Customers wonder, what’s next after Zipps raids? ‘Welcome to Nazi America’

As the dull chatter of basketball commentators echoed on the flat-screen televisions above the square-shaped bar, Jalen Jones nursed a White Claw black cherry seltzer. One of a few customers at a mostly empty midtown Zipps Sports Grill, Jones was at the popular bar when federal law enforcement raids began and came back Tuesday to figure out what he called unanswered questions. 

The sleepy atmosphere was far removed from the pepper spray-induced chaos of the afternoon and evening of Jan. 26, when Arizona’s division of the Department of Homeland Investigations conducted a sweeping investigation of the grill across the Valley. The raid swept up dozens of employees. Some were arrested. Some were held into the night awaiting their fate. Officials ended up charging more than 35 employees. That’s left Zipps loyal customers worried about what’s coming next.

The raids came as city and state officials brace for the arrival of immigration enforcement, citizens in Surprise protested a new massive ICE facility scheduled for construction this year and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem visited the border. The swirl of activity has left the customers trickling back into Zipps wondering what comes next – and wondering what’s going to happen to the beloved staff that cooked their food and whipped up their cocktails. 

Jones said he feels for people who are employed at Zipps, motioning to the bartender who served him his seltzer. 

“They are ripping people out of places,” Jones said about Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Jones said he is afraid for his Black and Hispanic family and called the recent raids at various Zipps locations across the Valley “inhumane.”

ICE officials need to provide more information to civilians about what happens after raids and arrests, he said. If the public had more clear communication from their local law enforcement, he added, he thinks the level of fear would decrease. 

Jones’s concerns have been echoed by many in Minnesota – and across the country – about a lack of transparency by ICE after recent raids.

The day after the raids saw protests across the Valley including one where two men were charged with felonies for obstructing a law enforcement vehicle. 

Despite the protests, federal officials showed no signs of backing down. Noem visited Arizona’s border with Mexico in Nogales on the morning of Feb. 4, when she handed out awards to officers and invoked religion during a press conference where she promised to keep up the fight against illegal immigration. 

“For every day that God will continue to bless, you bless the work that you sent your hands to and your families,” she said. “They’ll continue to bless this great country and keep his hand upon it and his presence throughout it so that we would know that we are all Americans.”

Homeland Security Investigations made more than 30 arrests during the raid. Four of those suspects, including a couple, were charged with crimes such as aggravated identity theft. 

Though the Zipps location on Mill Avenue in Tempe remained shuttered, conversation did not. Despite the half-open windows and stools on tables, regular customers still had concerns about ICE’s role in Phoenix.

Matt McDaniel, an employee for a global investment bank, works near the Zipps location in Tempe and frequents the bar. 

McDaniel and his colleague, Kevin Skinner, were vocal about their anger and frustration with the recent immigration raids as they strolled along Mill Avenue wearing business attire. They were angry and frustrated with what’s been going in Phoenix, but also across the country. They said that the ICE raids and subsequent protests are a diversion from other pressing issues. 

“This is not the America that anyone wanted,” Skinner said. 

When asked about their opinions on recent ICE raids at Zipps locations across Phoenix, their moods intensified. 

“Nobody voted for this,” Skinner said. “No one in the GOP votes for this.” 

McDaniel disagreed.

“That’s not true,” he said. “There are plenty of … horrible people in America … you know, it’s a f—ing shame.” 

As the men conversed, their voices grew louder; they talked over each other. McDaniel grew more upset as he expressed his frustrations.

“Let me underscore everything, and say, it’s more than Zipps, it’s more than ICE,” McDaniel said. “They’re doing these in all important states, like battleground states like Arizona to put pressure on the attorney general here and the governor to make them look like they’re not strong on immigration.”

McDaniel’s voice was pointed as he talked, his hands aggressively pointing at the ground as he referenced ICE. He summarized his point with a grim comparison. 

“Welcome to Nazi America,” he said. “We are there.”

An ICE spokesperson gave the following statement about the raids: 

“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. HSI Arizona conducted the operation with several law enforcement partners to include the IRS-CI, ERO, US Marshals and Border Patrol. More information will be provided when available.”

An ICE spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about a possible connection between the Zipps raids and Operation Take Back America, a recently established federal plan that enacts raids and investigations. The raids at Zipps bore a resemblance to  raids conducted last summer of El Taco Loko, in which the owner, Blademir Angulo Audeves, was arrested and sentenced to 20 months in prison on immigration and gun-related charges. As of now, none of the ownership of Zipps is under arrest. In a statement, Zipps said it is fully cooperating with law enforcement. 

But Phoenicians such as Skinner and McDaniel said that these investigations are unjust, especially against hardworking people. They believe that their voices, along with residents in the Valley, should be amplified.

 “Everyone should be in the streets right now,” Skinner said. 

While some customers felt open to express their feelings, others had nothing to say. 

A reporter from Cronkite News approached a woman at the midtown Zipps who was standing near the bar counter, and asked for comment. She quickly whipped her head around and replied “No comment.”

Then she darted off to the kitchen to express concern to the manager. 

A few minutes later, the reporter was politely asked to leave the premises.

This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.