by Staff Reporter | Mar 29, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The city of Phoenix approved a resolution that will limit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations despite a warning from Arizona Senate Majority Leader John Kavanaugh (R-LD3) against taking such an action.
The resolution by the Phoenix City Council will effectively prohibit immigration-related law enforcement operations on property owned or controlled by the city. In order for federal law enforcement to do their job, the resolution declares they will need to obtain permission from the city — specifically, Phoenix Police Chief Michael Giordano.
Kavanagh called the resolution “meaningless” in an interview with The Center Square, stating that both Arizona and federal law require cooperation with immigration enforcement. The majority leader accused city of Phoenix leadership of “pandering for votes” disguised as policy.
“ICE is not going to listen to them. They have no control over what ICE does in public places, so they can’t even prevent that,” said Kavanagh.
Even after Kavanagh’s warning, Phoenix City Council voted 8-1 to restrict ICE from using city property in its approved resolution on Wednesday.
“Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to, using City property as a staging area, processing location, or operations base for civil law enforcement actions, unless approved by the City Manager or their designee,” stated the resolution.
Councilmembers said the vote represented their commitment to protecting all Phoenix residents.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said mass deportations had no positive impact on public safety were “un-American and shameful.” Gallego accused ICE of violating civil rights and committing crimes.
Last month, Gallego and the city council promised to frustrate federal immigration enforcement efforts in a joint press release. They met with residents and sought counsel to determine a pathway for resisting ICE.
Out of these meetings, city leadership developed a response framework, which included the policy framework to allow a restriction on immigration enforcement activities on city property.
Other aspects of the framework included the city’s decision to employ local law enforcement resources to investigate and prosecute federal immigration enforcement.
The city will create an online public complaint portal to document and track allegations of criminal and civil rights violations by federal immigration enforcement, with the intent to submit the reports as criminal referrals to the attorney general’s office. This portal will be connected to one created by the attorney general.
The city will also collect data on immigration enforcement impacts to businesses and city services such as police, fire, the community assistance program, and the office of accountability and transparency.
Along with the portal, the city will create a website detailing the civil rights that immigrants have and sharing data related to community transparency initiative directives. This site and others, including the complaint portal, will have translation capabilities.
The city will require employees to undergo training on how to respond to federal enforcement actions.
In all these efforts, the city of Phoenix will work closely with the attorney general, Tucson, and Flagstaff, and share information with congressional representatives and community-based organizations.
On Monday ICE agents began assisting TSA agents with processing Phoenix Sky Harbor passengers at security checkpoints.
Most travelers expressed support for the ICE presence.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Ethan Faverino | Mar 18, 2026 | Education, News
By Ethan Faverino |
America First Legal (AFL) has launched an investigation into the Flagstaff Unified School District #1 (FUSD) over its handling of a large-scale student walkout and anti-ICE protest on January 28, 2026.
AFL filed a detailed public records request with the district, demanding transparency about the event in which hundreds of students left school grounds without apparent parental notification or consent.
According to KNAU, approximately 700 to 800 students from multiple FUSD schools—including Coconino High School, Flagstaff High School, Mount Elden Middle School, and Sinagua Middle School—participated in a coordinated walkout beginning around 11:30 a.m.
Students marched more than a mile across busy intersections to Flagstaff City Hall, where they lined the sidewalks with anti-ICE messages protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies. Students from some charter schools also joined the demonstration, which appeared to be part of a broader national action against immigration enforcement.
America First Legal’s request highlights serious concerns that school employees actively facilitated the protest by escorting students off campus and supervising the march, despite no evidence of prior parental consent or notification.
According to AFL, the district has not publicly disclosed when it first became aware of the planned event, how it prepared its response, the extent of staff involvement in organizing or assisting, or any disciplinary consequences for students who left class or school property without authorization.
The organization argues that these actions may have violated parents’ fundamental constitutional rights to direct their children’s education and upbringing, as well as Arizona’s Parenal Bill of Rights and related federal laws that protect pupil privacy and related rights.
“Parents do not surrender their rights at the schoolhouse gate,” stated James Rogers, Senior Counsel at America First Legal. “When hundreds of students are permitted to leave campus during the school day for a political protest, families deserve complete transparency about who approved it, how it was supervised, and why parents were not notified.”
The public records request, submitted under the Arizona Public Records Law, seeks a wide range of documents from August 1, 2025, onward. These include:
- Records of FUSD employees who organized or participated in the protest.
- Communications and preparations related to the event.
- Details on how students and staff were processed back onto school property that day.
- Policies on students leaving campus and any parental consent communications.
- Social media posts, flyers (including one titled “Walk Out Against ICE”), and messages via platforms like ParentSquare.
Rachel Griffin, Attorney at America First Legal, added: “Schools exist to educate children, not to sideline parents, and certainly not to indoctrinate students. This investigation seeks basic answers about how this political protest was handled and whether the district respected parental rights and the rule of law. America First Legal will bring the truth into the light.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Feb 27, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Senate approved legislation to facilitate coordination between law enforcement and federal immigration agents.
SB 1055 passed 16-11, with all Republicans in support and all Democrats against.
The bill requires law enforcement to notify either Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) immediately following the arrest of an individual who is discovered to be an illegal alien.
The bill sponsor, Sen. Wendy Rogers (R-LD7), says this will give law enforcement the sense of security they deserve to appropriately process individuals with deportation orders. Rogers said her legislation was necessary to support safe neighborhoods and consistent enforcement within public safety.
“When someone is under arrest and unlawfully present in our country, law enforcement should never have to hesitate, second-guess, or worry about whether doing the right thing will jeopardize their career,” said Rogers. “For too long, unclear policies and political pressure have created confusion that undermines public safety and puts officers in an impossible position.”
Given the partisan nature of the bill, it’s highly likely the legislation will die under Gov. Katie Hobbs’ veto pen should it pass the House.
The first to speak against the bill during Monday’s floor vote was Assistant Minority Leader Catherine Miranda (D-LD11). She said the bill wasn’t needed. Miranda discouraged the idea that Arizona law enforcement needs to support ICE in deportation proceedings, since ICE agents were “terrorizing” communities across the nation.
“[SB1055 is] unnecessary and strives to increase fear in communities and empowers all law enforcement to act as ICE agents,” said Miranda.
During the committee hearing on the bill last month, Miranda said she carries all of her sensitive personal documents in her car — her birth certificate, Social Security card, and passport — just in case law enforcement questions her citizenship.
Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales (D-LD20) claimed the bill would cause racial profiling.
“Our communities are already, you know, not feeling well, not wanting to go to work, school, or otherwise because of what is happening in our communities with the federal immigration process that’s happening in and around our communities,” said Gonzales.
Sen. Analise Ortiz (D-LD24) called it an “anti-public safety bill” and “cruel.” Ortiz said the detainment facilities were “death camps.” She opposed the concept of deporting illegal aliens
“It is going to invite a violent, armed paramilitary force to have more unnecessary interactions with our communities,” said Ortiz. “ICE out of Arizona, ICE out of our communities.”
Similarly, Sen. Lauren Kuby (D-LD8) said ICE was too dangerous and relying on poorly trained and violent forces.
Majority Leader John Kavanagh (R-LD3) said it was effective government to have local law enforcement cooperating with federal law enforcement. Kavanagh lamented the likely veto from Hobbs.
“People who are accused of being here illegally need to be brought to justice,” said Kavanagh. “We shouldn’t be trying to hamper [the lawful execution of our laws].”
Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-LD15) reminded his colleagues across the aisle that the bill impacts individuals who were already arrested for committing a crime and in custody.
“It’s absurd that you would not want the criminals who come over illegally removed from this country. Apparently it’s just lawlessness run amok in this chamber. We are hearing [Democrats] advocate for not turning over illegal alien criminals to federal immigration law enforcement,” said Hoffman.
As a response to Democratic lawmakers citing the Minnesota deaths of anti-ICE activists Alexi Pretti and Renee Good, Hoffman read off a handful of the names of individuals murdered by illegal aliens, which prompted an outburst from the audience.
Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan (D-LD18) dismissed Hoffman’s list of victims, saying all illegal aliens who committed those crimes were facing charges unlike the officers involved in the Pretti and Good deaths. Sundareshan took issue that individuals arrested for civil violations, not just criminal violations, may face deportation.
“In this country we are innocent until proven guilty,” said Sundareshan.
Sen. Mitzi Epstein (D-LD12) said this would allow “perfectly innocent” individuals to be arrested and attacked.
“ICE has become an agency of thugs who do not follow the law,” said Epstein. “I am afraid of ICE agents.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Feb 8, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
New polling reflects a continued high level of support for President Donald Trump’s mass deportations.
Earlier this week, the White House shared two sets of polling data that declare opinions of deportation remain positive.
Republicans, independents, and swing voters who responded all shared majority positive opinions on mass deportations in one poll from Cygnal: Republicans, 97%; independents, 59%; and swing voters, 64%. Only 25% of Democrat respondents expressed support for mass deportations, and 67% said they opposed.
This polling data came from just over 1,000 voters likely to vote in this year’s midterm general election.
A significant majority of all respondents also aligned when it came to interpretations of immigration law and enforcement.
73% of all respondents agreed that entering the country without permission constitutes breaking the law. 61% overall supported deportations for illegal aliens. 64% determined that illegal aliens were a very to somewhat severe problem: 33% of Democrats, 60% of independents, and 97% of Republicans.
A slimmer majority amounting to 58% of respondents rejected the Democrat-led proposal to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Less than that, 54% overall, supported ICE enforcing federal immigration laws.
The Democrats’ fight within Congress to defund ICE mustered a partial shutdown this week.
The shutdown arose beyond Democrats’ general disagreement with mass deportations. Democratic leaders oppose Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approaches to carrying out immigration enforcement. Two American activists in two separate incidents died last month after their protests against ICE turned into interference with law enforcement operations.
Both individuals, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot by ICE agents after refusing law enforcement orders.
Anti-ICE activists have also taken to protesting across Arizona. The Phoenix ICE office has been vandalized repeatedly, sometimes with death threats, and been subjected to protests that have devolved into rioting as activists resisted law enforcement orders.
This week’s partial shutdown was much shorter-lived than the longest one in America’s history that occurred last year, lasting over 40 days from October to November. President Donald Trump signed a spending package lifting the shutdown on Tuesday.
The second poll shared by the Trump administration came from Harvard University Center for American Political Studies (CAPS) and Harris. That polling reflected that 73% of Americans believe criminal illegal aliens should be deported. 2,000 registered voters served as respondents. Most of the voters said that price increases, inflation, and affordability along with immigration were their top two concerns.
Overall, the Harvard-Harris polling found that Trump’s approval rating on key issues (the economy, immigration, foreign affairs, administering the government, handling inflation, reducing the cost of government, returning America to its values, tariffs and trade policy, and fighting crime in America’s cities) ranged from 39% to 47%. The president’s highest rating level was 51% for response to anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis.
Overall, 38% of voters said the country was on the right track: 74% of Republicans, 15% of Democrats, and 24% of independent voters. Likely voters, not weighted in the median total, were at 43%. Congressional approval was worse: 32% overall.
35% of overall voters said their financial situation was improving, and 40% said it was declining.
Other polls have found dramatically different sentiments among the American people. Another three-day poll conducted by Ipsos determined that 62% of Americans believe current ICE enforcement activities go too far.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Ethan Faverino | Feb 3, 2026 | News
By Ethan Faverino |
Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) issued a strong condemnation of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ recent comments that appear to justify violence against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents under the state’s “Stand your Ground” law.
Hamadeh described Mayes’s remarks as “reprehensible but entirely predictable,” attributing them to the consequences of placing a “far-left political activist” in the state’s top law enforcement role.
The controversy stems from an interview Mayes gave to 12News anchor Brahm Resnik, where she warned that Arizona’s self-defense laws could lead to a “recipe for disaster” in potential clashes between residents and federal immigration officers.
According to the interview, Mayes suggested that residents could open fire on masked ICE agents if they believe their life is in imminent danger, citing the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which permits the use of deadly force in self-defense on one’s property.
“It’s kind of a recipe for disaster because you have these masked federal officers with very little identification, sometimes no identification, wearing plain clothes and masks,” Mayes said during the interview.
She further described ICE agents as “very poorly trained” and emphasized, “We have a Stand Your Ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force.”
When Resnik sought clarification, asking, “But to be clear, you’re not telling folks you have a ‘license’ if you are threatened, to shoot a peace officer,” Mayes responded, “No, but if you are being attacked by someone who is not identified as a peace officer, how do you know? If somebody comes at me wearing a mask, and I am a gun owner, and I can’t tell whether they are a police officer, what am I supposed to do?”
Hamadeh highlighted that Arizona’s “Stand Your Ground” law does not permit the use of deadly force against law enforcement officers acting in the line of duty.
In the interview, Mayes also vowed to hold federal agents accountable, stating, “We are watching you. If you violate an Arizona law, I will prosecute you.”
Mayes’ office has launched a new webpage encouraging the public to report alleged misconduct by federal agents, including submitting videos and images. “We are encouraging people to send us their videos, and they have every right under the First Amendment to record those videos,” she added.
Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ05) blasted Mayes and Governor Katie Hobbs on X.
“It took nearly a week for @katiehobbs to comment on Kris Mayes’ horrendous remarks about shooting ICE agents. Shameful. That’s not leadership and it’s certainly not someone who supports our law enforcement. Arizonans know it shouldn’t take days to speak up for public safety heroes.”
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ-01) echoed concern, blasting only Mayes’ rhetoric as “reckless” in a post on X. “Let’s not pretend this was some careful legal seminar,” Schweikert wrote. “This was the attorney general of Arizona freelancing a scenario where bullets start flying and then shrugging it off as ‘just the law.’ That is reckless on its face. If your job is to enforce the law, you do not go on TV and hand out a permission structure for violence, then act surprised when people hear it as a green light. Words matter. Especially when they come from the state’s top lawyer.”
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
