Representatives from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix exchange information with incoming Coconino County Sheriff Bret Axlund at the conclusion of the forum. Photos by Frank X. Moraga / AmigosNAZ.com ©2024.
Organizers plan a follow-up forum in early 2025.
Editor’s note — The first in a series of articles on local immigration rights and information sharing efforts in Coconino County. We encourage community members to provide information on upcoming events, issues and programs by sending an email to fmoraga@amigosnaz.com
By AmigosNAZ.com
While local law enforcement officials stated they do not work for the incoming presidential administration’s immigration program, community members and local immigration officials called for more local law enforcement information on how to protect themselves from potential federal immigration sweeps.
In what promises to be the first of a number immigration information programs in reaction to the potential new federal immigration policies starting on Jan. 20, 2025, members of the Flagstaff community gathered at Killip Elementary School for the “Let’s Talk About the Current State of Immigration” forum on Dec. 3, 2024.
The event, presented by the Northern Arizona Interfaith Council (NAIC), drew more than 150 individuals to the school’s gymnasium, who listened to live presentations by Flagstaff Police Chief Sean Connolly, incoming Coconino County Sheriff Bret Axlund, Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett, staff from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix, plus a virtual presentation from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix.
The event was presented in Spanish with limited headphones for English translation.
Both Connolly and Axlund stated that they do not work for the new federal government proposed immigration program. Their primary concern was making sure residents of Flagstaff and Coconino County continue to report crime when it happens and they should not be concerned about being picked up by local law enforcement for any potential immigration issues.
Many law enforcement officials statewide and nationwide have stated that during the previous Trump administration, they saw an adverse effect on community policing efforts because of a decline in individuals reporting crime.
Officials also discussed Prop. 314 (ACLU of Arizona statement), which was approved by Arizona voters on Nov. 5, 2024, which opponent say echoes the Arizona’s SB 1070, the so-called “Show me your papers” law passed by the Arizona State Senate, that was ruled largely unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012.
Axlund said he has met with District 2 Supervisor Jeronimo Vasquez to talk about the concerns residents of Coconino County have on the impact of Prop. 314.
“It is not the priority of the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office to do the job of immigration officials,” Axlund said. “We work directly for you.”
Flagstaff Mayor Daggett echoed those sentiments.
“Everyone here is a member of the Flagstaff community,” she said. “Everyone of you is an important and respected member of our community. The only people I work for are you.”
Flagstaff Police Chief Connolly said “I’m not here to do the job of the federal government,” and he is concerned how fear of deportation will adversely impact law enforcement.
“I was at a meeting and I asked people to raise their hands if they didn’t report a crime because of immigration fears,” he said. “Many hands were raised.”
Connolly said if a Spanish-speaking member of the community is detained by one of his officers, they have the right to ask for a Spanish-speaking interpreter to be present before questioning.
Grace Vaughan, U.S. Dept. of Justice Accredited Representative and Legal Services Program Director for Northern Arizona Immigration Legal Services (NAILS), a program of The Literacy Center in Flagstaff, stated that she reached out to to her team who had the most striking interactions at the meeting. They included:
“I was concerned that the police and the sheriff were presented to the community as friends and allies, and that they were given a platform to speak…”
Representatives from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix were also present in person and via Zoom to provide information to the audience. Some stated that it is vital that individuals make sure they follow U.S. traffic and other laws to the letter to avoid giving U.S. federal officials the pretense make vehicle stops or respond to domestic violence or other issues.
“It concerned me that there was no practical information given of how to respond when law enforcement comes to our homes or cars or jobs. I did notice that they said to do what you’re told.”
“Their answer seemed to be ‘we survived before, we’ll survive again! Besides, they probably won’t even be able to do what they said they were going to do!’ But a lot of people didn’t survive before. A lot of families are still separated.”
“They said that if you behave well and don’t commit crimes you’ll be ok, but I know a lot of people who were put into detention or deported without a criminal record.”
Those attending were then encouraged to volunteer to take part in small groups to discuss such issues as the Flagstaff Unified School District’s effort to keep family emergency information up-to-date in case a student needs to be picked up by other responsible family members.
One person who attended the small discussion said:
“It made me uncomfortable in the small groups to be expected to voice my concerns in front of law enforcement.”
Another individual said:
“I recall that in my small group, when I said I would like to see law enforcement not honor ICE holds (holding people at the jail for ICE to come and get them after they should have been released) for lower level offenses, Coral Evans responded first that ICE holds had to be honored or the city/county would lose State revenue and she insinuated that that would make things way worse for everyone. I don’t recall exactly how she put it.”
Following the event, Vaughan said her “impression is that the community is concerned and should be, because the situation is pretty dire.”
Northern Arizona Immigration Legal Services (NAILS) plan of action
Vaughan said NAILS is currently working on putting together:
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Know Your Rights handouts and weekly pop-up small group and large group trainings at locations all over Northern Arizona.
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Know Your Options handouts for allies to know what they should do if they witness an Ice raid or racial profiling
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A Rapid Response Network to be able to mobilize during and after raids to help the families adjust and respond and follow their plans.
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Weekly walk-in hours where volunteers will be standing by to help people complete practical preparation packets, including:
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A family plan
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Specific kinds of documents they can prepare to keep on hand that could give them a measure of protection against removal
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Parental power of attorney so that if both parents are taken, children won’t automatically become wards of the state
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Passport applications for citizen children
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We’re also ramping up immigration screenings looking for any kinds of options people may have to apply for status, and helping get those applications prepared and submitted. Having an immigration application pending should lower their priority for deportation, but there’s no guarantee that that kind of due process will be honored.
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Getting a pool of willing Flagstaff attorneys trained and ready to take on removal defense cases as our community members are taken and our families are separated.
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We’re also advising on the Immigrant Safety Ordinance that Catch Fire Movement is petitioning city council about: https://www.catchfiremovement.org/immigrant-safety-flagstaff
Members of the Coconino Hispanic Advisory Council (CHAC) held their rescheduled monthly meeting on Dec. 9, 2024, which included a discussion recommending to the board of supervisors more translated materials for the public to keep county residents informed of the latest immigration and other issues affecting them.
Discussion also included finding more local Spanish-language media sources to share information with the public.
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Click below for larger images.
A sizable audience filled the Killip Elementary School gymnasium during an immigration forum on Dec. 3, 2024.
Flagstaff Police Chief Sean Connolly, right and below, addressed the audience about his primary concern of making sure residents of Flagstaff continue to to report crime in the city.
Flagstaff Police Chief Sean Connolly said that during a previous forum in Phoenix he learned that many of those attending declined to report crime because they feared that may result in them being deported.
Incoming Coconino County Sheriff Bret Axlund also stated that is primary concern is tackling crime in the county, not federal immigration enforcement policy.
Flagstaff Mayor Becky Daggett addressed the audience saying her primary job is serving all residents of Flagstaff.
A representative from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix discusses the changing U.S. immigration policy with the incoming U.S. administration.
A representative from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix stated they were in Flagstaff to help local residents with their immigration questions.
Flagstaff Police Chief Sean Connolly listens to the English translation from the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix.
Organizers of the immigration forum gather for a group photo with speakers.
Flyers below from the Dec. 4, 2024 forum
