Ilo an ḷapḷọk jerbal in etale im lale ko an policeman ro ilo Springdale ekōṃṃan menin an ḷapḷọk an ro jān likin (immigrant) ro kalbuuj

Increased policing in Springdale leads to increased immigrant detentions 

Most immigration detentions reported by Arkansas State Police began as traffic violations | Arkansas GRITA (Written by: Elle Foster |Arkansas GRITA| February 12, 2026 Translated by: Chikin Melele)

Enañin aolepān ri likin rein rej kalbuuj er ej itok wōt jān aer jab ḷoori kakien ko iloan ial ko ilo aer ettōr, ekkar ñan ripoot in an State police eo ilo Arkansas.

Most immigration detentions reported by Arkansas State Police began as traffic violations.

Ilo an ḷapḷọk im lōñḷọk policeman ro kio ilo Springdale Arkansas ekōṃṃan bwe ro ilo jukjukin pād eo ren bwe ilo aer kauwōtata im ekkōl ñe renaaj kōrọọl er ñan laḷ ko aer akō ijoko jikier. 

A significant presence of Arkansas State Police officers in Springdale this week could put community members at risk for deportation. 

Ro uwaan doulul ko ilo jukjukin pād eo raar kwaḷọk aer kajjitōk kōn wāwein in ilo an ḷapḷọk jerbal ko an policeman ro im lōñ ḷọk wōt ro uwaer ro rej waje juon iaan jikin kein ijin ilo wiik eo kiiō ilo kabbe ko jān (ASP) ak Arkansas State Police eo ekkar ñan enaan ko an Chief Wright. Jerbal kein raar bebe kake jān jeṃḷọkin iiō eo ḷọk. 

Community groups raised questions about operational intent after a significantly increased police patrols increased for a time in one area this week with the assistance of ASP. According to Chief Wright, the operation has been planned since late last year.

(ASP) Arkansas State Police eo eaar jino jerbal ko aer ilo Springdale ilo Juje, Feb. 10 raan eo. Springdale police Chief Derek Wright eaar ba ilo Wōnje eo ilo juon an email ḷọk ñan ri tōl rein an jukjukin pād eo im kar leḷọk jān Arkansas GRITA eo bwe (SPD) ak department eo an police Ilo Springdale kiiō ej kōṃṃane juon jerbal eḷap ñan “plan in patrol” e jikin in. 

Arkansas State Police (ASP) presence in Springdale beginning on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Springdale Police Chief Derek Wright said in a Wednesday email to community leaders, obtained by Arkansas GRITA, that Springdale Police Department (SPD) is conducting “a planned saturation patrol.”

Kōnono ko relōñ ko an armej ro ijin ilo Facebook ICE watch group ko rar kwaḷọk an lōñḷọk state trooper im waan policeman ko ejjeḷọk kōkōlle ie,  ko im rej patrol e highway kein ilo Springdale, ej juon jikin ilo Arkansas eo elōñ kajojo ri laḷ ko rej jokwe ie.

Multiple posts on a local Facebook ICE Watch group reported an increase in state troopers and unmarked police vehicles on major state highways in Springdale, one of the most diverse cities in Arkansas.

Department eo an police (SPD) eo rej er eo im rej kōṃṃane jerbal in patrol kein ko im “ejjab ñan kōṃṃane jerbal in etale ri likin im lale ta status ko aer ilo iien aṃ kabōjrak er ak kōnono ippāer”, Wright eaar ba. Eaar barāinwōt ba bwe iien patrol kein an policeman rein ej ñan “kabbōk ri nana ro im rej koot/wiakake armej im wiakake drug ak uno ko rekajoor; abṇōṇō ko kōn ro enana aer ettōr im rej kaium (speeding) lowan ial ko, im kabbōk group in armej ro rej kōṃṃan jorrāān”. 

SPD is the lead agency on the saturation patrol and “are not investigating immigration status on our stops or contacts,” Wright said. He said that the patrol is targeting “issues like human and drug trafficking; traffic related complaints like reckless driving, impaired driving, and speeding; and transnational organized crime groups.”

Akō elōñ wōt iaan policeman ro an State in eṃōj kamaroñ aer kōṃṃan jerbal ko aer iuṃwin 287(g) partnership eo ippān ra eo an Homeland Security. ASP ako Arkansas State Police eo ej jerbal im bōk kuṇaan iuṃwin jerbal ko eṃōj karōki jān Task Force eo, eo ej kōmālim an ro eṃōj aer bōk training ak katak ko kōn jerbal in kōjparok aenōṃṃan, bwe ren barāinwōt kōṃṃani jerbal ko an ICE āinwōt kabōjrak traffic im kōṃṃane jerbal in patrol ko ak ito-itak im lale melan ko, iuṃwin tōl im lajraak ko an ICE. Arkansas GRITA ej lo bwe policeman rein rej kōjerbal wāwein kein ñan kalbuuj kajojo armej, meñe ej jab waḷọk ke ewōr aer criminal record. 

But most ASP officers are deputized with immigration enforcement powers under a 287(g) partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. ASP participates under the Task Force Model, which allows trained local law enforcement officers to carry out immigration enforcement during routine policing activities, such as traffic stops or patrols, under ICE supervision. Arkansas GRITA has obtained evidence indicating that ASP uses routine traffic stops to detain individuals, regardless of their existing criminal record.

Riiti; Ta in 287(g) im ewi wāwein an jerbal ilo Arkansas? Read: What is 287(g) and how does it work in Arkansas?

Ilo kar allōñ eo ḷọk, director eo an ASP Col. Mike Hagar eaar jiroñḷọk ri kweiḷọk ro an kien eo ioḷap bwe ewōr 48 armej ro jān likin rej pād kiiō ilo jikin kalbuuj jān kar September eo, ro eṃōj lo ruweer ilo aer bōk kuṇaer ilo tain ej kōmelele kake ilo 287 (g) eo. Ke Sen. Terry Wright eaar kajjitōk ḷọk eḷaññe “rej bar diwōjḷọk im kabbōk armej ro eṃōj lo ruweer kōn men ko renana raar kōṃṃani” Hagar eaar uaak bwe ewōr ro uwaan trooper ro “rej jerbale menin ilo jiṃwe im jejjet in kōlmenḷọkjen iuṃwin kakien e.”

Last month, ASP director Col. Mike Hagartold state legislators that 48 people had been held on immigration detainers since September as a result of ASP’s 287(g) participation. When asked by Sen. Terry Wright if they were “going out and seeking more than people with criminal charges,” Hagar said that troopers are expected to “use good judgment and common sense discretion that they have under the law.”

Ro jān Washington County raar bōk kuṇaer ilo program in an 287 (g) jān 2007 tok ñan 2020 eo ālkin juon abṇōṇō eḷap jān ro uaan community eo ak jukjukin pād eo- āinwōt Consul General Eldon Alik im kar ri-jibadōk eo ñan city opij ilo tōre kani Irvin Camacho, ro im raar kwaḷọk aer jab errā ilo program in. Ilo kakien kein rekāāl, WCSO eṃōj an jaini juon kwon eo ekāāl ikijjien 287(g) in. https://fayettevilleflyer.com/2020/04/17/washington-county-sheriff-announces-suspension-of-287g-program/?ref=cms.arkansasgrita.com

Washington County participated in a 287(g) program from 2007 to 2020 after significant community pressure – notably Consul General Eldon Alik and a former candidate for city office, Irvin Camacho, had spoken out publicly against the program. Following the new state law, WCSO signed a new 287(g) memo of agreement. https://fayettevilleflyer.com/2020/04/17/washington-county-sheriff-announces-suspension-of-287g-program/?ref=cms.arkansasgrita.com

ASP ak Arkansas State Police kar leḷọk juon ripoot ñan ro uwaan Arkansas GRITA āinwōt kar kajjitōk lok kake iuṃwin wōt Freedom of Information Act eo, ej kwaḷọk im kemlet bwe jān rein 39 raar kalbuuj er jān September 15, 2025 eo 30 (ak 74%) rej waḷọk jān kabōjrak ko iloan ial ko. (Ripoot in ej kwaḷọk bwe jet iaan keij kein remaroñ ak remaroñ kar jab ekkar bwe ren kalbuuj er). Jet bar kakobaba ikijjien ripoot in jān FOIA, ej kwaḷọk ke juon iaan policeman rein, ilo text eo an ḷọk ñan ICE opija ro eaar kwaḷọk ḷọk kōn ta status eo an armej eo eaar kabōjrake kōn juon bwōd jidikdik ke “eaar ettōr wōt ilo left lane eo.” Kain kabōjrak rōt kein ikijjien traffic remaroñ kōṃṃan bwe ro rej pād ilo wa ko meñe rejjab ettōr remaroñ oktak im bōk er mekarta ejjeḷọk aer warrant im ejjeḷọk aer maroñ ñan kōṃṃakūt er.

A report provided to Arkansas GRITA by ASP via a Freedom of Information Act request shows that of 39 calls from ASP resulting in immigration detentions since September 15, 2025, 30 (or 74%) were categorized as traffic stops. (The report includes other calls that may or may not have resulted in detentions). Further, additional incident reports obtained via FOIA show at least one officer texting ICE officers about an individual’s status after stopping them for minor infractions including “driving continuously in the left lane.” Such traffic stops sometimes resulted in the detention of passengers even if the individual did not have a warrant or order of removal.

Juon iaan ripoot kein ej kwaḷọk an juon iaan Trooper rein an ASP kar kabōjrak juon emmaan in Guatemala kōn ke “signal eo an meñe ekar jerbal akō kōn ke ej kabōlbōl kōn meram mouj im jab bōrọro.” Lein ekkar ba ḷọk ñan trooper in ke ej jebadōkḷọk kōrā eo ippān ilo Denton Texas, mekarta trooper in ekkar text e ḷọk ICE ro bwe likao in ej jān Guatemala im eaar wōnṃaanḷọk wōt im bōk e im kalbuuji.

One report shows that an ASP trooper pulled a Guatemalan man over because his “turn signal that illuminated was white and not amber (red).” The man told police he was on his way to see his wife in Denton, Texas. But the trooper texted ICE the man’s Guatemalan identification and detained him.

Ilo Nōbemba (November) 2025, “light blue eo ej ebbōl iṃaan” juon wa truck ko ej kwaḷọk bwe elōñḷọk jān juon ri-kalbuuj iloan wa eo. 

In November 2025, “a steady illuminated blue light in the grill (front)” of a truck resulted in the detention of multiple passengers.

Jet raar bōk er ālkin an jorrāān wa ko waaer ilo tōrerein ial ko, ak ilo aer etetal itōrerein highway ko.

Others were detained after their vehicles broke down on the side of the road, or while walking on the side of the highway.

Arkansas GRITA opij eo eaar kwaḷọk im ripoot kōn jekjek kein ilo webjait eo aer. 

Arkansas GRITA has examples of incident reports on their website. Most immigration detentions reported by Arkansas State Police began as traffic violations | Arkansas GRITA

Ejjeḷọk juon iaan Arkansas State Police ro im Springdale Police Department eo raar uaak ke raar kajjitōkin er kōn ta kein rej bōk jikier. 

Neither Arkansas State Police nor Springdale Police Department responded to multiple requests for comment.

Arkansas Alliance for Immigration Respect ako (AIRE) opij eo kar likūt ilo social media ālikin raelepen Wōnje eo ekkar likūt an naan in kakkōl bwe armej ren lukkun  kōjparok aer ettōr ak diwōj delọñ ilo Springdale Arkansas en.

The Arkansas Alliance for Immigration Respect and Education (AIRE) posted to social media on Wednesday afternoon encouraging caution while driving or traveling through Springdale.