An upscale neighborhood in Scottsdale, Arizona, is up in arms over what’s happening to their neighborhood under the Biden administration. Residents near Scottsdale’s Homewood Suites are fed up that a former hotel is being used to house roughly 1,200 illegal immigrants, and Arizona’s Republican Attorney General has joined in the fight.
“In a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), officials say that Texas and Arizona will provide temporary emergency shelter and process families placed in their custody through a short-term contract with Endeavors, a nonprofit organization. Through the contract ending on Sept. 30, 1,229 beds will be used to house families,” Fox 10 Phoenix reported.
On Saturday, two hundred residents protested.
Arizona GOP Attorney General Mark Brnovich fired off a letter to President Biden in which he stated:
I was extremely disappointed to learn about this through a newspaper report rather than any prior contact from DHS or ICE, even though there are important public safety issues involved in locating any detention center in a community setting. The root-causes of the current crisis are problems of the Biden administration’s own making, including policies that have administratively — and intentionally —crippled ICE’s law enforcement mission and incentivized illegal immigration. While everyone rightly expects that migrants should be treated humanely, a new detention facility at the Hotel property should not be established. …
[D]etention facilities inherently carry some risk that one or more individuals who pose a public safety threat are going to be housed there and potentially leave the premises. … there is no guarantee that housing 1,200 detainees would not result in some of them being released into the community. ICE has adopted irresponsible ‘enforcement priorities’ that administratively repeal almost all ICE enforcement. … The Hotel Property is literally adjacent to an apartment complex and near a senior living facility. … It is less than a block from a high school, less than one mile from a preschool, and less than two miles from a middle school. … It appears that DHS and ICE are attempting to circumvent any state or local involvement in the decision to establish this detention facility.
Brnovich asserted, “The President is using Arizona as an experiment with his reckless border policies. I will continue to stand up for Arizonans and do everything I can to stop the Biden Administration’s attempt to abolish ICE. All of us will pay the price, not only with our tax dollars, but also with our national security, and the safety of our families.”
One protester stated, “Over the Memorial Day Weekend, we were notified about the hotel and the illegals that were moved in under the cover of darkness without any kind of consultation from the local community.”
Another added, “My wife and I drove by last night and sure enough, they have armed guards and we have pictures taken by other homeowners unloading buses with people with backpacks into the facility. So we’re concerned that none of us have been put on notice. There was no due process.”
The Scottsdale Office of Communication stated, “Scottsdale has no current authority to prevent the hotel from being rented for these immigrant families. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the contractor who will operate the facility have provided assurances that they will be able to address any operational concerns that may arise. Immigration is a federal matter, over which the city of Scottsdale has no responsibility or oversight.”