Zipps Sports Grill locations reopen following ICE raids
(previous report): Zipps Sports Grill Tempe location reopens after raids
FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez reports.
TEMPE, Ariz. - Three Zipps Sports Grills have reopened just days after federal agents served more than a dozen search warrants at locations across the Valley.
Local perspective:
Zipps Sports Grill in Tempe, located near McClintock Drive and Warner Road, reopened at 11 a.m. on Jan. 28, the company announced.
On Thursday, the following locations also were reopened at 11 a.m.: Zipps Citadelle, located near 59th Avenue and Utopia Road, and Zipps Camelback, located near Camelback and Miller Roads in Scottsdale.
"We are working on getting additional locations open in the coming days, and will announce as we know more," Zipps Sports Grill said in a statement.
The backstory:
On Monday, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) served the warrants at 14 Zipps locations around the Valley, and Goldie's Sports Cafe in Scottsdale.
"The search warrants were authorized based on information presented to a federal judge and are being executed as part of a criminal investigation into felony violations of federal law," the United States Attorney's Office District of Arizona said.
The 14 Zipps locations in the Valley include five restaurants in Phoenix, four in Scottsdale, two in Tempe and one each in Gilbert and Glendale.
Map of Zipps Sports Grill and Goldie's Sports Cafe locations in the Valley.
Dig deeper:
On Jan. 28, Homeland Security officials confirmed with FOX 10 that dozens of undocumented immigrants were arrested as part of the investigation.
"ICE HSI Arizona led the execution of over a dozen criminal federal search warrants at multiple Zipps Grille restaurants, resulting in the arrest of more than 35 illegal aliens. This ongoing investigation is focused on several federal law violations including unlawful employment of aliens, identity theft, and document fraud. HSI Arizona conducted the operation with several law enforcement partners to include the IRS-CI, ERO, US Marshals and Border Patrol."
Homeland Security statement on Zipps Sports Grill ICE raids in the Valley.
‘We are cooperating fully’
On Tuesday, Zipps released a statement on the raids, saying that they are cooperating with law enforcement.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered from Instagram posts by Zipps Sports Grill, a statement from Homeland Security and a previous FOX 10 report on Jan. 27.