ICE Reports Large Scale Arizona Enforcement Action While Describing Violent Disruption By Rioters During Federal Operation Targeting Transnational Criminal Organization

TUCSON Arizona December 11th 2025

The following account is presented exactly as described by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose first hand press release outlines a complex, multiyear, Arizona based investigation culminating in a coordinated enforcement action involving 16 criminal federal search warrants, executed across 9 restaurants, and 7 associated stash houses, all positioned in and around Tucson; according to the agency, this operation targeted a transnational criminal organization involved in labor exploitation, tax violations, and immigration violations, and resulted in 46 illegal aliens being arrested, including individuals with prior arrests for sexual assault, and illegal re entry, the latter classified as a felony by ICE; the agency frames these arrests as part of a broader effort to dismantle criminal networks that exploit both lawful labor markets and federal immigration structures, and states this directly within the release.

As ICE continues its narration, the agency describes a significant and sudden escalation at one operational site, noting that over 100 agitators descended upon the location, moving quickly and aggressively, attempting to impede federal officers, and, as ICE phrases it, locking a gate to trap agents inside the restaurant perimeter, which then devolved into violence as agitators assaulted officers, and slashed tires, all of which prompted ICE to deploy an HSI Special Response Team, which, according to the federal statement, was required to use countermeasures to regain control of the scene; these details appear verbatim in ICE’s account, which stresses the volatility and physical danger encountered by agents during the operation.

In the middle of this confrontation, ICE states that United States Representative Adelita Grijalva joined the rioting crowd and attempted to impede law enforcement officers; the agency further states that she subsequently took to social media and, as ICE phrases it, “falsely claimed she was pepper sprayed,” a claim which ICE’s own statement disputes; the Appalachian Post presents this language exactly as written by ICE, using the federal description rather than offering independent characterization, since we adhere strictly to first hand sourcing without interpretive expansion.

The federal release then documents resulting arrests outside the scope of the original warrants; ICE reports that one individual from the rioting crowd was arrested for assaulting a federal officer, and another individual was arrested for damaging a government vehicle, with the agency adding that two HSI Special Response Team operators were injured, one sustaining a bicep rupture, and the other a knee injury, both of whom, ICE notes, have been medically treated; these injuries are described by the agency as direct outcomes of the violence encountered during the attempt to impede the enforcement action.

In addition to these incident related arrests, ICE states that two United States citizens were taken into custody by HSI for assaulting a federal officer, damaging a government vehicle, and obstruction, with the agency specifying that the United States Attorney’s Office has accepted prosecution of both cases, thereby confirming that federal criminal proceedings will move forward based on the actions described; these prosecutorial details appear within the agency’s release and are included here precisely as they were written.

The statement includes remarks from Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede, who asserts that the investigation targeted individuals and entities allegedly involved in human smuggling, and human trafficking derived from peonage, leading, according to him, to the shutdown of the restaurants involved in the scheme; Rede states that these enforcement actions “unequivocally disrupted” the criminal organization’s ability to exploit lawful labor and commercial systems, and he further warns those engaging in similar practices that “there will be more enforcement operations in Arizona,” which appears in the release as a forward looking declaration of federal intent.

The document also outlines the breadth of interagency cooperation, stating that the operation involved IRS Criminal Investigation, Enforcement and Removal Operations, United States Border Patrol, along with additional federal, state, and local partners; ICE describes the targeted criminal enterprise as using a family owned restaurant chain operating in Tucson, Sierra Vista, Green Valley, Casa Grande, and Apache Junction, and asserts that this single enforcement action has broken up that network’s operational capability, wording presented exactly as the agency issued it.

ICE concludes its statement by emphasizing that this remains an ongoing investigation, and that details therefore remain limited, while reaffirming the commitment of Department of Homeland Security and ICE Homeland Security Investigations to protect the homeland, uphold the rule of law, and defend the interests of American taxpayers; the Appalachian Post prints this account precisely as ICE documented it, relying solely on first hand federal language, with no speculation, no interpretive framing, and no expanded claims beyond what appears in the official release.

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Sources

• UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT — Official Press Release “Despite being attacked by rioters ICE Arizona and federal partners successfully arrest dozens illegal aliens in major Arizona operation targeting a transnational criminal organization” updated December 11th 2025