The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced that it filed immigration-related criminal charges against 310 individuals during a week of enforcement operations conducted between July 18 and July 24, 2026.
According to federal officials, prosecutors filed 114 cases involving individuals accused of illegally re-entering the United States after removal and charged another 175 individuals with illegally entering the country.
The office also brought 20 human smuggling cases against 21 individuals accused of transporting illegal aliens into and throughout Arizona.
The cases were investigated or supported by several federal law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE-ERO), Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Among the cases highlighted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office was that of Rubicel Nunez-Sanchez, who was charged by criminal complaint on July 20 with Transportation of an Illegal Alien for Profit.
According to documents, Border Patrol agents observed Nunez-Sanchez driving a Ford F-150 with North Carolina license plates near the U.S.-Mexico border in the San Rafael Valley, an area known for human smuggling activity.
When agents attempted to conduct an immigration inspection, officials said Nunez-Sanchez failed to stop. After eventually pulling over, five passengers reportedly fled from the vehicle before Nunez-Sanchez drove away again.
Border Patrol agents later disabled the truck using a vehicle immobilization device and took him into custody.
Authorities subsequently located the five passengers, identified as citizens of Mexico and Columbia who were allegedly unlawfully present in the United States.
Federal prosecutors also announced charges against Jose Raul Ahumada-Lugo and Rony Ramirez-Valenzuela following a July 21 traffic stop conducted by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.
According to investigators, a deputy stopped Ahumada-Lugo while he was driving a Ford F-150 carrying four passengers. After observing camouflage clothing and backpacks inside the vehicle, the deputy requested assistance from Border Patrol agents.
Officials determined that all five occupants were Mexican citizens unlawfully present in the United States.
Ramirez-Valenzuela, who was riding in the front passenger seat, was additionally charged with Reentry of a Removed Alien after authorities determined he had previously been removed from the United States in August of 2017.
Federal officials alleged he was assisting in the transportation of the other passengers.
The enforcement actions are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and prosecuting individuals accused of violent crimes and human smuggling.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Approximately 100 wild horse advocates gathered at the Arizona State Capitol last week to urge Governor Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA) to pause planned removals of Salt River wild horses until an independent scientific review confirms the remaining herd will remain genetically healthy and self-sustaining.
The “Preserve the Herd — Follow the Science” rally brought together conservation advocates, elected officials, wildlife experts and supporters from across Arizona who argued that the state’s current management plan should be guided by independent scientific analysis before any permanent removals occur.
Under AZDA’s current management plan, the Salt River wild horse population would be reduced from approximately 271 horses today to between 120 and 125 by the end of 2030 through continued fertility control and permanent removals to sanctuaries.
Advocates said they support responsible management of the herd but contend that the proposed population target has not been supported by publicly available, independent scientific research.
“Today was not about opposing responsible management,” stated Susie Bell of Friends of the Salt River Wild Horses. “It was about demanding that irreversible decisions be supported by credible, independent science. Arizona should not remove a single healthy horse until the public is shown that the remaining herd will be genetically viable.”
Wildlife ecologist and author Craig C. Downer, who has studied the Salt River herd and its habitat, cautioned that reducing the herd to the proposed level could permanently affect its long-term health.
“It would be a big mistake for Arizona to reduce this herd to 120 horses without independent science showing that the population can remain genetically healthy and self-sustaining,” Downer said. “The total number of horses does not necessarily reflect the herd’s true reproductive strength. Managers must consider how many unrelated breeding animals would remain, whether family lines are adequately represented, the herd’s age and sex distribution, foal recruitment and the continuing effects of fertility control.”
“Once genetic diversity is lost, it can be extremely difficult — if not impossible — to restore,” Downer added. “Before any removals begin, Arizona should require an independent, transparent scientific review demonstrating that the proposed population target will preserve the herd for generations, rather than merely keeping a small number of horses on the landscape.”
Advocates also pointed to the work of Dr. E. Gus Cothran, professor emeritus at Texas A&M University and a nationally recognized equine population geneticist, who has stated that 150 to 200 horses is generally considered the minimum population necessary to help preserve long-term genetic health.
According to organizers, Cothran has also emphasized that herd viability depends on factors beyond total population size, including genetic diversity, breeding-age animals, age and sex distribution, and mortality and reproductive rates.
As a result, rally organizers are calling for herd-specific genetic testing, a population viability analysis, and an independent scientific review before permanent removals move forward.
Supporters noted that the Salt River herd has already declined by more than 40% over the past five years, dropping from approximately 450 horses to around 271, largely through fertility control and natural attrition.
Organizers argued that maintaining the current management strategy could reduce the herd to approximately 165 to 168 horses over the next five years without permanently removing healthy horses or disrupting established family bands.
“There is no emergency that justifies abandoning a management program that is already working,” said Susie Bell. “The herd is declining, fertility control is working and natural mortality is occurring. Why would Arizona choose removals before completing the science?”
Advocates also questioned how the state’s current population target was established.
According to public records cited by organizers, an initial proposal to reduce the heard to approximately 100 horses originated from what they described as an informal straw poll rather than an independent scientific population study.
Although the target was later increased to 120 to 125 horses, advocates said no independent scientific analysis supporting that figure has been publicly released.
“You should not manage a protected Arizona treasure through a straw poll conducted among cattlemen and other interests within AZDA,” Bell added. “A negotiated number is not a scientific number.”
Supporters additionally pointed to public polling indicating widespread backing for preserving the heard. Organizers cited a 2023 Public Policy Polling survey that found 78% of Arizonans opposed removing Salt River wild horses from their habitat, even when respondents were presented with environmental concerns.
Other horse advocacy organizations have reported public support protecting the herd as high as 88%.
The rally also highlighted the Salt River Horse Act (HB 2340), legislation approved overwhelmingly by the Arizona Legislature and signed into law in 2016 to provide legal protections for the herd. Governor Katie Hobbs voted in favor of the measure while serving in the Arizona Senate.
The law prohibits individuals from interfering with, capturing, or euthanizing Salt River horses without written authorization and specifies that such authorization may be granted only for humane purposes. It also clarifies that the horses are not considered stray livestock subject to standard livestock removal laws.
State Rep. Cody Reim (R-LD3), who attended the rally, said the law’s original purpose was to protect the horses — not to justify reducing the herd.
“The Salt River Horse Act was never intended to justify removing these horses,” said Reim. “It was enacted to protect the herd and prevent exactly this from happening.”
Reim also announced plans to introduce legislation that would require science-based protections for the Salt River herd.
Organizers said they have repeatedly requested meetings with Governor Hobbs and asked her administration to temporarily pause removals while independent experts evaluate the state’s proposed population target. According to advocates, those requests have gone unanswered.
During the rally, supporters displayed more than 50 written requests submitted to the governor’s office seeking meetings or assistance, alongside the response they received which organizers said demonstrated the administration’s unwillingness to engage on the issue.
Friends of the Salt River Wild Horses is asking Governor Hobbs to:
Pause permanent removals of Salt River wild horses.
Order an independent genetic study and population viability analysis.
Require AZDA to publicly release the scientific data supporting the 120 to 125 horse population target.
Continue evaluating fertility control as an alternative to permanent removals.
Allow independent wildlife and genetics experts to review the findings before irreversible management decisions are made.
Advocates said a temporary pause would not end responsible management of the herd but would instead ensure that permanent decisions are based on transparent science and long-term genetic viability.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
New legislation imposing domestic violence protections in family court apply in all active cases regardless of when the case was originally filed.
State Representative Lisa Fink (R-LD27) issued a notice to make courts and legal partners aware of the applicability of protections imposed by the law she sponsored and Gov. Katie Hobbs signed, HB 2995.
Fink says Arizonans have reported issues with accessing the law’s protections due to a misunderstanding among some that the law only applies to cases filed after the law went into effect last month.
“That is not how the law was written, and it is not what the Legislature intended,” said Fink. “The emergency clause was included so the law would take effect immediately and apply to every active case before the court. Families do not lose these protections simply because their case began before June 22.”
HB 2995, known as the Alec and Lydia Act, overhauled courts’ framework for legal decision-making and parenting time cases by prioritizing domestic violence findings, expanding what qualifies as domestic violence, and requiring the court to issue detailed written findings of domestic violence.
The law established that the safety and well-being of the child and domestic violence victim serve as the highest priority in custody matters, and prohibits courts from requiring domestic violence victims to prove the severity and frequency of abuse to justify restrictions.
The law also requires courts to disregard as irrelevant the child’s absence at the time of the domestic violence, the child’s unawareness that domestic violence occurred, and the child’s preference for maintaining contact with the domestic violence perpetrator.
Additionally, courts may not order domestic violence victims to join their abusers in any treatment or counseling program.
HB 2995 applies when the court is actively considering legal decision-making or parenting time. This includes temporary-order proceedings and requests to modify existing orders.
The legislation was named after Alec and Lydia Mater, siblings killed in a murder-suicide by their estranged father, Brock Mater, during an unsupervised custody visit in May 2024.
At the time of the crime, Mater was experiencing a psychotic episode. In the months prior, he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was undergoing mental health treatment. The court had documented his history of domestic violence.
Alec and Lydia’s mother, Hope Hooton, described during a hearing on the bill earlier this year all the evidence that had been provided in court of Mater’s abuse: physical and sexual violence including strangulation, thrown objects, and stabbings, along with financial, verbal, and emotional abuse to include withholding money and food, and forcing exercise.
“In family court, mothers are often told, ‘He was abusive to you, not the children,’ but research shows this assumption is dangerously wrong,” said Hooton. “The court did not fully evaluate strangulation, coercive control, suicidal or filicidal ideation, and acute psychiatric instability together before granting unsupervised parenting time.”
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Valenzuela granted Mater equal parenting time and joint decision-making. Valenzuela disputed the evidence presented had proved Mater to be a danger to his children, since no police reports existed of abuse directed toward the children.
Hooton advocated for the bill’s passage, saying it aligns with current research-based understanding that abuse of a parent serves as a warning sign to children.
“My children were not killed because of prior child abuse. They were killed in the context of domestic violence, coercive control, mental health crisis, and loss of control,” said Hooton.
Alec was seven years old, and Lydia was six.
“This law is not only about preventing the worst possible outcome, including the death of a child. Children can be profoundly harmed by coercive control, emotional abuse, intimidation and post-separation abuse, even when no physical assault occurs. The Alec and Lydia Act is intended to protect their physical, mental and emotional well-being before that harm becomes irreversible,” said Fink. “The safety and well-being of children and victims of domestic violence must come first. That is the purpose of the Alec and Lydia Act, and its protections are in effect now.”
Few opposed HB 2995’s passage: Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales (D-LD20) and Reps. John Gillette (R-LD30), Alexander Kolodin (R-LD03), Justin Olson (R-LD10), and Cody Reim (R-LD03).
Kolodin explained during the House floor vote that he opposed the bill due to concerns that it would cause rampant and baseless allegations of abuse between feuding spouses.
Kolodin read some provisions of the bill constituting abuse that he alleged were especially harmful: suicidal ideations; firearm cleaning; monitoring or regulating financial activity, which Kolodin said could include reading the family’s credit card statement; demeaning, degrading, or humiliating words or actions; threats to make reports to law enforcement, which Kolodin said could include an abuse victim announcing intent to call police if their abuser hits them again; threats of civil litigation, which Kolodin said could include calling for divorce; and jeopardization of immigration status, which Kolodin said could include refusing to marry a significant other due to their noncitizenship.
“The language of what constitutes abuse in this bill is so broad that it will result in both parents in a family law proceeding almost always being labeled as an abuser,” said Kolodin. “This bill takes everybody in a marriage relationship and labels them as the abuser, forces them to fight to the death at the expense of their reputation and children, as to who is the worse abuser, and it will cause even worse chaos in our family law system. It will destroy families, tear them apart, and cause them lifelong animosity that will do permanent damage to Arizona’s children.”
Olson agreed. He noted that the bill may disincentivize couples from joining their lives too much, like mixing finances.
Fink dismissed the concerns, citing the legislation’s requirement that judges find a “pattern of violent, threatening, or coercive conduct.” Fink said the judicial framework was similar to law enforcement screening tools for domestic violence.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) says he still would like to run for president, in spite of the recent allegations and controversies surrounding him.
Gallego revealed his continued intent to make a 2028 presidential run to KTAR News on Friday during a sit-down interview on Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos.
Gallego justified his electoral victories in Arizona and his Latino ethnicity as the basis of his proposed run, though he described Arizona as “red” rather than purple.
“There’s only a couple of Democrats that are thinking of running for president that have won red states. I’m one of them,” said Gallego. “There’s only a couple of Democrats who can speak to working-class Democrats, especially Latino men. I’m one of them.”
Gallego described his intent as “surface-level” and not too deep.
“We’re thinking about it, right? My first hurdle is: I have three children, and I do have a challenge of figuring out how to balance my time with them and my job and potentially running for office,” said Gallego.
New reporting issued earlier this week revealed that Gallego dated multiple staffers working for other members of Congress while he was serving in the House.
When asked about that past behavior during Friday’s interview, Gallego said he wasn’t “going to engage in gossip” in his past as a bachelor dating around in Congress. He said he supports a rule change to prohibit elected officials from dating other members’ staffers.
“I’m now happily married, I moved on,” said Gallego.
Gallego skirted around questioning as to whether his dating of other congressmembers’ staffers constituted impropriety.
“Anytime I dated anybody, my whole thing that I focused was on being a gentleman, acting like I would want someone to act when it comes to how someone would treat my daughters or my sisters, or things of that nature, and of course I treated everyone like adults and they treated me like adults,” said Gallego.
Gallego offered some defense of his former endorsees: Eric Swalwell, former congressman and California’s former Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Gallego’s ex-longtime best friend, and Graham Platner, Maine’s former Democratic gubernatorial candidate. Both men withdrew from their respective races in their respective states this year following accusations of sexual misconduct and assault.
Gallego said he wasn’t always aware of Swalwell’s day-to-day, and therefore had no suspicions of sexual misconduct.
Gallego also defended his endorsement of Platner pre-sexual assault allegations, calling Platner’s Nazi tattoo “young, stupid Marine” behavior.
Gallego said any and all allegations against him were a product of “the right-wing echo system” based in politics and not truth.
“Guess what? Nothing has shown up. So they’re dogpiling with more and more misinformation,” said Gallego.
The Senate Ethics Committee cleared Gallego of the sexual and financial misconduct alleged in a complaint by a Republican congresswoman out of Florida, Anna Paulina Luna.
The committee reviewed records including from the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Senate secretary expenditures, House of Representatives clerk’s expenditures, and privately sponsored travel documents.
The Department of Justice is investigating Gallego for alleged campaign finance misconduct.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Republican leaders of the Arizona legislature are suing Secretary of State Adrian Fontes for allegedly misrepresenting a ballot measure to preserve school choice funding for military families.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14), the Republican nominee for attorney general, and House Speaker Steve Montenegro (R-LD29) sued Fontes to prevent the ballot measure language from going to voters.
The 66-page verified complaint accused Fontes of drafting ballot language that intentionally undermines the constitutional amendment, Proposition 145, in order to give a leg up to a competing ballot proposition to end the universality of the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.
The language for Prop. 145’s descriptive title reads:
“Would nullify Proposition 212 (below) if voters enact it this election; prohibits the state from sweeping funds from certain state-run scholarship accounts if the student’s parent has provided certain active-duty military service; nullifies all laws that would sweep any such funds, including unrelated provisions of those laws.”
The yes/no language reads:
“A ‘yes” vote shall have the effect of amending the Arizona Constitution to: (1) nullify Proposition 212, which imposes spending and income limits on the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program, if the people enact that Proposition during this election; (2) prohibit the state from sweeping funds from certain state-run scholarship accounts if the student’s parent has provided certain active-duty military service; and (3) nullify all parts of any law that would sweep any such funds, including unrelated provisions of those laws, applying retroactively to all laws enacted on or after November 1, 2026.
A ‘no’ vote shall have the effect of maintaining current constitutional provisions related to scholarship accounts and allowing Proposition 212 to go into effect if voters enact it this election.”
According to the lawmakers, Fontes’ Prop. 145 ballot language allegedly skimped on and buried details of how the proposed constitutional amendment would preserve military families’ school choice funding. Much of the language, they say, used “partisan, argumentative framing” of Prop. 145 as a direct nullification of Proposition 212, or the Protect Education Act.
Prop. 212 seeks to end the ability for all Arizona students to enter the ESA program by imposing an income cap. It would also require approved curriculum for the release of ESA funds, degrees and background checks for ESA-funded tutors, accreditation or administration of state standardized tests for ESA-funded schools, and revocation of unspent ESA funds for public school usage.
The lawmakers argued that the “impermissibly misleading” ballot language focused more on Prop. 145’s potential future impacts on Prop. 212, in conflict with Arizona law, rather than summarizing the essential change in existing law. They claimed the ballot language is biased, argumentative, and fails to state the measure’s impact on existing law.
Attorney General Kris Mayes signed off on the ballot language.
Montenegro accused Fontes of “play[ing] political games” at the expense of military families.
“Instead of giving voters a fair description, Fontes turned the Secretary of State’s Office into a platform for Democrats’ anti-school-choice talking points,” said Montenegro. “Military families deserve better. I’ll see him in court.”
Adrian Fontes claims to support our veterans, yet he is using official ballot language to play political games with the children of military families. Prop. 145 safeguards their scholarship funds and protects school choice. Instead of giving voters a fair description, Fontes…
Republicans from across Arizona gathered on Friday to celebrate the grand opening of the Arizona Republican Party’s new headquarters. During the celebration, party leaders emphasized unity and looked ahead to the 2026 general election.
The new headquarters is located at 4531 N. 16th st., Suite 114, in Phoenix.
Despite Friday’s record-breaking heat, the event drew an over-capacity crowd, where attendees welcomed the Republican Party’s newly nominated statewide candidates following the primary election.
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Sergio Arellano opened the celebration alongside Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters, Arizona House Speaker Steve Montenegro, Republican gubernatorial nominee Congressman Andy Biggs, Republican Attorney General nominee Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen, and conservative radio host James T. Harris.
Both Biggs and Petersen received great support from attendees after securing their respective Republican nominations earlier in the week.
“It is very clear by today’s turnout that Republicans understand how important this election is and the only way we win is with a united front,” stated Chairman Arellano. “Governor Hobbs has been a disaster. From awarding government contracts to cronies, to appointing unqualified individuals to lead various state agencies, she has made a mess of things. We know that we must get Andy Biggs elected before it’s too late for Arizona and we become California.”
Arellano also contrasted the Arizona Republican Party’s approach to the primary election with what he described as divisions among Democrats, arguing that party leadership intentionally remained neutral throughout the nomination process.
“Primaries can take a toll and often fray relationships and create distrust among party members like the schism the DCCC created this cycle in Congressional District 1 with their cockeyed endorsement of losing candidate Marlene Galan-Woods,” added Arellano. “However, we didn’t play that way. I was determined that the Party would not put its thumb on the scale for one of our candidates or another. As a result, there is a real sense of unity – of trust.”
.@SurgeShow is doing great! Really got the party in a good shape in record time ❤
— Merissa Caldwell 🗳 ⛽ 🗽🔥 (@MerissaCaldwell) July 25, 2026
With the primary election concluded, party leaders used the event to rally supporters and signal the beginning of the Republican Party’s statewide general election campaign, emphasizing party unity as candidates prepare to challenge Democratic incumbents in November.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
