by Matthew Holloway | Mar 10, 2025 | News
By Mathew Holloway |
The verdict is in on Governor Katie Hobbs’ “Operation Desert Guardian” from Arizona’s Border Sheriffs, and it isn’t good for the Democrat governor.
As the governor faces dwindling popularity poll numbers, fellow Democrat Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos bailed on a lengthy online conference about Hobbs’ border task force, saying “I don’t need another task force.” Noting his membership in four other collaborative efforts combating drugs and human trafficking, he noted, “I’m sorry, I just don’t. And so, I’m out.”
Nanos said his department will not be participating in a devastating blow to the governor’s initiative, given that Pima County covers approximately 31.6% or nearly a third of Arizona’s border with Mexico. The move also has serious political implications. Nanos was one of Hobbs’ biggest supporters during her campaign, even going so far as to cut a campaign ad for her.
Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot, a Republican, offered similar pushback saying, “Let’s not waste state tax payer money on building something that doesn’t need to be rebuilt.”
Both sheriffs were reportedly taken aback by Hobbs’ surprise Executive Order and offered serious criticism of her and the goals of the operation. They told reporters that the work the task force is set to tackle is already being done and would be duplicative, not an added benefit.
“The state is not going to come in to rescue us and be the savior of what we’ve been dealing with,” Wilmot said, noting that the border Sheriffs’ departments offer a wealth of ground-level experience. “They need to come in and be a partner.”
According to a follow up report from AZCentral, Yuma County will participate after a meeting with Hobbs earlier this week.
Speaking with KGUN, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels had his own doubts, “My budgets are already fulfilled. They’re maximized. And so if there are expectations that my office will be doing something without the budget, chances are we won’t do it… I can’t do it.”
Dannels asked, “What’s the cost to my agency? What’s it going to mean for resources? What are they going to take care of that I don’t already have?” He expressed that he wasn’t made aware of the task force, and though he has hopes it could complement his department’s actions, he said, “I don’t know. I have not seen an operational plan.”
Republican Governor’s Association Rapid Response Director Kollin Crompton suggested Hobbs’ political motives in a statement to AZ Free News saying, “Katie Hobbs’ desperate attempt to cover up her open border policies won’t work, and border county sheriffs of both parties know she’s a disaster. Arizonans want a secure border and safe communities, that’s not possible as long as Katie Hobbs is governor.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Daniel Stefanski | Nov 1, 2023 | News
By Daniel Stefanski |
Arizona sheriffs continue to raise concerns about the escalating crisis at America’s southern border, and some of these officials are putting their money where their mouth is.
Last week, the Arizona Sheriffs Association issued a press release to announce that deputies from five state counties would be heading to Cochise County. Those counties were Apache, Coconino, Navajo, Pinal, and Yavapai.
According to the release, the purpose of the deployment is to “help stanch the flow of drug and human smuggling in the state” by “working alongside other law enforcement to curb border related crime.
“Everyday, sheriffs deputies around the state encounter drug and human smugglers in our communities,” Arizona Sheriffs Association president and Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes said. “This is not a border region problem but a crisis in all of Arizona.”
Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels is happy for the increased support from his colleagues from the Grand Canyon State. In a statement, Dannels said, “We are grateful that law enforcement from across the state are converging in southern Arizona to curb the human and drug smuggling. This show of force sends a strong message to the cartels that Arizona is serious about tackling these criminal gangs.”
The latest efforts to combat the negative effects of a porous border come as a result of the Safe Streets II Task Force out of Cochise County. The Arizona Sheriffs Association shared that this task force, comprised of law enforcement members from local, state and federal agencies, exists to “gather intelligence and attempt to apprehend human and drug smugglers.”
“It is our duty to protect the communities we serve and that starts at the U.S.-Mexico border,” Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said. “For far too long, the border areas have been open to the drug cartels. We must work to shut off these cartels from ruining America.”
“Criminal gangs that smuggle drugs and people across the border often end up in Coconino County and threaten our law enforcement and residents,” Coconino Sheriff Jim Driscoll said. “I’d rather deter those criminals at the border and stop them from using our county as a transit corridor.”
This latest effort from Arizona sheriffs follows their actions taken earlier in the month via letters to Governor Katie Hobbs and legislative leaders, requesting the state to “double its contribution to local law enforcement to allow (sheriffs) to deploy more resources to interdict human and drug smugglers.”
Just last month, a Cochise County Deputy Sheriff was seriously injured as he attempted to stop a suspected smuggler, who was trying to evade apprehension in her vehicle. When talking to local media about the rash of similar incidents plaguing his county and department, Sheriff Mark Dannels said, “Just this week alone, I’ve had a patrol car damaged, I’ve had two officers, deputies that were trying to be run over by smuggler drivers. This is every day down here.”
In May 2022, former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels penned an op-ed for Fox News, detailing how an increasing rash of border-related crimes were affecting southern Arizona communities. The two officials shared a heartbreaking story of how one of these episodes tragically changed the lives of one southern Arizona family forever, writing, “This crisis started to place local law enforcement officials and residents of Cochise County on high alert in October 2021 when law enforcement officials attempted a traffic stop on a 16-year-old from Mesa, who was smuggling migrants in Cochise County in southern Arizona. The teenager suddenly hit the gas, driving over 100 miles per hour through small towns and quiet intersections on a mad dash to avoid apprehension. He eventually ran a red light, smashing into another vehicle and killing Wanda Sitoski, a local grandmother on her way to meet her son for her 65th birthday dinner.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Terri Jo Neff | Jan 13, 2022 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and the majority of Arizona’s sheriffs are tired of waiting for Congress to do something constructive about the unsecured Arizona / Mexico border. So they are joining together to support draft federal legislation which would bolster border security, along what the governor has described as “a patchwork of federal, state, tribal and private lands.”
On Tuesday, 11 of Arizona’s 15 sheriffs took part in the meeting with Ducey to discuss the overwhelming problem of human trafficking and illegal drugs coming across the 372-mile border. After the meeting, the sheriffs in attendance voted to advocate for the legislation drafted by Ducey’s staff in hopes of persuading Sen. Mark Kelly and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema to get on board.
“It’s not just an Arizona problem,” said Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. “It’s an America problem.”
Lamb was joined at the meeting by Apache County Sheriff Joe Dedman, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll, Gila County Sheriff Adam Shepherd, Graham County Sheriff P.J. Allred, Greenlee County Sheriff Tim Sumner, La Paz County Sheriff William Ponce, Mohave County Sheriff Doug Schuster, Navajo County Sheriff David Clouse, and Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes.
Ducey’s meeting with the sheriffs came one day after his State of the State address to the Arizona Legislature.
“In Arizona, we will secure our border. We will protect public safety. We will not back down,” Ducey said in his speech. “We will fight this fight until Washington, D.C. finally acts.”
The governor used his State of the State address to highlight his commitment to a multifaceted, coordinated border security effort.
“No member of the Arizona congressional delegation that actually cares about the safety of our communities should vote ‘yes’ on any legislation until the president agrees to language that does the following: secures our border with a wall, a physical barrier and virtual surveillance; increases resources to the local communities that have been devastated by these dangerous open border policies; and makes it clear that our border is not open to illegal immigration,” Ducey said Monday before going on to call out Kelly and Sinema by name.
Just two weeks ago, Dannels and Yuma County Sheriff Leon Wilmot met with new CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus and U.S. Border Patrol leaders to discuss the border.
“In short, we shared our frustration with the lack of shared action plans and no-end being in sight,” Dannels told AZ Free News of the Dec. 28 meeting. “I asked what this administration’s end-game was. I received no answer.”
Dannels said local law enforcement officials, which included San Luis Police Chief Richard Jessup, commended the dedicated CBP officers and USBP agents working the border under such challenging circumstances.
“I asked Commissioner Magnus to provide supportive leadership to these officers and agents during this crisis,” Dannels said.
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