PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Federal agents searched through multiple locations of Valley-based Zipps Sports Grill as part of a criminal investigation, federal authorities said Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
According to a tweet by the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Arizona<\/a>, Homeland Security executed search warrants at 15 locations in the greater Phoenix area.<\/p>\n Arizona\u2019s Family breaking news reporter Stephanie Duprey spoke with employees at the location near Warner and Gilbert roads, who said armed agents entered the restaurant. Employees were reportedly told to stop working, and agents started asking questions. <\/p>\n Those inside that location were asked to leave, witnesses said. Meanwhile, a kitchen worker told Arizona\u2019s Family that federal agents asked staff about their immigration status.<\/p>\n A Department of Justice spokesperson emphasized that the operation was \u201cnot an ICE sweep or raid, but the execution of federal search warrants.\u201d <\/p>\n According to an immigration lawyer in the Valley, her clients, a married couple who worked at the location on Central Avenue and Osborn Road, were detained. She said they\u2019re from Mexico and had been in the country for about 15 years. <\/p>\n \u201cThe search warrants were authorized based on information presented to a federal judge and are being executed as part of a criminal investigation into felony violations of federal law,\u201d the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office explained in a social media statement. \u201cAdditional information will be forthcoming over the next few days as evidence is evaluated for charging as appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n At this time, federal authorities haven\u2019t specified what those alleged violations are, but Scottsdale police described the warrants as part of a \u201clarge-scale federal criminal investigation.\u201d <\/p>\n Shortly after news of the raids broke, a large group of protesters gathered at the central Phoenix location, near Central Avenue and Osborn Road, where demonstrators shouted, \u201cShame on you,\u201d toward federal agents.<\/p>\n Arizona\u2019s Family learned of a similar protest that took place outside the Mill Avenue and University Drive location in Tempe, not far from Arizona State University. The Maricopa County Sheriff\u2019s Office said that its deputies were asked to assist in \u201ckeeping the peace\u201d at that location.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have the right to peaceably assemble and engage in political protests, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can interfere with law enforcement operations. Had the coordination and cooperation with local law enforcement been effective from the beginning, situations such as Minneapolis may have been prevented,\u201d said Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n Earlier in the day, federal officials said 150 people in the District of Arizona<\/a> were charged with immigration-related crimes within the last week.<\/p>\n Specifically, officials said 87 people illegally re-entered the U.S., and 45 others were arrested for illegally entering the country. The feds also recently filed 15 cases against 17 more people for alleged smuggling into and within the District of Arizona, the Justice Department said in a news release.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n