Sheriff Joe’s Car Wash Raid?

Aug 18, 2013
10:59 PM

Leave it to Phoenix New Times’ Stephen Lemons to get to the bottom of another immigration raid associated with Sheriff Joe Arpaio:

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Saturday morning, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided 16 locations throughout the Valley associated with Danny’s Family Car Wash and the company’s staffing provider HR Betty.

According a statement issued by ICE, members of the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations unit began serving warrants on both companies beginning at 11 a.m., as part of “an ongoing criminal investigation involving alleged criminal immigration fraud, identity theft and financial violations.”

ICE spokeswoman Amber Cargile said the warrants resulted from a grand jury indictment which will be unsealed Monday morning in federal court.

She emphasized that the investigation targeted the “management leadership” of the businesses, not the workers, making it unlike a worksite raid done by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

You can read the whole story here, and how it feels all to convenient for Arpaio.

At the end of the post, Lemons offered an update:

UPDATE 4:58 PM SUNDAY AUGUST 18:

Just received this statement from ICE spokeswoman Amber Cargile:

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) interviewed 223 individuals who were encountered during the execution of federal search and arrest warrants Saturday. Of those 223 interviewed:

“14 individuals (four U.S. citizens and 10 Mexican nationals) were placed under federal criminal arrest.

“30 individuals were taken into custody by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) for administrative immigration enforcement processing, based on their prior criminal and/or immigration histories.

“179 individuals qualified for prosecutorial discretion under the agency’s enforcement guidelines. Those individuals were released from custody within hours of being interviewed.”

Lemons also wrote about a Facebook photo posted today showing a Department of Homeland Security vehicle getting a car wash a few months ago.