‘Phoenix heat melts ICE’: Zipps Sports Grill raids raise questions 

PHOENIX – A video shows paramedics as they wheeled a woman away on a yellow and blue stretcher outside of a sports grill in the heart of downtown Tempe. Her breathing was labored, and she had her hand over her chest and her face was contorted with pain. The woman, who has not been identified by Cronkite News, was pepper sprayed by federal law enforcement officers during raids across the Valley on Monday.

The woman was not alone. She was one of  the people who advocates said were the victims of use-of-force violations by federal law enforcement officials who were conducting a Valley-wide raid on popular sports restaurants Monday. Ricardo Reyes, the executive director of VetsForward, said he saw people hit with pepper spray as law enforcement was driving away from a Zipps location in Scottsdale on 64th Street and Greenway Parkway.

“They were acting out of anger,” Reyes  said about the agents. “They were already leaving. They were in their cars and driving away and in no danger. There was no reason to do it except out of spite, just to be bullies.”

Reyes said he and his team treated the woman in the video before her family took her to a nearby hospital, where she remained  Tuesday morning for observation.

Kai Newkirk released the video on his Instagram account of the woman being wheeled to an ambulance after being pepper sprayed by agents. Multiple people were affected by the pepperballs fired by authorities within Zipps, including a man who Newkirk said he tried to help before EMS arrived on the scene.

Newkirk said the Department of Homeland Security, President Donald Trump and ICE are violating citizens’ civil rights.

“I don’t think that’s what the American people want at all,” Newkirk said of the ICE raids around the country.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) speaks at a protest in front of Zipps Sports Grill at Park Central on Jan. 27, 2026, in Phoenix, Ariz. The protest comes after a series of immigration raids at Zipps Sports Grill locations across the Valley. (Photo by Allison Kotzbauer/Cronkite News)

Lennea Montandon, a public affairs spokeswoman for the District of Arizona U.S. Attorney’s Office, said in a statement that the raids were part of a months-long criminal investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations in coordination with other federal partners. Agents served federal search warrants at 15 locations throughout the Phoenix area on Monday.

“The search warrants were authorized based on information presented to a federal judge and are being executed as part of a criminal investigation into felony violations of federal law,” Montandon wrote in the statement.

Zipps Sports Grills across the Valley are currently working to re-open and they are aware of the ongoing investigation by federal authorities at a number of their locations, according to a statement released by the chain on Jan. 27.

“Federal officials have not shared details regarding the nature of the investigation, and no charges or allegations have been announced,” Zipps wrote in the statement. “We are cooperating fully with law enforcement and working closely with our attorneys to understand the scope of the inquiry.”

Homeland Security Investigations confirmed the reason for the investigation. In a statement Wednesday the agency said: “ICE HSI Arizona led the execution of over a dozen criminal federal search warrants at multiple Zipps Grille restaurants, resulting in the arrest of more than 35 illegal aliens. This ongoing investigation is focused on several federal law violations including unlawful employment of aliens, identity theft, and document fraud.”

Although the Department of Justice said it was not an official immigration action, Raul Piña,  who serves on the Community Advisory Board for the  Melendres v. MCSO case about racial profiling, disagreed. Piña said this technique of detaining undocumented immigrants was pioneered by former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Piña said Arpaio “introduced the idea of racial profiling,” and that this practice continues to be implemented today in light of recent ICE activity.

“MCSO does not appear to be in a hurry to create distance between the new MCSO and previous sheriffs, and they are providing support to these raids, as seen on social media,” Piña said.

Reyes, with VetsForward, said ICE actions in Arizona and across the country were perfected by Arpaio and his “papers please” policies. Reyes said it was a common MCSO tactic to conduct immigration raids under the pretense of other investigations, like into false identification.

“ICE is modeling its tactics after Arpaio,” he said. “He used to do this all the time.”

Piña said that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office pioneered many of the tactics used by ICE being seen in Minnesota and elsewhere.

“[Arpaio] introduced some of the big, terrible ideas that now other agencies use as models,” Piña said.

Protesters gather in front of the ICE Phoenix Field Office on Jan. 27, 2026, in Phoenix, Ariz. (Photo by Allison Kotzbauer/Cronkite News)

On Tuesday at noon, car horns blared in support and megaphones droned continuous chants as Ansari led protestors from the Zipps location on Central Avenue near Thomas Road to the ICE field office in Phoenix. Ansari was joined by Phoenicians from all over the Valley protesting what she called an “authoritarian regime.”

Ansari was at the same Zipps location on Monday as federal law enforcement conducted its operation. She  posted her presence in an Instagram video. It shows a frantic scene as protesters and observers chanted “shame on you” at law enforcement.

“I am a daughter of immigrants,” Ansari said Tuesday about her desire to represent her community at the incident and protest. “My deep commitment to this country stems from the fundamental belief that immigrants are welcome in the United States and we are a country of immigrants.”

Protesters included Zoe Seymour, a former Peoria Unified history teacher. Seymour called the actions of ICE across the country “unconstitutional.”

“Too many people are scared right now,” she said.

As call-and-response cheers came from the crowd, Ansari spoke about working to train civilians on their rights when confronted by ICE agents.

Celina Washburn chants in front of the ICE Phoenix Field Office on Jan. 27, 2026, in Phoenix, Ariz. Washburn is a daughter of immigrant farmers and says she knows first hand the discrimination immigrants can face. (Photo by Allison Kotzbauer/Cronkite News)

“We need to see more and more people peacefully protesting,” Ansari said.

Gem Boehem, a local bartender, distributed small papers labeled “Know Your Rights With ICE.” The fliers provided information about creating a family plan, not signing unfamiliar documents and having the right not to disclose personal information.

“We need to see more and more people peacefully protesting,” Ansari said.

Boehem said that the protest was important to her because she believes service workers like those affected by the incident at Zipp’s are responsible for feeding Americans.

“People have the right to peaceably assemble and engage in political protests, but that doesn’t mean you can interfere with law enforcement operations,” Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan said in a statement. “Had the coordination and cooperation with local law enforcement been effective from the beginning, situations such as Minneapolis may have been prevented.”

Sheridan was previously chief deputy to former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

The U.S. Marshals Service did not respond to a Cronkite News request for comment. The Phoenix Police Department directed Cronkite News to HSI, which also did not respond to a request for comment.

“The raids that took place across Maricopa County yesterday undermine that sense of safety and spread fear throughout the valley,” Alexander Gonzalez, communications strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union Arizona, said in a statement. “Targeting hardworking people who are trying to build a better life for themselves, and their families, causes lasting harm.”