Video shows Arizona protestors against mass deportations destroying police cars as hundreds join immigrant rights march

The recent protests that erupted in Arizona show the increased tensions regarding immigration policies propagated by President Donald Trump and his agency's mass deportation push. Among the nationwide protests against immigration enforcement policies were two big ones held on February 2 and 3, 2025, in Phoenix and Glendale.

The protests were organized as part of the "Day Without Immigrants" movement.

Glendale Protest: More than 1,000 protesters assembled at the intersection of 67th Avenue and Camelback Road, according to Fox 10. The protest turned violent, and protesters smashed police cars and clashed with police.

In the course of the protest, a police car was hijacked but was recovered shortly afterward. Protesters hurled bombs, rocks, and bottles at police officers, making the situation worse.

One X (formerly Twitter) user shared the now-viral video highlighting the urgency of the situation. The caption read:

"Absolute mayhem and chaos as anti-ICE protesters in Phoenix, Arizona steal a police car and then continue to stomp on and destroy several others."

Phoenix Protests: After the Glendale disturbances, protests extended to downtown Phoenix. Protesters marched close to the Phoenix Art Museum and then close to the Arizona State Capitol, obstructing traffic at multiple points.

Demonstrators voiced their grievances by yelling slogans such as "No more ICE" and telling stories about their own experiences with immigrant parents. One of the protesters stated to Fox 10:

"My parents came here 23 years ago, and I think we have the right to be here because they pay their taxes. They are the most incredible human beings on earth, and I really think that we all deserve an opportunity because we do everything right, and we love it. People love our culture."

Stan Kephart, an ex-police chief in Arizona, and an expert on crowd control tactics, strongly criticized the reaction of the law enforcement towards recent protests in Glendale.

During an interview with 12News, Kephart called the scenes of the protest intersections "careless and reckless." He maintained that the criminal acts that took place during such protests need to be dealt with strictly and added:

"It is a crime. It has to be stopped."

"Law enforcement should have taken the appropriate action immediately. By not stopping this, by not confronting it, arresting or dispersing those people, they emboldened them to continue to violate the law. That's when it escalated into felonies being committed," Kephart added.

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Background of Arizona protests

The current background and context of the Arizona mass deportation protests are directly connected to broader immigration policies recently advanced by former President Donald Trump under his Project 2025.

Immigration policies reinstated by President Trump since the conclusion of his presidential campaign

Since his campaign for re-election Trump reintroduced immigration regulations comparable to those from his previous term in office. He is concentrating his efforts on implementing border control, increasing the efficiency of deportation.

The core aspects of this approach include:

Mass deportations: Trump pledged to establish what he referred to as the "largest deportation program in American history."

The Leadership Conference Education Fund notes that this would include using military assets and expanding expedited removal procedures, thus ensuring more expeditious removal without judicial review.

Border security measures: Project 2025 highlights the border wall completion, which marked the first year of Trump's presidency. It involves increasing the number of physical barriers on the southern border and increasing military forces to discourage illegal crossing.

Shift in asylum policies: Raising the bars for asylum seekers would mean drastic limitations in protection access for victims of violence or persecution, according to the Leadership Conference Education Fund, among Trump's proposals.

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Overview of the Project 2025

Project 2025 is a comprehensive policy initiative developed by conservative think tanks, including the Heritage Foundation. It aims to consolidate authority within the executive branch and speed up changes in the regulatory sphere in all areas, particularly immigration.

The project includes several key proposals that would reorganize and transform immigration enforcement:

Increased detention capacity: The proposal reportedly includes a far more than doubling of the people in detention with an order of removal–– meaning that as many as 100,000 immigrants could be in detention at any given time.

Scrapping safe programs: Project 2025 would also rescind TPS designations and other forms of relief programs that have protected vulnerable populations, such as Dreamers and victims of violence.

Militarization of immigration enforcement: The proposal suggests the use of military personnel in border enforcement operations and expanding the role of local law enforcement in immigration matters.