Arizona
Federal agents conduct money laundering and immigration raid at northern AZ BBQ chain
Immigration judges in Arizona accused of cooperating with ICE
Immigration judges are accused of cooperating with ICE to ramp up deportations in Arizona. Republic reporter Daniel Gonzalez explores the issue.
The husband and wife owners of the popular Colt Grill BBQ and Spirits restaurants in northern Arizona are accused of hiring and harboring undocumented immigrants to work at their restaurants through an elaborate scheme, according to federal prosecutors.
Robert and Brenda Clouston, both 61, were arrested after federal agents raided the restaurants and several residences in Yavapai County, and a Colt Grill restaurant in Foley, Alabama on July 15, federal prosecutors said.
Two others, Luis Pedro Rogel-Jaimes, 33, and Iris Romero-Molina, 29, also were indicted, federal prosecutors said.
Roger-Jaimes and Romero-Molina are undocumented immigrants from Mexico, federal prosecutors said.
Under the scheme, the four people created a cleaning business, R&R AZ Cleaning, that was used to find undocumented immigrants to work at the restaurants, according to federal prosecutors.
The unauthorized workers were paid through the cleaning business with funds from the restaurants, federal prosecutors said.
The unauthorized workers were paid below minimum wage and were not compensated for overtime, federal prosecutors said.
The Cloustons, Roger-Jaimes and Romero-Molina benefited financially from the plan and did not pay proper employment taxes for the workers, federal prosecutors said.
The Cloustons, Roger-Jaimes and Romero-Molina were indicted by a grand jury on charges of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens, conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to unlawfully enter the U.S., and a pattern and practice of knowingly employing unauthorized aliens, federal prosecutors said.
They face up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each of the conspiracy charges. They also face up to six months in prison and a $3,000 fine for each unauthorized employee for the pattern and practice charge, federal prosecutors said.
All four appeared in federal court in Phoenix on July 16, court records show. An arraignment hearing is set for July 21, court records show.
Several workers were also arrested on immigration violations as part of the raid, federal prosecutors said.
The arrests culminated a three-year investigation by federal and local law enforcement agencies led by Homeland Security Investigations, a division of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Timothy Courchaine, the U.S. Attorney for the district of Arizona, said in a written statement.
The Cloustons operated four Colt Grill restaurants in Arizona, including Old Town Cottonwood, on Whiskey Row in downtown Prescott, in Prescott Valley and the village of Oak Creek in Sedona, according to the indictment.
The couple also operated a Colt Grill in Foley, AL.
Under federal law, employers are required to verify employees are authorized to legally work in the U.S. by completing I-9 forms, the indictment said.
In addition, under Arizona law, employers are required to use the federal government’s E-Verify electronic verification system to check the employment status of workers, the indictment said.
From at least Nov. 2021, Robert Clouston knew that Arizona state law required Colt Grill to pay time and a half for any work over 40 hours per week, the indictment said.
Clouston told a manager not to be concerned with receiving the required paperwork to properly calculate pay, taxes and workers’ compensation for some newly hired employees, stating those were “Pedro’s people,” the indictment said.
“Pedro” would bring workers up from Mexico and, on at least one occasion, was seen handing Rogel-Jaimes cash while allegedly discussing bringing more workers from Mexico, the indictment said.
In 2022, Robert Clouston instructed two managers at the Colt Grill restaurant in Sedona to fire U.S. citizen employees to create openings for undocumented workers from Mexico “for the purpose of having less expensive labor costs,” the indictment said.
Clouston leased several houses in Prescott, Prescott Valley and Cottonwood where undocumented workers who worked for his restaurants lived, the indictment said.
The case is part of the Trump administration’s Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative to “repel the invasion of illegal immigration,” eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations and “protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Arizona statement said.
Several local police departments assisted with scene security and ensuring public safety while the warrants were executed, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said.
Photos posted on Facebook showed an armored vehicle and armed law enforcement personnel in military-style garb outside one of the Colt Grill locations.
A video posted on Instagram showed a woman who identified herself as Ximena crying outside the Colt Grill restaurant in Sedona, saying her father had just been arrested by ICE as part of the raid.
“My dad used to work here at Colt Grill. ICE just randomly came and they took him. He didn’t do anything. He didn’t have no criminal record. They just showed up and they want to take him to Phoenix,” she says. “He was the one who brought everything to the house. I don’t know what I am going to do without him.”
Colt Grill is a small group of BBQ restaurants with locations in Old Town Cottonwood, Prescott Valley, downtown Prescott, the village of Oak Creek, Sedona and downtown Foley, Alabama, according to the Colt Grill website.
“We are female-owned, family-run, and believe in the value of hard work, personal responsibility, and perseverance,” the website says.
No one answered the phone at any of the Colt Grill locations. A voice recording said the system had reached capacity and directed callers to the Colt Grill website.
Republic reporter Richard Ruelas contributed to this article.
Arizona
2026 NFL draft: 3 potential trades back from No. 3 for Arizona Cardinals
Since the Arizona Cardinals want to trade back from the No. 3 picks, here are three deals that could work.
The Arizona Cardinals have the third pick in the 2026 NFL draft, which begins this week on Thursday. All the reports coming out are saying that they want to trade out of the pick to acquire more draft picks.
But what does a trade look like and who could be involved?
The Kansas City Chiefs are involved in talks at some level. ESPN’s Adam Schefter expects trade talks to heat up this week.
NFL teams use a variation of a trade value chart when it comes to draft picks. Now, what a team actually is willing to give up can be influenced by potential competition with other teams, but we can’t count on that.
Here is the general trade value chart teams use.
Here are some potential deals that could be done.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have two first-round picks, which would be appealing to the Cardinals, who reportedly want to make a move for quarterback Ty Simpson, and the 29th pick might be just the spot to get him.
The third overall pick is worth 514 points.
The Chiefs’ picks at No. 9 (387 points) and No. 29 (202 points) together are worth 589.
To make up the difference, the Cardinals could give up No. 65 (78 points) for a total of 592 points.
One deal could be:
- Cardinals receive get No. 9 and No. 29 (589 points)
- Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 65 (592 points)
Another could be:
- Cardinals receive No. 9, No. 29, No. 74 and 2027 third-round pick (653 points + value of future third-round pick, which is 36-78 points)
- Chiefs receive No. 3 and No. 34 (689 points)
The Cardinals keep their third-round pick and the Chiefs essentially move back five spots from No. 29.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys have the 12th and 20th picks but no pick in the second round.
Pick No. 12 is 347 points and No. 20 is 269 for a total of 616.
This deal is close:
- Cardinals receive No. 12, No. 20 (616 points)
- Cowboys receive No. 3, No. 65 (592 points)
New Orleans Saints
The Saints are perhaps a dark horse to move up, although they do not have two first-round picks. They have the No. 8 pick, worth 406 points. Their second-round pick, at No. 42, is worth 142 points.
This deal could work:
- Cardinals receive No. 8, No. 42 (548 points)
- Saints receive No. 3, No. 104 (547 points)
Then the Cardinals could use their two second-round picks to then move back into Round 1 to get Ty Simpson.
They could trade No. 34, No. 42 and No. 65 (395 points) for No. 28, No. 38 and No. 106 (398 total points).
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
Arizona
Dust returns to Phoenix area after hazy weekend – KTAR.com
PHOENIX — Breezy winds kicked up a blanket of dust across the Valley on Sunday, and forecasters say more is on the way this week.
Visibility in Phoenix became so bad on Sunday that Sky Harbor airport stopped flights for over an hour
The wind and dust peaked Sunday afternoon and gradually improved into the evening, said Michael Graves, an air quality meteorologist with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
“You might’ve seen the mountains a bit obscured in the distance,” Graves told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday. “A lot of haze in the air.”
By Monday morning, skies had largely cleared and dust levels near the ground had dropped significantly.
Expect more gusty, dusty days this week
The relief may be short-lived.
ADEQ is watching for increased afternoon breezes Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, this time from the west and southwest. Though the winds are expected to be weaker than Sunday’s, Graves said forecasters cannot rule out dust.
“I wouldn’t say windstorm,” Graves said. “I would just say we’ve got some waves coming in. They’re going to increase our afternoon breeziness.”
It’s enough to kick up dry, exposed dirt, which could create pockets of dust. There is a slight chance of broader regional dust transport, Graves said.
It will impact people with asthma, COPD or respiratory conditions the most. Graves advised those with issues to monitor conditions and stay indoors during the dustiest hours.
“If you’re going to be outside, be outside during the times when it’s less dusty or hazy,” Graves said.
Graves noted that spring weather systems typically pass to the north of the Phoenix area, delivering wind and slight temperature drops but little to no rain, a pattern likely to continue.
KTAR News reporter Kellen Shover contributed to this report.
Arizona
Trying to beat the heat: Addressing rising temperatures in Southern Arizona
The University of Arizona and Tucson are known for yearlong warm weather, but when is it too much? With temperature reaching record highs in March, the city of Tucson has already reported increased temperatures for this year.
In the wake of the third annual Southern Arizona Heat Summit, integrating voices throughout the City of Tucson, community stakeholders and experts from UA gather to speak about possible solutions and policies to address rising temperatures and extreme heat.
The summit strives to ensure that the lived experiences of Southern Arizona residents are voiced. The first summit commenced in 2024, in response to the declaration of an extreme heat emergency in Arizona by Gov. Katie Hobbs, as part of a larger plan called Arizona’s Extreme Heat Response Plan.
With representation from organizations such as the American Red Cross, the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, Arizona Jobs with Justice, Tucson Indian Center and many more, the summit emphasized the importance of the perspective and concerns of stakeholder groups throughout the community.
The summit included a variety of UA experts, including faculty representing the School of Geography, Development and Environment; the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy; the Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture.
One particular project, led by Ladd Keith at the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning, is a part of the Southwest Urban Corridor Integrated Field Laboratory, which is funded by the United States’ Department of Energy to explore extreme heat throughout Arizona. SW-IFL works in collaboration with other national laboratories including those at ASU and NAU.
The team works to analyze extreme heat in the southwest and rural areas, and how communities deal with heat by conducting interviews. The team has also prescribed policy to Pima County and the City of Tucson regarding more effective strategies to combat rising temperatures, such as green stormwater infrastructure.
Anne-Lise Boyer, a post-doctoral researcher with the Climate Assessment for the Southwest, shared that the team particularly analyzed extreme heat in three parts: heat mitigation, heat management and heat governance.
Mitigation deals with prevention through strategies such as green infrastructure and planting trees, while management includes cooling sensors and heat warning systems. Governance allows these measures to be enacted through policy.
In Tucson, some of the most meaningful work the team has engaged in has been drafting the City of Tucson’s Heat Action Roadmap in 2024, which outlines goals to mitigate and mandate extreme heat and its impacts while prioritizing community voices.
The goals of the roadmap include informing and educating citizens of Tucson on the adverse effects of extreme heat and cooling people’s homes and neighborhoods by incorporating heat risk in regional planning. These steps are essential to practicing heat management, especially as the city of Tucson grows.
“I think the most interesting thing about being based in Tucson is that because the heat has been here for a long time, it’s like a laboratory in itself,” Boyer said. “We have all this research and all this collaboration happening with local actors because it’s a pressing issue in Arizona.”
As the annual heat summit recurs, new ideas and perspectives continue to be shared throughout the community. Boyer shared that this year, the Southern Arizona Heat Summit focused on the youth perspective, highlighting middle school and high school students and how heat impacts their everyday lives. Many students spoke about how heat shaped their lives at home, school and sports.
“That’s one of the goals, to have community members participate and give their input in how they wish the city will deal with the heat,” Boyer said.
Boyer and Kirsten Lake, a program coordinator for the SW-IFL team, also shared how the impacts of extreme heat impact some neighborhoods and communities in Tucson more than others, and that their research often evaluates these factors to determine where heat management efforts would make the greatest impact.
“Its important when you’re putting into effect some of these measures, that you make sure you put it where it’s going to make the biggest difference,” Lake said.
The work of the SW-IFL team is not just locally known. The Brookhaven National Lab based in New York deployed a specialized truck to Tucson to collect information on the atmosphere and rising temperatures. The SW-IFL team hosted the Brookhaven team.
Additionally, Keith’s work has led to a guidebook called “Planning for Urban Heat Resilience” which focuses on the adverse effects extreme heat poses to marginalized communities across the country.
“It is so different from place to place and neighborhood to neighborhood because you have to take the whole context into account,” Boyer said. “They recommend first to document the heat impacts in your communities.”
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