An illegal alien advocacy group called on the city of Phoenix to amplify its efforts to oppose deportation operations from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but was soundly rejected.
In a vote of 8 to 1, the Phoenix City Council voted against adopting the suggested policy changes to law enforcement from a social justice nonprofit organization called Poder in Action.
‘These racist stops feed people directly to incarceration and immigrant detention; our communities are done with police violence and racial profiling.’
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, a Democrat, said she voted against the demand because activists had been lying about police actions.
“I’ll be voting against this petition because of the redundancies, misconceptions, and misinformation,” she said, according to KSAZ-TV. “And frankly, I’m concerned that approving this petition would result in an increase in crime.”
Gallego was personally criticized by Miros Mejia of Poder in Action for not living up to a promise to keep law enforcement from aiding in mass deportation efforts from the Trump administration.
“Unfortunately, that’s not what we’re seeing,” said Mejia, according to the news station.
Activists accused Phoenix law enforcement of allowing ICE agents into jails to target minor, nonviolent offenders.
“These are members of the community that have been here for a very long time, and when they are stopped and detained by police and handed over to ICE, unfortunately, it comes to the point where families are being separated,” Mejia added.
In a post on the group’s Facebook page, they said they had the following four non-negotiable demands:
- BAN pretextual traffic stops for broken taillights and window tinting,
- END arrest quotas that criminalize our communities,
- STOP police harassment of unhoused people for sleeping at bus stops, and
- REQUIRE citations instead of arrests for nonviolent offenses.
“These racist stops feed people directly to incarceration and immigrant detention; our communities are done with police violence and racial profiling,” the group added.
The City of Phoenix apparently disagreed and released a statement opposing the adoption of the demands.
“The citizen petition … recommends sweeping policy changes that differ from recent city council direction, creates potential conflicts with state law, and requires extensive research and vetting regarding the potential implications of such changes,” reads their statement, according to KSAZ.
The group encouraged people to voice their opposition to ICE at the city council meeting.
“We’re being treated like we’re nothing,” said one woman, according to KTVK-TV.
“I want Phoenix to be a thriving, safe, and sustainable place for my family to stay for generations to come,” said another person.
“If you don’t support this resolution, we will know that while you’re on your vacation with your happy families relaxing, our families will continue to be ripped apart and traumatized by your city,” said another.
One woman did speak out against the resolution.
“This petition perpetuates the violence we’re seeing against police, and I don’t appreciate that we’re continuing to talk about federal and state law when this has nothing to do with what the city can actually do,” she said.
Activists said the fight was not over.
“We’ll be back with more folks, and we’re going to make sure that we do protect our community in spite of the mayor and City Council,” said one man to KTVK.
The group’s mission statement said their goal was to “disrupt and dismantle systems of oppression” to help people of color and working-class communities.
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