An Intro to Homeland Security, the Florence Project

Our busy day continued with a meeting with Chad Plantz, the Deputy Special Agent in Tucson for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). HSI is one of three directorates within US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and they are separate from the directorate that we are most familiar with, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). HSI is the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security; their role is to investigate cross-border criminal activity. In Arizona, their main areas of focus are human trafficking and smuggling, narcotics and weapons trafficking, and money laundering and financial crimes. Many of us were surprised to learn that weapons are trafficked from the US to Mexico, mainly for use by the cartels, because Mexico possesses strict gun laws.

We returned to Borderlinks for a presentation from Leah Bishop, the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Florence Project. The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project is the only organization in Arizona that provides free legal and social services to detained men, women, and children under threat of deportation. On any given day, over 5,000 immigrant men, women, and unaccompanied minors are detained in Arizona. Detainees include asylum seekers, children who have been abused or abandoned, adults facing threats or persecution, victims of domestic or gang violence, and LGBTQ individuals. Detained immigrants do not have the right to representation. 90-95% of detainees represent themselves in Arizona, and only 6% of detainees are successful in their asylum requests. The Florence Project provides education so that adults can better represent themselves and pro bono representation for some.