ICE Raids in Flagstaff and Activist Response
by Repeal Coalition
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008 at 12:07 PM

It has been a crazy 48 hours in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Wednesday night we held an immigrant rights and anti-racism rally where
over 100 people showed up to share their stories and listen to the
voices of the community. The Repeal Coalition has spent months planning
for this event by going door to door in targeted neighborhoods such as
Sunnyside and Old Town. Each door has brought us closer to the reality
and fear that un-documented and people of color are facing on a daily
basis. This is the fear of the police, the fear of deportation and the
fear of being excluded from something as basic as the right to live,
love and work wherever they please. The idea behind Wednesday nights
rally was to bring together the people who have let us into their
homes, cooked us meals and shared their struggle to survive in a state
that has passed or considered over 55 anti-immigration laws in the past
few years alone. We brought people together to mobilize a community
effort to fight these laws and the fear they have created for both
documented and undocumented residents of Flagstaff.

In no
time at all everyone in the room faced the same harsh reality- the
climate was one of perpetual fear caused by blatant racial oppression
and the looming possibility of ICE raids. One woman told her story,
while holding her baby, of her fear to drive to the hospital when her
child was sick. She was too afraid to leave her house. And she could
barely get the words out of her mouth as tears dripped down her face.
The air was heavy and thick. The space was open and for another hour
and a half we shared our stories about why we were interested in
fighting for our rights, about what we were fearful of and about what
the next steps were. We walked away feeling that we had begun in a
preemptive way to build the kind of community support needed for the
work that had yet to be done.

Bittersweet. We woke up
Thursday morning to news that since our last nights rally 12 homes had
been raided by ICE. The coincidence was alarming at first, but this is
what we knew was on the horizon for quite some time. Our response was
quick and powerful. In less then two hours we mobilized a base of more
than 50 individuals. The initial request was to provide direct support
for families who were picking up their children from school on
Flagstaff's Sunnyside. Parents were afraid that they would also be
targeted by ICE agents. The climate of fear spread through Sunnyside in
such a way that the air was vibrant with both motivated folks splitting
off to scope out and patrol the neighborhood from ICE while at the same
time everyone became keenly aware that what we had been anticipating
was coming into fruition.

The 50 individuals grew to over a
hundred as we descended onto the Coconino county jail to voice
opposition to the raids and solidarity to the community. Our banners
and chants were seen be rush hour traffic and state and local law
enforcement in an effort to make our presence clear- We are here. We
are not afraid and we will fight until all people have the right to
live, love and work wherever they please.

The momentum didn't
stop as we met to discuss patrolling Flagstaff at a Copwatch meeting.
Quickly we came together and formed teams of three and four to patrol
the streets until Saturday, when we have been told ICE will be gone.
ICE was no where to be seen, but our presence was surely felt. We were
able to directly aid members of the undocumented community by offering
rides home from safe spaces. In addition, we have put together a
constituency of mothers who have offered up their homes and dozens of
people ready for taking the next steps. We have a lawyer and we are
working on getting the names of those detained in order to connect with
their families and organize from there.

Flagstaff. AZ -- At approximately 10AM on Thursday December 4th,
Flagstaff Immigrant Rights Enforcement (FIRE) confronted Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a daring raid, serving a notice of
deportation to ICE representatives at an ICE Management meeting. FIRE
agents pinpointed the location of the ICE management meeting at the
Flagstaff Radisson Hotel in the Kaibab Meeting Room and staged the
raid. FIRE agent Del Fuego read the notice of deportation to more than
15 ICE associated criminals, some of whom appeared to possibly be
illegal immigrants themselves, as they were not Indigenous People.
Agent Del Fuego called for the immediate withdrawal of ICE from the
Flagstaff community and notified ICE of the cease and desist order for
all future raids.

FIRE will continue supporting and enforcing
immigrant rights where they are violated with the exception of
established immigrant "settlers" or "colonizers" who have been
benefitting from the exploitation of Indigenous People's lands. In
addition, locations believed to be harboring ICE criminals, associates,
and illegal settlers on indigenous lands can expect future FIRE raids.
FIRE has credible intelligence that ICE absconders use condominiums,
country clubs, law enforcement facilities, steakhouses, stretch
limousines, luxury hotels, beach resorts, ski resorts, martini bars,
intelligence facilities, etc., as bases of operation. These settlers
will be brought to justice. No human is illegal.

NOTICE OF DEPORTATION:

Notice served on this, the 4th day of December, 2008 by Flagstaff
Immigrant Rights Enforcement (FIRE) for the immediate deportation from
the Flagstaff area of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
officers and officials.

FIRE charges ICE with the following
activities deemed criminal and in violation of human rights. These
activities include but are not limited to:

◆ Terrorizing
entire communities resulting in the destruction of over 34,000 families
within the last year alone, including most recently, 16 persons within
the immediate Flagstaff area.
◆ Causing fear that has extended
into the hearts of our community's children, who, due to your presence,
live in constant trauma of returning to an empty home.
◆ Taking no meaningful measures to ensure the well-being of those impacted by family members' deportation.
◆ Perpetuating institutionalized racism and practicing racial profiling.
◆ Aiding and abetting border militarization on both sides of the US-Mexico border.
◆ Creating and upholding the myth of "illegal human beings".
◆ Enforcing and benefitting from a global economic system that criminalizes labor and creates deathly low wages.
◆ Enforcing immigration policies on borders drawn on indigenous lands.
◆ Misappropriation of taxpayer funds for aforementioned terrorist
activity while education, health care, and housing services collapse.

-------------------------------------------------------

About FIRE - Flagstaff Immigrant Rights Enforcement is established to
take direct action in solidarity with communities impacted by ICE
raids. We do not represent anyone or any groups other than ourselves
and our actions. FIRE is an independent agency and can be made up of
anyone fighting for human rights and the abolition of ICE terrorism.
LET'S TURN UP THE HEAT ON ICE!