Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) made another oversight visit to an immigration detention facility this week.
Wednesday’s visit marked the 13th since Ansari took office. Ansari’s latest visit took place at the ICE Phoenix Field Office, which contains a temporary hold facility.
Ansari claimed that she was concerned about detainees experiencing medical neglect and prolonged stays in overcrowded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.
One progressive outlet reported that the average length of detainment increased from eight to 10 hours up to 20 hours while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) strongly disputed that claim, maintaining that detainees are held for no longer than 12 hours.
Ansari rebutted the DHS claim, alluding to an outdated waiver issued last summer under former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem allowing holding facilities to expand the 12-hour limit to 72 hours. That waiver was removed in recent months around the time that the new DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullin, took office.
“Up until a couple of months ago, DHS from the highest levels had sent down a waiver to every single ICE facility across the United States to say that it’s okay if the time limit for someone being held somewhere, the capacity limits are broken, and that waiver no longer exists,” said Ansari.
I’m on my way to the Phoenix ICE Field Office to continue demanding transparency and accountability about what’s going on in these holding facilities, especially when it comes to how our friends and neighbors are being treated in federal custody. pic.twitter.com/ahTAAz6mUT
Ansari told a press gaggle outside the field office that she was barred from speaking to detainees. Ansari accused the detention centers of treating detainees “incredibly inhumanely,” conditions she says are exacerbated by alleged excessive detention times.
“We know that there is really no access to quality food. There are no access to showers for people here,” said Ansari in a post. “The conditions are not meant for people to be sleeping here. There are no beds.”
Critics say it only makes sense that there aren’t any beds in the facility since detainees stay for relatively short periods.
This morning, I conducted an unannounced oversight visit at the ICE Field Office in downtown Phoenix. This is often the first place people are taken before being transferred to a more long-term detention center like Eloy or Florence, where the conditions are horrific.
Three criminal illegal aliens accused of sex offenses against children were arrested in Virginia in late July, including one who entered the United States through Arizona before being released into the country by the Biden administration, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The arrests come less than two months after another criminal illegal alien who entered the United States through Arizona was also arrested in Virginia on charges involving alleged attempted abduction and indecent exposure.
All three suspects arrested in July are currently being held at the Middle River Regional Jail in Staunton, Virginia, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has lodged immigration detainers.
The three men are:
Efren Ramirez Escobedo, a Mexican national who was arrested on July 24 and charged with sexual assault involving a victim age 13-14 and sexual assault involving forcible intercourse. DHS says he illegally entered the United States at an unknown date and location.
Santos Bautista-Molina, a Honduran national who was arrested on July 27 and charged with nine counts of child solicitation and attempted sex offenses with a child under 15. DHS says he illegally entered the United States through Texas in September 2005.
Bayron Jose De Paz-Lopez, a Guatemalan national who was arrested on July 28 and charged with nine counts of child solicitation and attempted sex offense with a child under 15. DHS says De Paz-Lopez illegally entered the United States through Arizona in 2021 and was released into the country by the Biden administration.
Under Sanctuary Spanberger, Virginia has become the Commonwealth of Criminals.
ICE has lodged detainers for THREE illegal aliens who have all been arrested for sex crimes against CHILDREN in Staunton. @GovernorVA must cooperate with us and commit to NOT RELEASING these… https://t.co/OvmjLzLdJkpic.twitter.com/bkxrYmZiRh
On June 21, police in Annandale, Virginia, responded to reports that a man had exposed himself to a woman walking on a trail in a park. Police also received a report that a man had attempted to abduct a woman in the same park by stepping in front of her bicycle, forcing her to dismount, and attempting to drag her into the woods. The woman was able to escape.
Two days later, Fairfax County Police announced the arrest of Moises Domingo Rico Rosales, a Nicaraguan national. He was charged with abduction of a person with intent to defile and indecent exposure.
According to DHS, Rico Rosales had previously been arrested in 2024 on felony drug trafficking charges. ICE lodged an immigration detainer at the time, but Fairfax County officials did not honor the detainer and released him back into the community.
DHS says Rico Rosales had illegally entered the United States through Arizona in 2022, where he was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol. The Biden administration subsequently released him back into the country.
This illegal alien who EXPOSED HIS GENITALS to one woman and then tried to ABDUCT another was previously RELEASED by Fairfax County sanctuary politicians.
In the latest cases, ICE has lodged detainers for all three men arrested in July and is asking Virginia authorities to maintain custody of the suspects rather than release them.
“ICE has lodged detainers for three illegal aliens accused of sex crimes against children, all being held at the same jail in Staunton, Virginia,” stated DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “DHS is calling on Governor Abigail Spanberger and her fellow sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing these criminals from jail and to instead hand them over to ICE. Under Spanberger, the Commonwealth of Virginia has become a magnet for illegal alien crime. These reckless sanctuary policies are putting American lives at risk.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Democratic congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza said immigrants are “the only folks” who will perform some jobs in Arizona’s agricultural industry in a resurfaced video highlighted this week by the Republican National Committee (RNC). She also cited construction, service-sector work, and caregiving as industries dependent on immigrant labor.
In the video, Mendoza discussed immigration’s effect on the labor force.
“Immigration. It’s also impacting our economy, labor. Here we have a huge Ag industry. So, you know, the only folks that will really do that are immigrants,” Mendoza said. “Cows that need to be milked twice a day, 365 days a year. You know, they don’t have the labor for it. Construction, service, service industries. We’re talking about caregivers in hospitals or, you know, that go to the home.”
Democrat Congressional candidate JoAnna Mendoza thinks that illegal immigrants are the only people who do manual labor:
“It’s also impacting our economy, labor. Here we have a huge ag industry so the only folks that will really do that are immigrants.” pic.twitter.com/geOdliJvSi
The RNC characterized the remarks as an endorsement of illegal-immigrant labor, but Mendoza did not use the term “illegal immigrants” in the excerpt provided to AZ Free News.
Mendoza, a retired Marine running against Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani in Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District, has also questioned whether the Trump administration deserves credit for reducing illegal immigration.
In another video cited by Republicans, Mendoza was asked whether the Trump administration deserved any credit for slowing illegal immigration.
After 14 months of zero illegal aliens being released — JoAnna Mendoza lies that illegal immigration hasn’t slowed.
Q: Do you think the Trump admin deserves credit for slowing the flow of illegal aliens coming across the border?
“Unfortunately, we have not seen that play out,” Mendoza responded.
Federal border data show a sharp decline in Border Patrol apprehensions during President Donald Trump’s second administration. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that Southwest Border Patrol apprehensions during fiscal year 2025 fell to their lowest level since 1970.
The issue has particular significance in southern Arizona. The Tucson Sector, which covers much of the border area within and near the Sixth Congressional District, experienced a dramatic increase in encounters during the previous border surge. Federal data show encounters rose from approximately 66,000 in 2020 to more than 250,000 in 2022, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Homeland Security Statistics.
Mendoza’s criticism of federal border enforcement predates her current congressional campaign.
In a 2019 letter to the Casa Grande Dispatch, published by PinalCentral, Mendoza described then-President Trump’s proposed border wall as racist.
“Families across the nation are suffering and racism has found a new shape — the wall,” Mendoza wrote.
“The wall will not only be a waste of taxpayer dollars, but what will the presence of a wall do to future generations?” she continued. “It will be a symbol of racism and hatred. It will ignite anger and violence. As it stands, it’s already tearing our country apart.”
Mendoza wrote the letter shortly before Martin Luther King Jr. Day and connected her criticism of the wall to an encounter in which she said someone made racist remarks toward her.
More recently, Mendoza has sharply criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In one video excerpt from Meidas Touch, Mendoza said, “These ICE agents are not living up to their oath.”
Another video shows Mendoza calling for ICE operations to stop. “First and foremost, what we need to address is… we need to stand down for ICE and all ICE operations right now, because an external, independent investigation needs to happen,” Mendoza said.
Arizona Democrat JoAnna Mendoza wants to put innocent Americans at risk to stop ICE from arresting violent criminal illegal aliens.
In a separate clip from Meidas Touch, Mendoza compared conditions under current federal immigration enforcement to those of a developing country. “Like we’re living in a third world country,” Mendoza said. “I never thought I would see the government and its federal law enforcement agency turn against the American people.”
In more recent appearances, however, Mendoza has argued that ICE should continue receiving federal funding while operating under greater oversight. In a March 2026 op-ed highlighted by her campaign, she wrote, “The answer is not to defund law enforcement – it’s to fund law enforcement with intention. That includes ICE.”
The RNC seized on Mendoza’s earlier remarks as the Sixth District race heads toward November.
“JoAnna Mendoza wants Arizona to be full of criminal illegal immigrants and let the inmates run the asylum,” RNC spokesman Nick Poché said. “That is not serious border security – It’s a recipe for more of the chaos southern Arizona already endured.”
Ciscomani has made border security a central issue during his tenure in Congress. His congressional office lists multiple border-focused bills introduced during the 118th and 119th Congresses.
Among them is the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act, H.R. 35, which establishes federal penalties for individuals who intentionally flee Border Patrol agents, or law enforcement officers assisting Border Patrol, in a motor vehicle within 100 miles of the border.
Lisa Everett, a Dysart Unified School District Governing Board candidate who describes herself as a Republican activist, has recently drawn attention for criticizing conservative candidates, including Arizona Corporation Commission nominee Ralph Heap, and the conservative groups that supported his campaign.
Everett has filed two campaign-finance complaints against Heap, one with the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission and one with the Secretary of State’s Office while publicly defending his primary rivals, Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers. She has also repeatedly called on Heap to withdraw from the race, even after he advanced to the general election over Myers.
Everett’s public support for the two Republican incumbents Heap challenged predates the complaints. In her June 1 “Patriotnheels” newsletter, Everett published a section titled “Truth vs. Lies: The Record of Arizona Corporation Commissioners Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers.” The newsletter summarized Thompson and Myers’ defenses of their records on renewable-energy mandates, President Donald Trump’s energy agenda, utility rate mechanisms, and grid reliability.
Heap challenged Thompson and Myers for one of two Republican nominations to the Corporation Commission. In the July 21 primary, Thompson finished first with 35.8% of the vote, Heap finished second with 33%, and Myers finished third with 31.2%. Thompson and Heap advanced to the November general election.
After the primary, Everett escalated her public opposition to Heap. She announced her Secretary of State complaint, publicly thanked Clean Elections when commissioners denied Heap’s request to leave the public-financing program, and subsequently urged Republicans to call for Heap’s withdrawal. She has continued publishing updates about the campaign-finance proceedings through her Patriotnheels account.
Heap entered the Corporation Commission race with support from the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and Turning Point Action. Everett has previously criticized Turning Point’s influence in Arizona Republican primaries. In May, she told the Arizona Capitol Times that Turning Point “puts their money behind people, and that machine rolls, but it turns off the independent voters.”
Everett has also directly criticized the Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s involvement in Corporation Commission races. In a post to X on August 4 she wrote, “Some have asked me why I am pursuing this. – Accountability. Some are concerned a Democrat could get elected. My prayer is Heap removes himself from the ballot and the Party appoints a great candidate. If we lose this seat the blame lays at the feet of Arizona Free Enterprise Club and their partners. They ran candidates against two great incumbents simply because the incumbents could not be controlled. The blame also lies at the feet of Heap for violating campaign finance laws. This is truly a case of don’t blame the messenger.”
Some have asked me why I am pursuing this. – Accountability. Some are concerned a Democrat could get elected. My prayer is Heap removes himself from the ballot and the Party appoints a great candidate. If we lose this seat the blame lays at the feet of Arizona Free Enterprise… pic.twitter.com/VbzS6qRbhH
In an August 7 reply on X, she added, “Arizona Free Enterprise Club continues to recruit candidates that know nothing about utilities. They do this because they want a puppet at the ACC. Nick and Kevin follow statutes and understand the issues.”
Everett describes herself as a conservative Republican. Her Patriotnheels website identifies her as a longtime Republican organizer and describes the outlet as a West Valley platform that promotes conservative viewpoints and candidates. The same site also features an essay written by Everett titled, “The Republican Party Is Still A Big Tent — Let’s Start Acting Like It.” In that piece, she criticized Republican “purists” and “RINO” labeling and argued against isolating “McCain Republicans” and “moderate Republicans.” She also urged Republicans to engage with political opponents rather than limit their political activity to people who already agree with them.
Everett has applied that argument to disputes over Republican political figures as well. During an August 7 discussion on X over whether former Mesa Mayor John Giles (now the running mate for Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs) should be described as a leftist, Everett wrote, “The far right does not understand that concept. If you fail their purity test – you are a leftist.”
The far right does not understand that concept. If you fail their purity test – you are a leftist.
Everett drew attention for that approach in 2025 while serving as chair of the Legislative District 29 Republican Committee. In April of that year, Everett organized Republican counter-protests against Northwest Valley Indivisible demonstrations targeting President Donald Trump and Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08). Everett told AZ Free News at the time that she organized supporters after seeing the anti-Hamadeh demonstrations and said the Republican participants supported the Trump administration’s agenda.
Four months later, Everett joined Brent Peak, co-chair of Northwest Valley Indivisible, in advocating for Peoria-area restaurant owner Lai Kuen “Kelly” Yu after Yu was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. AZ Free News reported in August 2025 that Everett and Peak were working on Yu’s behalf even as Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, along with Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04), also supported Yu. Everett told The Center Square that Yu came to the United States while pregnant, sought asylum, and became active in the Peoria community. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Yu had entered the country illegally in 2004 and had exhausted her legal avenues to remain. Court records cited by AZ Free News showed the Ninth Circuit denied Yu’s asylum appeal in 2016.
The Maricopa County Republican Committee subsequently censured Everett by a 23-6 vote over her advocacy for Yu and her work with Peak. It also called for her resignation from her district leadership position. Everett defended her actions and later wrote on X that the county party was increasingly controlled by people she considered extremists, describing them as “so far right they are turning left.”
MCRC Censures LD29 Chairwoman Lisa Everett
Last night, the Maricopa County Republican Committee voted to censure me, Lisa Everett, Chairwoman of LD29. With that vote, my name is now listed alongside an ever-growing roster of Republicans who have been censured by MCRC: County… pic.twitter.com/5hvdhA5iTZ
Everett is now campaigning for the Dysart Unified School District Governing Board, where her campaign lists protecting the district’s A rating, supporting teachers and staff, and maintaining facilities among her priorities.
Heap and Thompson will appear on the Nov. 3 Corporation Commission ballot alongside Democrats Clara Pratte and Jonathon Hill and Green Party candidate Mike Cease.
Federal immigration officers arrested a Haitian national in Massachusetts who entered the United States through the Arizona border during the Biden administration. He had been released into the country and now faces pending charges involving child pornography, indecent assault, and extortion.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that officers from its Boston field office arrested Pierre Andy Jean-Louis, 20, during a vehicle stop in Fall River, Massachusetts, on July 18.
Jean-Louis has pending Massachusetts charges for possession of child pornography, indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14, and extortion by threat of injury, according to ICE. The agency has not reported that Jean-Louis has been convicted of the charges.
“There is no person more disturbing than one who stands accused of preying upon the most innocent members of our communities,” acting ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston Field Office Director David Wesling said in a statement. “ICE Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by working tenaciously to remove alleged child sex predators from our New England neighborhoods.”
ICE said U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended Jean-Louis after he entered the country near Nogales, Arizona, on Sept. 24, 2024.
CBP subsequently released him into the country under a two-year grant of immigration parole.
Immigration parole allows the Department of Homeland Security to temporarily permit a noncitizen applying for admission to enter the United States on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit. Federal law states that parole does not constitute formal admission into the United States.
Jean-Louis’ release occurred approximately four months before former President Joe Biden left office in January 2025.
Following the July vehicle stop, ICE officers took Jean-Louis into custody and served him with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin highlighted the Arizona connection, reporting that Jean-Louis had been “caught and released” at the border before his arrest in Massachusetts.
NEW: ICE Boston announces they've arrested a Haitian illegal alien alleged pedophile who has pending charges for possession of child porn, indecent assault, and extortion by threat of injury. Pierre Andy Jean-Louis, was caught and released at the AZ border by the Biden admin on… pic.twitter.com/QugKxM7uS5
ICE described Jean-Louis as an illegal alien from Haiti. The agency did not identify the circumstances under which CBP approved the two-year parole or provide additional information concerning his travel from Arizona to Massachusetts.
