## 🛫 ICE & AROCC: Stop the illegal, inhumane, & unconstitutional ICE operations in our backyard. As of May 2025, [Mesa Valley Indivisible](https://www.mesavalleyindivisible.org/), with the support of other local groups and activists, has been actively holding monthly protests near the airport consistently applying pressure on both Avelo Airlines and Mesa Gateway Airport to terminate their morally reprehensible ICE agreement....**AND IT WORKED!!! Avelo has left the ICE deportation business**, but ICE is still deporting our community members using their own fleet. To continue the fight and ramp up mobilization, [Mesa Valley Indivisible](https://www.mesavalleyindivisible.org/), [Phoenix Metro Democratic Socialists](https://www.phxdsa.org/), [Party for Socialism & Liberation](https://www.instagram.com/pslphoenixaz/), [East Valley Unite](https://www.eastvalleyunite.org), [LUCHA](https://www.luchaaz.org), [Puente](https://www.puenteaz.org/), [MELT](https://www.meltfestivalevents.com/), [Organized Power in Numbers](https://powerinnumbers.us/), and [Poder in Action](https://www.azpoder.org/) are combining efforts with other local organizations for a protest and march against ICE deportation flights & the AROCC detention center at Mesa Gateway Airport! **Join us on Saturday, January 24th at 9:00am!** ### 🆘Key Concerns Driving the Protest: - **Corporate Complicity in Inhumane Practices**: These deportations are driven by profit and political patronage. Private contractors run detention and flight operations through non‑commercial hubs, creating durable infrastructure that outlasts elections. The incentive loop is clear: **more arrests → more funding → more capacity → more bodies.** - **Conditions on the Ground**: Individuals slated for deportation or transfer are held in the secluded Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center (AROCC) at the Mesa airport—near the area commercial travelers dine—where they are reportedly kept without access to basic amenities like beds or showers until their flight. - **Inhumane Treatment on Flights**: Documentation over years has shown that passengers on these flights are typically shackled for the entire duration, denied bathroom access, and subjected to severe abuse, including beatings, restrictive restraints, and reports of deaths and miscarriages. - **Secrecy and Lack of Transparency**: Aircraft are often disguised through subcontractors and subleases, and the flights themselves are secretive and unmarked, shielding the carriers and the airport from public scrutiny. ### Signs & Graphics Please create signs and graphics that are relevant to ICE deportations & the AROCC! * Abolish ICE * ICE separates families * 42 days does not = temporary * Illegal deportations without due process is human trafficking ### Protest & March Information 🪧Protest starts at 9:00 am 🚶🏽‍♀️‍➡️March starts at 10:00am at the NW corner of E Ray Rd & Power Rd with the expectation of ending around 11:30am. 🧍🏾‍♂️If you are unable to march, please join us anyway - there will be an option to remain at the corner and continue protesting as usual! 🅿️ Parking is available around the intersection ⭐ Please share with friends, family, neighbors, EVERYONE! 👟Don't forget to wear comfortable shoes and bring water. 🆘 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! 🆘 We need attendees interested in remaining at the protest (not marching) who are willing to use their minivan or SUV to help carpool anyone who marched to the airport but not planning on walking back to the protest. Please email us at [mesavalleyindivisible@gmail.com](https://www.mesavalleyindivisible@gmail.com) if you can help! 📷 Don't forget to tag the organizers when posting photos/videos online! #mesavalleyindivisible #phoenix_dsa #pslphoenixaz #puente.az #lucha_az #melt_fest_events #opinorg #poderinaction #eastvalleyuniteaz ⚠️One of the core principles of this event is a shared commitment to principled, non-violent action. We expect all participants to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.