The U.S. government wired $70 million to purchase a massive warehouse to house detained immigrants in Surprise, Arizona — without telling the mayor, the city council, or a single one of the 80,000 people who lived there. No announcement. No environmental review. No community input. Just a done deal.

In this episode of The Raid, investigative journalist John Carlos Frey unpacks how the secret purchase unfolded, who pushed back — and what happened when residents realized their own city council wasn't going to fight for them.

This is the story of Surprise, Arizona. And it could be the story of your town next.

https://theraidpodcast.org/

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/ice-buys-warehouses-immigration-detention/

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/dhs-reveals-surprise-warehouse-turned-ice-detention-facility-part-38b-plan

https://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/041826_surprise_ice_warehouse/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

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Host John Carlos Frey sits down with Lilian Serrano, Director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, for a powerful conversation about what's really happening along the U.S.-Mexico border — and what it means for the entire country.

Lillian grew up between Tijuana and San Diego across four generations, and has spent over a decade fighting for human rights and accountability in border enforcement. In this episode, she exposes how racial profiling, Constitutional violations, and unchecked use of force — long normalized in border communities — are now spreading to cities across America.

They discuss the staggering $240 billion in federal funding handed to ICE and Border Patrol with little to no oversight, the gutting of DHS civil rights offices, the militarization of public lands along the border, and what communities can do to fight back. This is not an episode you can afford to tune out.

https://www.southernborder.org/

https://theraidpodcast.org/

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

He was born in the United States. He has a Real ID, a Social Security number and a birth certificate. ICE detained him three times in less than one year.

Leonardo Garcia Venegas is a 26-year-old construction worker from Baldwin County, Alabama. In May 2025, ICE agents raided a private job site, tackled him to the ground, and held him in handcuffs for over an hour — ignoring his proof of citizenship. Two weeks later, different agents made the same assumption at a different construction site. Then in May 2026 — while he was the lead plaintiff in an active federal lawsuit challenging these exact tactics — agents pulled him from his truck in front of his own house and shackled him.

In this episode of The Raid, investigative journalist John Carlos Frey traces the full story: from the first raid to the federal courthouse to the morning they came back again.

https://theraidpodcast.org/

https://www.newsweek.com/how-ice-agents-detained-one-us-citizen-three-times-11928213

https://abcnews.com/US/lawyer-us-born-citizen-detained-ice-disputes-interfering/story?id=126162608

https://ij.org/case/alabama-construction-site-raids

Disclaimer:

The statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants on this program are solely their own and do not necessarily represent those of the distributor of the program and any person or entity affiliated with said distributor ("distributor's affiliates"). The distributor and distributor's affiliates are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for, the statements and opinions expressed by the host or participants, or for any content that appears on the program.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.