Pinal County Arizona Partners with ICE After Rep Grijalva Caught in ‘Jussie Smollet’ Moment

On Monday, Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller held a press conference to announce the county’s new partnership with ICE through the 287(g) enforcement program. From the dais, Miller slammed Arizona Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva’s (D) stunt over the weekend where she lied about being “shot at” by federal officers during an anti-ICE riot in Tucson. Miller also rebutted Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ claims that the nearly 100 people detained in the immigration enforcement operation didn’t have criminal records.

“There are some Arizona politicians willing to lie to you in order to get more social media attention, as we saw this past week with Rep Grijalva being caught in a lie, she had her own Jesse Smollet moment, she have to manufacture outrage when none exists because they know that Arizonians are not on their side,” Miller charged, adding: “We in Pinal County back the blue and assaulting an officer here will land you in jail or prison where you belong.  There is no special treatment for elected officials, here the law will be applied equally and fairly. To say it again: assaulting a law enforcement officer is a crime and this law will be enforced in Pinal County, you will be arrested.”      

When a reporter asked for Miller’s response to Attorney General Kris Mayes’ claims that many of the detainees in the county do not have a criminal record, Miller set the record straight.

“Well, she’s wrong. She doesn’t understand the law. A person being in the country illegally is a crime, and it’s a misdemeanor. Very often what we find is that there are other crimes attached to those individuals, so we don’t believe that she’s telling the truth, and this goes back to my comment earlier as we see a lot of sensationalism in the media from some of our elected officials, and what they’re saying is is oftentimes not true.”    

“The way I look at immigration law is, and as I mentioned in my speech, you see a lot of other crimes spring from immigration related crimes, including human smuggling, which, again, I call modern day slavery. Drug trafficking seems to be the precursor to a lot of these other crimes. Just the way, marijuana has become a precursor to fentanyl use, cocaine and methamphetamine, again as they’re all tied together,” Miller stated.      

Miller then brought the receipts: “Recently, my office indicted an illegal immigrant Ismael Ortega Hernandez for murder of his girlfriend in front of her children.  He sought refuge in an “sanctuary city” because politicians like Reps Grijalva and [Yassamin] Ansari have made people believe they are safe in those cities.  I am here to let you know that there are no sanctuary cities in Arizona – with this partnership if you commit a crime in Pinal County we will hunt you down no matter where you go and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. ”

Local media reports that at lease 46 immigrants from Mexico at residences and restaurants in southern Arizona after a years-long investigation conducted by multiple federal agencies, including HSI, an investigative arm of ICE, that pursues criminal investigations related to financial and cyber crime, drug and weapons smuggling, human trafficking and fraud.

Tuscon.com reports:

At Taco Giro, the restaurant and its parking lot were blocked off with yellow tape by mid-morning Friday, and agents were seen removing boxes, apparently containing paperwork, from the restaurant as protesters and community organizers gathered at the scene.

The enforcement activity was part of a larger operation, including 16 search warrants, executed across Southern Arizona Friday morning, ICE spokesman Fernando X. Burgos said in a Friday emailed statement.

“Special agents and officers from ICE Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and other federal partners, are executing 16 search warrants in southern Arizona as part of a years-long investigation into immigration and tax violations. Multiple individuals are in custody,” the statement said. “As soon as the number is confirmed, we will share more details.”