Phoenix council denies community petition that would end racial profiling, ‘immigration violence’

In opposition of recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and detainments outside of Phoenix immigration court hearings and throughout the Valley, members of Poder in Action submitted a citizens’ petition calling for a ban on racial profiling stops, an end to Phoenix Police Department arrest quotas and the issuing of citations instead of arrests. 

The Phoenix-based group, known for building and uplifting political power within working-class communities, was joined Wednesday afternoon by several other Arizona grassroots and activist organizations at the City Council meeting and subsequent vote on the Resolution for Thriving Communities, also listed as Item No. 153 on the formal agenda.

After hearing over a dozen public comments, both online and in person, the Council ultimately denied the resolution in an 8-to-1 vote.

“This was a resolution created for community by community,” Miros Mekia, a representative with Poder in Action, told CALÓ News in an over-the-phone interview prior to the meeting. “This resolution is for everyone. It’s intended to make sure that we are able to have our community safe from police violence, from immigration violence. It doesn’t just impact migrants at its core… This resolution was born from community and also is based on some of the points from the Department of Justice investigation, so there was a lot of heart, a lot of thought that was put into creating this resolution.”

The resolution states that the city should remain committed to providing public safety that is equitable, transparent and responsive to the diverse needs of the community, a community that’s already been the subject to civil rights violations committed by the Phoenix Police Department, as reported on by the Department of Justice (DOJ), that in 2021 under the Biden administration launched an investigation into those violations. In May 2025, DOJ closed its probe, retracting its statement that a “pattern or practice” of constitutional violations existed within the police force. 

Additionally, the resolution also calls for General Funds not to be used in adherence to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts, whose administration, since returning to office earlier this year, has already detained over 51,000 migrants, according to the NBC News tracker. 

After having previously urged Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to veto Senate Bill 1164 — a bill that would require local government and Arizona officials to cooperate with immigration — Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego was under fire at Wednesday’s meeting after she made a public promise that Phoenix police nor any city resources would be utilized to assist immigration enforcement. 

“Mayor Gallego promised that the police would not be cooperating with the deportations with the new administration, Trump’s administration, but that’s exactly what’s happening,” Estela Varela, a District 5 resident and the main petitioner for the resolution, said in Spanish during public comment at the meeting. Her public comment was translated for her alongside several other Spanish-speaking community members who spoke. “This organization, Poder in Action, we speak to the community every day and we’re hearing about the fear. They talk about their loved ones, their loved ones have been arrested at work, at the supermarkets and gas stations, and only because they’re racial profiling. They’re still being taken to 4th Avenue (Jail), and we know what’s there: ICE. They’ve always been there.” 

Community members said that immigration officials are going through the Maricopa County Jail system to detain migrants already in custody for criminal charges and demanded councilmember to adhere to the community’s safety needs — needs they say aren’t met by setting quotas for Phoenix police to conduct arrests that contribute to ICE’s detainments and deportations.

During the meeting, acting Phoenix Police Chief Dennis Orender denied having entered into any collaborations, agreements or quotas that would put pressure on the police force. However, Orender did admit to not being an expert on federal agreements with local law enforcement and said it was possible ICE was using the county court information as a way to detain people already under Phoenix police custody.

“This is an opportunity for you, councilmembers and mayor, to show your constituents that you are listening and will do what is needed to protect Phoenix residents, and, quite frankly, we’re asking for the bare minimum,” Monica, a District 2 resident and Arizona native, spoke at the podium before the council vote. “Before you give us the usual response that Phoenix police isn’t working with ICE and that city resources aren’t being used for raids, we know that isn’t true. We have witnessed this ourselves, so I urge you to spare us the excuses and the lies.” 

Claudia K., a local supporter and president of the Young Democrats of Arizona, explained that while they’ve reached out as individuals and as an organization to council members, the only support they've received has been from Council member Anna Hernandez of District 7. 

“(Council members) aren’t open to having any conversations with their constituents, so we have come to them for the last two months trying to make this happen, and today’s the day,” Claudia said. “(Hernandez) has held it down since we introduced this resolution to them, and she has been open about talking it with us. The good, the bad, about, why; she supports it. She’s been open to helping us reword it and how it needs to go, but everyone else… just hasn’t.” 

After its vote and having expressed that the community’s concerns were not falling on deaf ears, the council cited overlap with enacted policies, laws and programs already in place geared towards non-violent arrests, and reiterated Orender’s denial of any direct collaboration with ICE.

The vote comes at no surprise to Phoenix residents who have previously petitioned for defunding the police department, but have seen the city expand its support of it even after the release of the alarming DOJ report. In May, the council voted 8 to 1 to expand the police department's budget to nearly $1.1 billion, with Hernandez as the sole dissenting vote.

“All city officials basically have refused to actually protect our communities and invest in the resources we need. Instead, we see them year after year inflate the police budget for a police department that’s the deadliest in the nation, that was just under federal investigation for so many things, and that has continued to, with impunity, kill, disable, target, politically target Black, Brown, immigrant, LGBTQ people, disabled people,” Ruia Gautam, the communications director with Mass Liberation AZ, said, speaking alongside several other organizations outside of the City Council Chambers. “So, this resolution is one way of fighting back and telling Phoenix City Council that they need to work for us, not for the Phoenix Police Department.” 

Despite Wednesday’s vote, Poder in Action, Mass Liberation AZ, Puente Human Rights Movement, Trans Queer Pueblo and several other organizations present at the meeting encouraged people to continue to show up and show their support for local ordinances and other arising petitions in the future. They share the sentiments that while the expectation for today wasn’t what they wanted, it wasn’t unexpected. 

“They say that they have things like this already in place, but they don’t. We see the police continue to brutalize their communities,” Mekia said. “This will once again prove that our council is not listening. They’re not understanding that our community requires that safety, and we will continue fighting that.”

Analisa Valdez (she/her) is a freelance journalist based in Phoenix. Her reporting includes community & culture, social justice, arts, business, and politics.