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
NAU launches first-of-its-kind engineering degree to fast-track Arizona’s future workforce – The NAU Review
As Arizona’s semiconductor and advanced manufacturing industries continue to grow at a rapid pace, Northern Arizona University’s Steve Sanghi College of Engineering is launching a new degree program designed to help meet the state’s workforce needs.
Beginning this fall, NAU will offer a Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology, a flexible, workforce-focused degree pathway that prepares students for careers in microelectronics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing in as little as three years. The 90-credit bachelor’s degree creates a more accessible pathway into engineering careers through a hands-on, applied curriculum and a streamlined transfer model with Arizona community colleges.
The program follows a 45-45 completion structure, allowing students to complete 45 credits at a community college and 45 credits through NAU. Courses will be delivered through synchronous remote instruction at NAU’s North Valley campus in Phoenix and at Pima Community College in Tucson, increasing access for statewide students.
Addressing Arizona’s growing semiconductor workforce
Designed with workforce readiness in mind, the program emphasizes practical engineering application, systems implementation, testing, quality control, systems analysis, manufacturing, fabrication, process control and project management. Students will gain technical and problem-solving skills aligned with the needs of Arizona’s rapidly evolving manufacturing economy.
“This new bachelor’s degree empowers students to identify real-world engineering challenges and develop practical solutions,” said James Palmer, associate dean for academic affairs at the Steve Sanghi College of Engineering. “We are creating a more accessible pathway into engineering careers while preparing graduates to support Arizona’s growing microelectronics and semiconductor industry.”
Arizona has emerged as one of the nation’s fastest-growing semiconductor hubs, with more than $200 billion in semiconductor-related investments announced in the Greater Phoenix region since 2020, including expansions from Intel, TSMC and Amkor Technology. TSMC alone has committed up to $165 billion toward Arizona operations, including multiple fabrication plants and advanced packaging facilities expected to create thousands of technical and manufacturing jobs.
Industry demand continues to grow for professionals with applied engineering and advanced manufacturing skills in areas such as process engineering, manufacturing systems, equipment operations and yield enhancement. NAU’s new degree program was developed to help students quickly enter these high-demand career fields while supporting Arizona’s long-term economic growth and domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
The program also aligns with NAU’s strategic commitment to expanding access to affordable, student-centered educational opportunities that prepare graduates for meaningful careers and long-term success.
Students interested in learning more about the Bachelor of Professional Studies in Engineering Technology program should contact SCE@nau.edu.
PHOENIX (AP) — The two Republican congressmen running for Arizona governor pitched themselves at a debate Wednesday as the only candidate with broad enough voter appeal to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs amid the state’s affordability struggles.
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who is the GOP primary’s frontrunner and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, portrayed himself as being able to cross party lines and having the right experience to be the state’s chief executive.
“There’s not a doubt in my mind, if you look at the polling data that you’re going to find, I am the most competitive with Katie Hobbs of anybody on this stage in any Republican in the state,” Biggs said.
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who has survived three tough Democratic challenges in recent years, believes his focus on government finances and his drive to bring new business to the state make him the singular Republican candidate.
“These are wonderful people, but they’ve never actually been in the great battle,” Schweikert said of Biggs and two other Republican opponents.
Businessman Scott Neely, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, said after the debate that if Biggs wins the primary, Republicans will lose the election.
The winner of the July 21 primary will face Hobbs, who’s running unopposed in the primary.
Biggs has served five terms in the U.S. House, representing a heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs and serving at one time as chairman of the ultra-right U.S. House Freedom Caucus.
Before that, Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature from 2003 through 2016, including four years as president of the state Senate. He battled with then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on a Medicaid expansion in 2013 and pushed school choice measures and bills targeting abortion providers.
Biggs is one of Trump’s top defenders in Congress and supported Trump’s false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
Schweikert, a budget hawk known for railing against government debt, has represented an affluent district that includes parts of northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight terms. He served in the Arizona House in the 1990s and as Maricopa County’s treasurer in the 2000s.
Schweikert has focused his congressional career on sounding the alarm about the federal budget deficit and the ballooning U.S. debt, often in late-night speeches to a nearly empty House chamber and bleary-eyed C-SPAN viewers. Schweikert has praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts but has called for more spending cuts to reduce federal borrowing.
His reputation was tarnished by ethics scandals. In 2022, he received a $125,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years prior, he agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. In his last three general campaigns for Congress, Schweikert staved off challenges from Democrats. Biggs voiced support for Arizona’s recent passage of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for new data centers – a move Hobbs also has touted. “They shouldn’t be given a break,” Biggs said, noting the large amounts of power and water that data centers use.
Schweikert bemoaned Arizona’s unfavorable affordability rankings as “pretty miserable,” but said consumer prices don’t come down magically. He vowed to aggressively recruit businesses to Arizona and push for wage growth.
Both congressmen were asked about the expired healthcare subsidies for those getting coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
“We’re going to have to deal with the reality of subsidization of everything in the economy is not going to work,” Schweikert said.
Biggs said he introduced legislation in Congress to bring down healthcare costs and also voiced support for Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit.
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