Federal agents targeted 15 Zipps restaurants across the valley yesterday.
Peaceful protests at the Tempe location were met with pepper balls.
Yesterday, January 26, 2026, marked a dark turning point for the community. In a coordinated assault across the Phoenix metro area, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) raided 15 Zipps Sports Grill locations, executing federal search warrants and abducting workers who contribute to the local economy every day.
According to reports, heavily armed federal agents descended on restaurants from Phoenix to Tempe. Witnesses described scenes of chaos as agents taped off parking lots, removed boxes of documents, and interrogated staff while families and customers looked on in shock. The U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed that these raids were part of a months-long criminal investigation into alleged felony violations of federal law.
At the Zipps location in Tempe—specifically on Mill Avenue near ASU advocates and community members gathered to peacefully observe and join in nonviolent protest. The atmosphere was tense but nonviolent. Without warning, as the group chanted “ICE out of Tempe!,” a masked federal agent fired pepper balls at the ground where one young man sat down in front of a van.
“This is a peaceful protest.”
Reports indicate the agent fired at the feet of protestors standing by him as they backed away. This excessive force was not an isolated incident. Similar abuses happened in multiple other locations. One immigrant worker was taken to the hospital from the Tempe Zipps, and multiple protestors were pepper sprayed at another location. These tactics mirror the dangerous escalation seen recently, such as the pepper spray attacks on protesters in Tucson just last month.
This cannot continue. The people must stand together in disciplined nonviolent resistance, exercising 1st Amendment rights to protect all rights. Tensions are high, and the community is demanding answers from local and federal leaders.
Every government leader who believes in democracy and rejects authoritarian rule must demand that ICE leave our communities and refuse to cooperate with or fund this lawless Department of Homeland Security.
Eyes On Intel is a podcast dedicated to exposing the systems that enable immigration enforcement, surveillance, and systemic harm. It provides listeners with the tools to dismantle those systems.
Remember: **Open hearts. Open minds.**
Eyes On Intel is a podcast dedicated to exposing the systems that enable immigration enforcement, surveillance, and systemic harm. It provides listeners with the tools to dismantle those systems.
Remember: **Open hearts. Open minds.**
