On Tuesday, in response to the crisis on the U.S. Mexico border, Governor Doug Ducey announced he is deploying the Arizona National Guard to the border and issued a Declaration of Emergency as part of the state’s effort to support local law enforcement efforts.
Up to 250 Guardsmen will be sent to border communities and will be available to support other law enforcement agencies, like state troopers. The Arizona National Guard will:
Assist with medical operations in detention centers;
Install and maintaining border cameras;
Monitor and collect data from public safety cameras; and
Analyze satellite imagery for current trends in smuggling corridors.
The State will provide up to $25 million in initial funding for the mission.
NEW: The federal government won’t act — but Arizona will. To address the crisis at the border, I’ve issued a Declaration of Emergency and am deploying the brave men and women of our @AZNationalGuard to support law enforcement efforts and protect Arizonans. pic.twitter.com/EdFkiM2C5t
U.S. Customs & Border Protection in March had more than 170,000 apprehensions at the Southwest border. Nearly 19,000 of those apprehensions were unaccompanied children — more than four times the number of kids apprehended in March 2020.
“The federal government’s actions have made the border less secure. This threatens the safety of our communities and law enforcement,” said Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels. “Border towns and officers need support as the crisis at the border escalates. I’m grateful to Governor Ducey for taking action and sending the National Guard to help. We welcome immigrants with open arms — but it needs to be done legally and orderly to ensure we are protecting our communities, state, and nation.”
Ducey’s decision was also welcomed by Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone, a Democrat, who said “the issues at the border affect the whole state, to include Maricopa County.”
“The availability of Arizona National Guard resources in support of law enforcement demands is an asset for our depleted resources. I appreciate Governor Ducey’s commitment to law enforcement organizations,” concluded Penzone.
“The crisis at the border is serious and cannot be taken lightly,” said Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot. “The Arizona National Guard will provide much-needed support to our officers and safety officials, and will help ensure Yuma and other border communities are further protected from dangerous and illegal activity. By deploying National Guard assets, the Governor will allow me to deploy more first responders to mission critical tasks where we will work side by side with our federal partners to target, apprehend and prosecute transnational criminal organizations. My thanks to the Governor for taking action to protect Arizonans, law enforcement and legal immigration.”
PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is spearheading a coalition of 22 attorneys general from mostly blue states calling on Congress to provide federal funds for state systems and technology upgrades needed to expunge criminal justice records.
Brnovich and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl A. Racine are heading up the campaign which includes the attorneys general of Colorado, Delaware, Guam, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
According to Brnovich, the money could help one-third of U.S. adults clear or expunge records of arrest or conviction.
The attorneys generals cite research which they say shows that automatic record clearing could regain “billions in lost economic activity for eligible people by clearing the way for secondary education, job opportunities, professional licensing, and stable housing. It would also help children and families as 30 million U.S. children—almost one in two kids—have at least one parent with a criminal record.”
The coalition sent a letter to Congress asking for the “investment” necessary to streamline record-sealing processes and make the justice system more cost-effective and more fair.
“An old criminal record shouldn’t be a life sentence, especially for those who have turned their lives around,” said Racine. “Unfortunately, far too many Americans remain cut off from job opportunities, education, and housing long after their arrests or convictions, preventing them from rebuilding their lives and supporting their families. We desperately need to modernize our justice systems. Implementing thoughtful ways to clear records would make the criminal justice system more efficient, more cost-effective, and most importantly, more just, helping expand opportunities for millions of Americans and their families.”
PHOENIX – The state Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved HB 2168, legislation which requires law enforcement agencies in Arizona to collect data on use-of-force incidents involving officers and to report it annually to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) and the FBI’s National Use of Force Data Collection.
The bill requires ACJC to develop data collection standards and reporting guidelines on use-of-force incidents, and to publicly publish data that was reported during the previous year.
The bill prohibits including any identifying information about a law enforcement officer in the reported use-of-force data.
HB 2168 was passed by the House in February and will now be transmitted to the governor.
PHOENIX — This week, Governor Doug Ducey signed Senate Bill (SB) 1451, legislation which expands workers’ compensation for diseases presumed to be a result of Arizona’s firefighters and fire investigators’ job demands and requirements.
The bill strengthens the presumption that a firefighter’s cancer diagnosis is work related thereby ensuring that more firefighters are eligible for worker’s compensation and can spend more time focusing on their health and family and less time fighting with cities and insurance companies for their benefits.
This bill also protects female firefighters and fire investigators by adding breast cancer and ovarian cancer to the list of qualifying cancers to ensure that they have access to the same benefits and protections as their male co-workers.
Previously, to qualify for the presumption, a firefighter or peace officer must have passed a physical examination before employment that did not indicate evidence of cancer, been assigned to hazardous duty for at least five years, and documented with the department an exposure to a known carcinogen that is reasonably related to cancer. Firefighters were burdened with identifying exactly when and where they were exposed to a carcinogen that caused their cancer, which is why SB 1451 removes that specific requirement.
Arizona has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration the garbage left behind by individuals crossing the U.S. Mexico border illegally. The Attorney General’s Office says it is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for violating the National Environmental Policy Act.
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) alleges that the immigration policies of the Biden administration are “destructive.” immigration policies. The AGO is asking the U.S. District Court in Arizona to void the decisions to stop border wall construction and the “Remain in Mexico” policy until the federal government complies with its obligations under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
In its complaint, the AGO argues that DHS and other federal officials did not provide environmental impact statements or environmental assessments when DHS abruptly halted ongoing border wall construction and also began permitting entry of additional migrants by ending the “Remain in Mexico” policy.
Biden, in one of his first official actions on January 20, 2021, ordered the halting of ongoing construction of miles of border wall, leaving what the AGO an area residents claim are “haphazard and unplanned gaps between physical barriers,” which they say encourage “widespread illegal migration.”
Ranchers are concerned as well about the abandoned machinery and fencing that has been standing idle and eventually metals will leach into the water table and cause health issues for grazing cattle.
