PHOENIX — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity around Valley schools has grown in the past few weeks, in some cases, taking place while parents or guardians are walking children to school, according to a watchdog group monitoring ICE movements.
Video obtained by ABC15 shows an ICE agent and a student walking together to Southwest School, which serves students from kindergarten to eighth grade, on Dobbins Road in south Phoenix on Tuesday, August 5.
Vehicles that appear to be from ICE are also lined up near school property lines, though not on the school's property itself.
People First Project, which tracks ICE encounters around the Valley, said the student was walked to school by the agent after their guardian was detained by ICE.
Roosevelt School District, which operates Southwest School, said it was aware of ICE's presence last week and was "actively monitoring the situation," noting it had not been contacted by any immigration enforcement agencies.
“We understand how deeply concerning these reports may be for many of our families,” Dr. Ashley Hodge, President of Roosevelt School District Governing Board, said in a statement shared with ABC15. “On behalf of our entire Board, we want to assure you that the safety, dignity, and well-being of every student and family remain at the heart of our mission.”
On Monday, parents at the school were surprised to learn about the operation.
"That's kind of strange to me," Mark Childress, whose son attends preschool at Southwest, said. "I think certain places are sacred ground... kids should feel safe coming to school."
It's unclear how many people were detained during the operation, which took place around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, on the second day of school. People First Project said as many as three people were pulled over and potentially detained by ICE.
Clarissa Vela, founder of People First Project, says the group keeps its eye on ICE activity as a way to ensure agents are following the law.
"We're not anti-police, we just want to make sure that people are being treated fairly and their rights are not being violated," she said.
Vela said monitors in her group have witnessed ICE running plates at schools and picking up parents who were going through the legal immigration process. Vela said her group was unsure what, if any, crimes the guardians of the Southwest students were being accused of.
People First Project has seen an uptick in interactions with ICE near schools recently, with Vela saying she was aware of about 40 cases in the last week.
ICE's ability to conduct operations around schools is a change made in the last few months.
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security memo sent out on the day of President Donald Trump's inauguration rescinded a policy stopping ICE from detaining people and conducting immigration operations in "sensitive" areas such as churches and schools. The guidance was put in place during President Joe Biden's administration.
Phil Ortega, an Arizona immigration attorney, views the decision to drop the sensitive area policy as an attempt to intimidate immigrants into engaging in public life.
"My personal opinion was that the recission of that policy was just a way to strike fear into the community and cause individuals that would normally feel safe to, you know, send their kids to school or to go to churches," Ortega said. "This would discourage them from doing those things."
With classes back in session and an increased federal emphasis on boosting ICE detention numbers, both Ortega and People First Project expect to see more ICE activity near schools.
ABC15 reached out to DHS to find out more about what crime the people at Southwest School had been accused of. DHS said it couldn't share more information about the operation or the individuals involved unless ABC15 could identify the individuals.
Arizona Superintendent Tom Horne declined to comment on the operation, saying it was between the district and ICE.
