More than a thousand people met at Arizona’s Capitol on Friday to protest the federal immigration crackdown and ICE’s public killings of two Minneapolis residents.
Thousands more walked out of schools and gathered on state university campuses as part of a national shutdown — no work, no school, no shopping — in hopes the economic disruption would move officials more than another march.
Protesters marched into downtown Phoenix and returned to the Capitol lawn, stopping in the shadow of the House and Senate buildings.
Today, lawmakers will meet in those buildings to consider bills that would strengthen Arizona’s cooperation with ICE — proposals like cutting off public benefits for people waiting for asylum and giving local law enforcement $20 million for short-term detention holds for immigrants.
As lawmakers and lobbyists wrote new anti-immigrant policies inside the Capitol, protesters outside answered with demands, warnings and pleas written in marker and cardboard.
Almost all of the protest signs took aim at ICE, but the reasons people gave for showing up were varied and deeply personal — the kind of details that don’t fit neatly into a committee agenda.
Here are some of the stories behind the signs.
“No sign is big enough to list all the reasons I’m here”
Araceli Gutierrez (right) and Jessica Gutierrez (left). (Photos by Nicole Ludden).
Jessica Gutierrez last went to a protest during the early 2010s, when Latino communities lived with the daily fear of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration sweeps.
Back then, Jessica’s mom had legal status through a visa, but she remembers her “getting preyed on because of the color of her skin.”
Her mom has since passed away from cancer. But Jessica says it’s happening again: Her friends and family members are “scared to come out of their homes.”
“No matter how hard we protest, we're all so scared to come out here because we might get arrested or get sent back to a country we're not familiar with,” Jessica said.
Jessica’s sister, Araceli Gutierrez, said she doesn’t really pay attention to politics, but like her sister, remembers the precedent set by the Arpaio era.
“When I start seeing people get hurt, that's when I gather everybody up and say ‘let's go,’ because we all got to stand up for each other,” she said.
“Don’t waive our rights while waving our flag”
Eric calls the immigration raids unAmerican.
Eric, who didn’t want to give his last name, said he’s a “constitutionalist at heart.”
The surveillance behind the immigration crackdown, he said, puts everyone’s rights at risk.
“I look at things structurally, and we have been on this road for 20-30, years. 9/11 brought in Homeland Security, and now we've got contracts with Flock, and everybody's personal data is kind of out there,” Eric said. “As an old white guy with a flag around his neck, if I'm in danger, everybody's in danger.”
Eric’s outlook is bleak. But not bleak enough to stay home.
“I have very little overall hope for the next 20 years,” he said. “But what are you going to do? You have to show up and make your voice known that this is not okay. This is not American.”
“Baila, baila esta cumbia”
Esther Zubia sings with her Mariachi group, Mariachi Rubor.
Esther Zubia arrived at the Capitol with her all-female Mariachi band and a wagon of musical equipment in tow.
Once protesters arrived back on the Capitol lawn after looping through downtown Phoenix, Mariachi Rubor played several songs, including Selena’s “Baila Esta Cumbia.”
For Zubia, the reason for the trip was simple.
“The immigrant community is one of our biggest supporters, so we wanted to support them as well,” she said.
Mariachi Rubor usually plays paid gigs. But Zubia said Friday’s performance was their way of joining the general strike while backing the community that sustains them.
“There are individuals, professional mariachis, who feed off of the community, but then turn around and support or are okay with what's going on with ICE … That’s bullshit, in my opinion,” Zubia said. “I couldn't do what I do if it weren't for the community here that supports us.”
“Melt ICE”
Beth Lamont, flanked by her two sons.
Before the march began, a woman planted herself in the middle of the chants and signs across the Capitol complex, seated on her walker.
“I’m Beth Lamont, and I’m notorious,” she told us.
She was arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protests of 2011 as a member of the “Raging Grannies,” a 65-and-up international activism group.
Lamont now lives in Arizona full-time, and she can still rattle off the banner she carried during the Wall Street protests like it was yesterday.
“We were right there by the big brass bull, can I tell you what my banner said? I got a lot of salutes and thumbs up: ‘The capitalist tide will raise all boats. What a crock, a cruel hoax, a fallacy. We're mired in mortgage mud on foreclosed flats, but the CEOs in their yachts sail out to sea.”
Lamont’s reason for showing up to the ICE protests was simpler.
“We have to save our democracy. And I'm so worried,” she said.
“No one is illegal on stolen land”
Victoria Serna and her husband.
Ever since she watched federal immigration agents shoot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Victoria Serna has been trying to find somewhere to put her despair.
“I've been constantly Google searching, like, when's the next protest? Or if there's something that's gonna be done,” she said. “So the minute I saw it, I was like, finally, there's something to do.”
It was the first protest Serna had ever attended. She brought her husband and young son with her.
“I felt really patriotic, making the signs and everything. I'm really proud of what I'm doing,” she said. “And (my son) is not gonna remember, but when he's ready to talk about what we did here today, it's like a really prideful feeling. I can't wait to tell him.”
“Abolish ICE release the Epstein files”
Sophie Hake got part of her wish on Friday, as the Department of Justice published over 3 million additional pages of Epstein files.
Amid a sea of signs about the federal immigration crackdown, Sophie Hake folded another grievance into hers: “Abolish ICE. Release the Epstein files.”
She turns out for protests now and then, but Hake said she’s stunned it took so long for this kind of backlash to materialize.
“Honestly, I can't even believe that America decided to vote somebody in who said on tape, grab them by the — you know, word that I don't want to say out loud,” she said. “I welcome all the newcomers to the cause. But it just is alarming to me that it's taken the murder of white people in the streets to be the thing that finally breaks the spell.”
Building out the network: ICE plans to convert the massive warehouse it bought in Surprise last week into a 1,500-bed immigration detention center, the Republic’s Elena Santa Cruz and Richard Ruelas report. Surprise officials say there aren’t any zoning rules or local ordinances they could use to block federal officials from establishing the detention center. The Trump administration has been buying up warehouses in recent weeks as it expands its immigrant detention network, including warehouses in El Paso and Hagerstown, Maryland, per Bloomberg.
The worst way to get fired: A man who was arrested last week in the immigration raids of Zipps Sports Grills had worked at the company for 20 years, Sean Rice reports for 12News. He started working there “right after he graduated high school” and his son joined him years later, a family member said. The father and son are both now in immigration detention in Eloy. Officials at Homeland Security Investigations, a division of ICE, say they are investigating employment and identity fraud at Zipps locations.
Dangerous times: Arizona lawmakers are concerned the political violence that plagued 2025 will continue for the foreseeable future, spurring them to introduce an array of bills designed to protect political candidates and elected officials, Reagan Priest reports for the Capitol Times. Republican Sen. TJ Shope, for example, wants to allow candidates to use campaign funds on security for themselves and their families, aligning to guidance Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes adopted last year.
Positive signs, but no deal yet: Gov. Katie Hobbs said she was “encouraged” after a meeting in D.C. with U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and officials from the states that use the Colorado River, Caitlin Sievers reports for the Arizona Mirror. A Nevada official called it a “pretty historic meeting” and Hobbs said the Upper Basin governors are willing to “turn water conservation programs into firm commitments of water savings.” Still, no deal was made and federal officials are poised to impose their own rules if the states don’t cut a deal before a Feb. 14 deadline. Hobbs is hosting a press conference this afternoon to talk about the summit.
How about we make a deal? We’ll continue writing local journalism, and you’ll upgrade to a paid subscription to support local journalism.
It’s about authority, not ICE: The legal battle between the GOP-controlled Pinal County Board of Supervisors and Republican County Attorney Brad Miller escalated last week when the board voted to sue Miller, Ruelas reports for the Republic. Miller inked a cooperation deal with ICE last summer, but the supervisors say he didn’t have the authority to do it. Supervisor Mike Goodman noted the board is still maintaining a cooperation agreement between the sheriff’s office and ICE.
Today is the last day for state senators to file new bills at the Capitol.
Members of the House still have another week before their deadline for introducing new bills kicks in. And already, they’ve cracked the all-time high for number of bills introduced. Next week, for the first time ever, the House will have more than 1,000 bills introduced, forcing a new numbering scheme.1
(Fun stat: Of the 1,735 bills introduced so far this year, fewer than 500 came from Democrats. And of those 500, only two have been approved by a committee thus far.)
As lawmakers prepare for this avalanche of legislation, we’re preparing too!
Here’s a small sample of the bills that we’re using Skywolf, our legislation tracking service, to keep an eye on next week.
Monday
Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers wants to give local cities and towns $20 million to build their own supplemental border fences. Her SB1157 is up for a hearing in the Senate Military Affairs and Border Security Committee at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
Tuesday
Republican Rep. Matt Gress wants to impose term limits on school board members. (It’s worth noting that many small rural school districts struggle to find enough people who want to run for the seats available.) Catch his HB2318 in the House Education Committee at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Republican Sen. John Kavanagh wants to ban makeup that was tested on animals from being sold in Arizona. Tune in to the Senate Natural Resources Committee at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday to watch the debate on his SB1005.
Wednesday
Republican Rep. Michael Way wants to make it a felony to allow a child in the same building as a drag show. His HB2589 will be up for a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday at 9 a.m.
And Republican Sen. Jake Hoffman wants to make it a felony for librarians to allow children to view any “sexually explicit material.” His SB1435 is up for a hearing in the Senate Government Committee at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Thursday
Republican Rep. Justin Wilmeth wants state agencies to start adopting artificial intelligence. His HB2592, which would force government agencies to identify opportunities to use artificial intelligence to “reduce administrative burdens” is up for a hearing in the House Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Committee at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Friday
You realize your lawmakers don’t work on Friday, right?
Since we’re talking about the AI legislation that Republican Rep. Justin Wilmeth is running through his new AI committee, it seems like a good time to promote the Q&A we did with him recently for the AI Agenda — and the fact that he’s really into AI music right now.
What’s on his playlist?
Stuff like this country Michael Jackson rendition.
We’re embarrassed to admit that we agree it is rather catchy.
1 House bills start at HB2001, while Senate bills start at SB1001. Because the House will go over 1,000 bills this year, they’re going to have the first-ever HB4001. If the Senate goes over 1,000 bills, it’ll use SB3001 and up.