Phoenix Police admits to using Mexican license plates during traffic stop

Amid growing fear of immigration enforcement operations in Phoenix and across the state of Arizona, a new incident involving the Phoenix Police Department’s use of Mexican license plates during an operation has sparked confusion and outrage.

The department issued a statement days after videos of an April 7 traffic stop posted online went viral, showing officers pulling vehicles over in the west Phoenix neighborhood of Maryvale while driving unmarked pick-up trucks with plates from the states of Zacatecas and Morelos.

"We understand that this situation has caused concern and confusion in our community, especially at a time when many residents are already feeling heightened anxiety about the presence of outside law enforcement agencies. That concern is valid, and we take it seriously," Phoenix Police said in a statement.

According to police, the incident resulted in the arrest of one person on an “outstanding felony warrant and narcotics possession charges.”

Phoenix Police Chief Matt Giordano ordered all non-U.S. license plates be removed from squad cars and ordered an internal investigation into the “unacceptable” practice.

The statement did not provide a reason for which the department used the foreign license plates.

Mexico’s consul general in Phoenix, Jorge Mendoza Yescas, said in a statement that his office only found out about the department’s actions after the social media post surfaced and that this was the first time the consulate was made aware of this kind of practice.

“While it is understood that certain state and municipal agencies may, for security reasons, resort to using superimposed license plates on unmarked vehicles during specific operations, the use of foreign plates — and specifically Mexican ones — has sparked concern within the community of Mexican origin,” the statement reads.

The incident comes amid increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in the Valley. A CALÓ News and Arizona Luminaria analysis of immigration arrests during Fiscal Year 2025 showed that more than 6,000 detentions occurred in Arizona — the bulk of which occurred soon after Trump returned to office. 

Non-custodial arrests — otherwise known as street-level arrests — saw the most explosive growth during this time. Those street operations have become more and more characterized by federal agents driving and detaining people in unmarked vehicles with out-of-state license plates.

Yescas, however, said that Phoenix police informed his office that the operation was not immigration-related and that, “to date, the Consulate has not received any formal complaints from Mexican nationals who have been affected by this matter.”

CALÓ News reached out to the City of Phoenix and its council members for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.