ICE changes policy, won’t drop off migrants at Phoenix bus stop
Immigration authorities in Arizona reversed course this week and will no longer drop off certain migrants at a Phoenix bus stop, after the practice sparked concern from migrant advocates and local officials.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed to The Arizona Republic last week that it was transporting single adults released from immigration detention facilities in Florence and Eloy and dropping them off at a bus stop next to the Greyhound bus terminal.
Local officials, including Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and nonprofit organizations that assist migrants expressed concern that ICE was dropping them off at a bus stop, instead of transporting them to a migrant shelter, where they can access services such as COVID-19 testing, temporary housing, meals and help arranging transportation.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., announced Thursday during a congressional hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that ICE reassessed these drop-offs, and would now transport them to migrant shelters.
“I am pleased that Arizona ICE has responded to my concerns that our office raised regarding the release of single adult migrants at bus stops. And they’ve recently changed their policy,” Sinema said. “Bringing these individuals directly to non-governmental organizations makes migrants and our communities safe.”
In response, Mayorkas acknowledged Sinema’s involvement, saying her concerns were valid and that they led to “swift action,” presumably referring to the change in policy.
Mayorkas said ICE and other Homeland Security agencies such as the U.S. Border Patrol had a responsibility to coordinate and communicate appropriately with stakeholders on the ground.
“Local officials do deserve to know of our actions that could impact their resources and their facilities,” Mayorkas said. “And we’re very focused on continuing to strengthen that relationship, those relationships and that dynamic.”
Yasmeen PittsO’Keefe, the ICE spokesperson in Arizona, confirmed that effective immediately, adult migrants would no longer be dropped off at bus stops.
“As of May 12, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), Phoenix Field Office, is transporting all single adult migrants released from ICE custody to nonprofit organizations,” she said.
In Phoenix, the migrants will go to the International Rescue Committee’s Welcome Center in Phoenix.
Stanford Prescott, the group’s community engagement coordinator, also confirmed that ICE had notified them Wednesday about the change.
The Welcome Center, which acts as a centralized shelter facility in Phoenix and can house up to 150 people each night, began receiving single adults on Thursday, Prescott said.
Gallego, the mayor, also raised concerns with the federal government, saying it was “inhumane” to drop off migrants at a bus station as the weather in Phoenix hit triple digits. She said she also received notice from ICE about the change.
“I appreciate their responsiveness to the concerns my colleagues and I raised. We will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds and remain ready to demand dignified treatment of those seeking safety in the United States,” Gallego said in a written statement.
ICE previously said that the transportation of single adult migrants released from immigration detention facilities in Pinal County was in accordance with the agency’s detention standards.
Migrants who were dropped off at the bus station in Phoenix had the opportunity to make travel arrangements prior to their release and received personal protective equipment, the agency added.
But nonprofits such as the International Rescue Committee had concerns that the migrants were not being tested for COVID-19 before they boarded transportation for destinations throughout the United States.
In addition to the single adult migrants released from detention facilities in Eloy and Florence, ICE officers in Arizona have been releasing migrant families apprehended and processed at the Arizona-Mexico border.
Those releases involving families have taken place at migrant shelters, not at bus stops.