PHOENIX — Following reports of federal operations at 15 sports bars across the Valley, confusion and misinformation circulated online over the roles of different DHS law enforcement agencies.
According to a statement by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), agents served federal search warrants at multiple Zipps restaurant locations as a part of an investigation into "felony violations of federal law.” They did not say what violations they are investigating.
HSI is one of two major branches within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is the main investigative component of the agency, looking into specific criminal operations.
HSI has broad authority to investigate cases of human smuggling, international crimes including goods and money, worksite and employment crimes, cybercrime and others.
"They do more things such as human trafficking, cyber stuff, cyber security,” Immigration attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra said. “But something new under this administration. They're pretty much, you know, working alongside ICE.”
The other branch of ICE is Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), which handles immigration-related arrests, deportations and supervision.
As federal agents served warrants at Zipps locations, employees said they were asked for identification before being allowed to leave. One woman told ABC15 that her family members have been detained.
