Four day laborers were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside a central Phoenix Home Depot on Sunday morning, according to several immigration activists. The raid comes after reports of increased ICE activity in the metro area.
According to Sal Reza, a longtime immigration activist, the jornaleros — the day laborers who hang around home improvement stores looking for work, and who are sometimes undocumented — ran when ICE was spotted in the parking lot at 36th Street and Thomas Road. Still, four people were detained at the Arcadia-area Home Depot, including a 63-year-old man who goes by “Fernando,” according to immigration activists Ricardo Reyes and Raquel Terán.
“Fernando” has been a day laborer in the Valley for more than 30 years, Terán said in a video posted on Instagram. His wife, who is a U.S. citizen, showed up at the site after her partner of 19 years was already taken away by agents…