Standing Together: Resisting Mass Deportation in Arizona

The ACLU of Arizona and LUCHA Arizona hosted a panel to discuss the impacts of the state and federal mass deportation agenda. Watch the recap and take action.

April 4, 2025 - 4:45pm

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Take action: Send a message to Governor Hobbs asking her to veto ALL anti-immigrant bills that are sent to her desk.

Trump’s mass deportation agenda has oversaturated the news. His administration is pushing the moral and legal bounds of our country to expedite deportations, disregarding people’s rights and humanity in the process. At the same time, the Arizona state legislature is advancing several bills that would force our state to do the anti-immigrant bidding of the federal government, use state resources to fuel the mass deportation machine, incentivize police to prioritize immigration enforcement over public safety, and more.

For many of us who know, love, and live alongside undocumented people, it can be difficult to shift from fear and overwhelm towards resistance and action. But there are still checks and balances we can activate to protect our communities at the state and local level. That's why the ACLU of Arizona, LUCHA, Representative Brian Garcia, Senator Catherine Miranda, and journalist John Washington came together on March 31, 2025 in south Phoenix to discuss the real impact that national and state-level attacks have on Arizona, and how community members can stay informed and get involved.

Moderated by ACLU of Arizona Executive Director Victoria López, panelists shared personal stories, policy analysis, and movement efforts to fight for immigrants’ rights. This panel discussion included live interpretation in Spanish and was followed with a Q&A session.

About the Panelists

Victoria López, ACLU of Arizona Executive Director

Victoria López is the Executive Director at the ACLU of Arizona. She was previously the Director of Program and Strategy at the ACLU of Arizona where she led multi disciplinary programs, issue-based campaigns and projects, electoral strategy, and strategic planning. Throughout her time at the ACLU of Arizona, she has worked in various roles including legal director and staff attorney, serving as co-counsel in landmark cases, Melendres v. Sheridan, Jensen v. Thornell, as well as litigation challenging Arizona’s notorious SB 1070, and cases addressing abortion access, free speech, and voting rights. She was previously a senior staff attorney at the ACLU National Prison Project. She began practicing removal defense at the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project as an Equal Justice Works fellow, and then served as a staff attorney and executive director. Originally from Chicago, Victoria has called Arizona home for over 20 years. She holds a B.A. from the University of Illinois Champaign and is a 2001 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Senator Catherine Miranda, Legislative District 11

Senator Catherine Miranda represents Arizona Legislative District 11, where she champions Latino/Hispanic issues daily. Catherine is the Ranking member of the Border Security committee and sits on the Rules and Education Committee. Senator Miranda's priorities are immigration and homelessness (with a special focus on undocumented students). Catherine is optimistic that the critical issues facing Arizona can be addressed if we focus on priorities and reject partisan distraction. That is why, when needed, she is not afraid to confront others across the aisle in order to achieve results. Senator Miranda has become the beacon of education in the state. Prior to her legislative career, Catherine enjoyed her career as a teacher, which instilled in her the need to fight for the education rights of children in Arizona, especially of those in low-income communities. She is committed to improving the current level of education in Arizona. In fact, the Senator was co-founder of the Manzana Foundation which helped undocumented students prepare for college. Catherine's passion in education has given undocumented students an opportunity to continue their education at an affordable price through a partnership between the Manzana Foundation and the Navajo Technical College a few years back.

Representative Brian Garcia, Legislative District 8

Brian Garcia (Pascua Yaqui) is a Representative for the Arizona House of Representatives from District 8. Brian was born and raised in Arizona by parents from El Salvador and Mexico. Brian has held roles with the U.S. House of Representatives, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the Arizona Secretary of State, and the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. More recently, he worked at All Voting is Local where he managed special projects around democracy defense, election legal issues, and pro-voter advocacy. Brian holds a Bachelor in Global Studies, a Master of Legal Studies, and a Juris Doctor of Law (Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law) from Arizona State University. In his spare time, Brian enjoys vocal jazz, triathlons, increasing civic engagement, and sharing Arizona fun facts.

Gina Mendez speaking into a microphone wearing a LUCHA blue shirt.

Gina Mendez, LUCHA Organizing Director

Gina Mendez is a first generation Chicana. Her family moved in 2004 from San Jose, California to Arizona to find work. In 2006, Gina was part of Arizona’s first student walkouts at Cesar Chavez High School, joining students across the country to protest the discriminatory anti-immigration bill, HR4437. This was her introduction to movement work.

Her organizing journey began when she volunteered for economic justice for the Fight for 15 campaign. Since 2016, she has led Civic Engagement and Youth organizers at ACE & LUCHA. She is currently the statewide Field Director with the VOTEria AZ Campaign. Oppression is real and so is the fight within our communities. Our people are resilient, and so are our ancestors, Gina’s work is about survival and the fight for liberation for our people to exist.

John Washington, Journalist and Author

John Washington, a staff writer for Arizona Luminaria, is an award-winning journalist and translator. He has published two books: The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum at the US-Mexico Border and Beyond and, most recently, The Case for Open Borders. He has also written for The Atlantic, New York Times, and is a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books. He covers the border and immigration, as well as jails, prisons, the environment and more.

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