Phoenix is poised to take one of its most assertive stances yet against federal immigration enforcement, with a City Council vote scheduled for March 25th on a framework that would layer local oversight onto ICE operations and give residents a formal channel to report potential civil rights violations by federal agents.
The Community Transparency Initiative, released in draft form Friday, was first authorized by the council in February amid growing community anxiety over immigration enforcement actions in city neighborhoods. The plan addresses that anxiety through three main mechanisms: a resident complaint portal, expanded police investigative capacity, and restrictions on how federal agents can use city-owned property.
Under the proposal, residents could submit complaints about federal immigration enforcement through a multilingual platform called Sivil, operated by the city’s Office of Accountability and Transparency. Two additional detectives would be added to the Phoenix Police Department’s Special Investigations Detail specifically to review those complaints and determine whether any state or local laws were broken. Cases with sufficient evidence would be referred to an appropriate charging agency, while civil rights allegations would be forwarded to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office — with a formal memorandum of understanding to be developed between the city and the AG if the initiative passes.
City officials acknowledged that criminal prosecution in such cases would be rare, but said the data collected would be valuable groundwork for potential civil litigation down the road.
The property restriction component is perhaps the most direct challenge to federal authority in the proposal. It would prohibit ICE from using city-owned or city-controlled spaces as staging areas, processing locations or operational bases for civil immigration enforcement — unless explicitly approved by the City Manager or a designated representative. Those restrictions would sunset in 2029.
The initiative also calls for detailed tracking of city resources consumed during encounters with federal enforcement, including staff time, first responder activity and specific incident types. Guidelines, training videos and staff scripts have already been prepared for city employees who may find themselves interacting with federal agents in the field.
The council has already committed $1 million to outside legal counsel on matters related to federal actions affecting the city. The vote is set for 2:30 p.m. on March 25th.
