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Flagstaff council renews IGA with Arizona DPS for state gang task force amid questions over 'immigration intelligence' language
Summary
Council adopted Resolution 2025-15 renewing the city's participation in the Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (GEDM) state task force. Police officials said the Flagstaff officers assigned will focus on gang violence and not on immigration enforcement or employer verification.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Flagstaff City Council on April 15 adopted Resolution 2025-15 to renew an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Arizona Department of Public Safety to participate in the state Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission (GEDM) task force.
Flagstaff Police Deputy Chief Colin See told council the city has participated in GEDM since 1994 and plans to assign two detectives to the task force this summer after staffing increases. See said the IGA funds two positions at an estimated total cost to the city of about $230,000; the agreement is structured as a 75 percent reimbursement from the state (approximately $173,000).
Council members raised questions about the word "immigration" in the task force name and cited the IGA’s citation of Arizona Revised Statutes 23-214 and 41-4401, statutes that relate to employment verification processes. Council member House asked whether the task force would conduct employer verification or immigration enforcement. "The moniker is gang and immigration intelligence," See replied, "Many communities experience gang problems that are different than our community. ... We're not going to be doing immigration enforcement. We're not gonna be doing employer verification checks." See said Flagstaff will control its assigned officers and can withdraw them from the task force if the city objects to proposed activity.
Council members and police staff noted GEDM provides training and investigative resources that previously helped reduce violent gang activity in Flagstaff. See said the department withdrew from the unit in 2021 because of local staffing shortages and is now prepared to rejoin as staffing levels increase.
The council voted to adopt the resolution renewing the IGA. No roll-call vote tally by member was recorded in the public transcript; the clerk read the resolution by title, and the motion to adopt was made and seconded before a vote in favor was recorded.
