardo Reyes, an organizer with Common Defense, an anti-Trump veterans group. “We have seen ICE, specifically, picking people up all day.”

When asked for details about the arrests, ICE deputy communications director Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe sent the following statement:

ICE is protecting the homeland through the arrest and removal of those who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of our immigration laws, to include those who illegally re-enter the country after being removed, those who have been ordered removed and those who are unlawfully present or otherwise removable from the U.S. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention, and removal from the United States. The safety and security of American citizens is our top priority.

Due to our operational tempo and the increased interest in our agency, ICE is unable to research and respond to every question about each arrest, discuss specifics of routine daily operations or provide local statistics.

The ICE activity appears to have begun in the wee hours of the morning. Between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m., witnesses spotted ICE at a Sinclair gas station on Indian School Road and 27th Avenue. People there believe immigration agents arrested three people who were riding in a truck filled with construction materials. Several hours later, the truck remained.


Workers at an ARCO station down the street, on Indian School Road and 23rd Avenue, said they heard ICE arrested two people there earlier in the day, though New Times could not confirm that.

A convoy of ICE vehicles was also spotted performing a raid in the back of a Walmart Neighborhood Market at 67th and Peoria avenues in Glendale. It’s unclear whether anyone was detained, but New Times spotted roughly a dozen law enforcement vehicles — including trucks, SUVs, vans and at least one armored vehicle with a battering ram — leaving the area as Peoria police cars blocked off traffic. After the convoy left, about four armed officers remained on the site, including one HSI agent.

Raid in Peoria

That convoy then drove roughly a mile west, flooding a residential neighborhood near North Street and between 69th and 71st avenues. The vehicles surrounded a house, located at 7007 W North Ave., and appear to have deployed the battering ram to enter. Heavily armed HSI agents, in body armor, helmets and masks and carrying riot shields, entered the house.

Around 10 a.m., agents opened the garage door. From down the block, where police kept onlookers, smoke could be seen emanating from the house. A clearer view of the house was blocked by another HSI vehicle. Yellow caution tape blocked off the scene, and a Peoria police officer told observers they would be arrested if they tried to get any closer.

Elle Borgen, a five-year resident of the neighborhood, was alerted to the commotion when a helicopter began circling the neighborhood. Her first thought? “A raid,” she told New Times. Other neighbors peeked over their fences at the action but were quickly told to go back inside by Peoria police.

“It punched me in the gut,” Borgen said, who told New Times that the neighborhood is generally quiet, though most residents don’t know each other well. “I don’t want to see my neighbors arrested. We’re all relatively good people.”

ICE and Peoria Police spotted in Glendale Tuesday morning, after some say a raid was carried out at the Walmart on 67 Ave and Peoria.

Here’s what we know: https://t.co/rpKMyuGLWd pic.twitter.com/7EDYYtITTn

— Phoenix New Times (@phoenixnewtimes) June 10, 2025

A Peoria police officer on the scene said the HSI raid on the house was drug-related more than immigration-related. Reyes was initially told it was a human trafficking issue. However, immigrant activists and advocates who quickly arrived at the scene were skeptical of that claim. Kim Zamorano, a resident of the neighborhood, didn’t understand why law enforcement would target that house if the raid was drug-related. Another nearby house, which HSI and police ignored, is the “known drug house,” she said.

“There’s no fentanyl down that street,” she told New Times, pointing to the street blocked off by Peoria Police. “It’s on the corner.”

Many community members didn’t know what the agents were there for, but with limited information, that lack of knowledge soon turned to fear. “Whether it’s ICE or whether it’s law enforcement, people are going to be worked up,” Reyes said. “They’re scared and are expecting ICE.”

Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo, a Democrat who also arrived at the site of the raid, expressed a similar concern.

“I don’t know what they’re here for,” Gallardo told New Times. “All I know is that they’re causing fear.”

At around 10:30 a.m., an ambulance and another emergency vehicle from Peoria’s Fire and Medical team pulled up to the location, though it’s not clear why they were there. Around the same time, many of the HSI vehicles began to leave. It’s unclear if anyone was actually arrested in the raid.

Police scuffle

Peoria police stuck around after the raid, and the neighborhood was no longer quiet. About 50 people gathered to watch and protest from a distance on the east side of the street.

The gathering was made up of neighbors and some activists from local organizations, including Puente, Organized Power in Numbers and the Phoenix branch of the Party of Socialism and Liberation. Some chanted slogans like “No justice, no peace” and “Chinga la Migra,” and at least one displayed a sign that said “Death to ICE.” Other outlookers heckled officers, calling them white supremacists, racists and “fasto.”

“This is a sad day, not only for Arizona, but particularly right here in the city of Peoria,” Gallardo said, who came across the raid after dropping a friend off at The Mayo Clinic. “This is a fear right now that is being cast, not only by the federal government, but now the city of Peoria. They’re part of this chaos that is going around the country.”

Around 12 p.m., a scuffle broke out between a few protesters and Peoria police. An officer was attempting to place more caution tape around the area as vehicles began to leave the scene when one protester — wearing black pants and a long-sleeved shirt, and with her face and head covered — attempted to stop him. The officer turned around and hit her with his metal water bottle before another officer grabbed her. Multiple protesters tussled with officers, throwing punches and water bottles.

The protester who interfered with the caution tape was subdued with a Taser multiple times while other officers pushed screaming protesters back. "You're on the wrong side," one protester could be heard yelling. The protester who was tased was arrested, but no one else was. Peoria police left the scene shortly after.

A fracas breaks out between protesters and Peoria PD after an HSI raid on a house in Peoria. Video from @morgfisch: pic.twitter.com/ucWzbjP9Uc

— Zach Buchanan (@ZHBuchanan) June 10, 2025

After the scuffle, observers and protesters argued with each other, with some criticizing the protesters who engaged with police and arguing that the focus should be on keeping things peaceful. However, others, fed up with ICE and Homeland Security’s presence in their neighborhoods, said, “We’ve tried the good way.”

In a statement, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell criticized the protesters who interfered with police, calling their actions “a bad decision” and saying, “An attack on a police officer is never appropriate.” Mitchell added that the protesters’ “assumption that (the Peoria police officer) was involved in an immigration enforcement is wrong” and that one officer was hurt, though she didn’t say how seriously.

Perhaps in response to the dustup with Peoria police, Phoenix police spokesperson Donna Rossi issued a statement making clear that the Phoenix Police Department “is not involved in these operations” and that Phoenix police only “monitor these gatherings” of potential protests and intervene “only when necessary.”

“We understand these activities can evoke fear or other strong emotions, and in some cases, may lead to peaceful demonstrations,” Rossi wrote. “The Department fully recognizes and respects the constitutional rights of all to peaceably assemble and exercise free speech. Our role is to help ensure all individuals are safe and that everyone is treated with dignity and respect.”

Such demonstrations may occur more frequently, especially if ICE continues to ramp up its activities in the Valley. Reyes thinks the early morning workplace raids, just like the “very cruel” and un-American” arrests outside of immigration court, could spur more protests.

“We’re going to see more people come out,” Reyes said. “We want people to come out. We want to hold ICE, Homeland Security, HSI and everybody who is coming out and assisting accountable.”