by Jonathan Eberle | May 15, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed another piece of Republican-sponsored immigration enforcement legislation, drawing criticism from GOP leaders who say the measure would have helped safeguard Arizona communities from crime linked to undocumented immigrants.
SB 1088, sponsored by Senate Government Committee Chairman Jake Hoffman (R-LD15), would have required all levels of Arizona government — including state agencies, counties, municipalities, and independent contractors — to comply with federal immigration laws. The bill also sought to formalize cooperation with federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In a statement following the veto, Hoffman accused Hobbs of endangering public safety for ideological reasons.
“Arizonans have long suffered under the callous and inhumane open-border policies promoted and enforced by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Alejandro Mayorkas, and Katie Hobbs,” Hoffman said. “There is no logical justification for Hobbs’ veto on this reasonable bill… but she remains committed to her radical ideology of open borders and appeasement for cartels.”
The Governor’s office has not yet issued a detailed statement explaining her decision on SB 1088, but in previous vetoes of similar legislation, Hobbs has cited concerns over constitutionality, local control, and the potential for civil rights violations. Her administration has emphasized a need for comprehensive federal immigration reform rather than piecemeal state-level mandates.
This marks the latest in a string of immigration-related bills Hobbs has rejected this year. In March, she vetoed SB 1610, which would have required county jails to provide ICE with identifying information and access to certain inmates charged with crimes like burglary, assault, or offenses involving serious injury or death. Another proposal, SB 1164 — dubbed the “AZ ICE Act” — would have banned any policies that limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Both bills were backed by GOP lawmakers and part of a broader Republican effort to crack down on illegal immigration.
With a divided government in Arizona — Republicans controlling the Legislature and Democrats holding the Governor’s office — immigration enforcement has become a recurring flashpoint. Hobbs’ vetoes signal a clear resistance to Republican attempts to expand state involvement in immigration matters.
Hoffman and other GOP lawmakers have indicated they may continue to introduce similar legislation and are expected to highlight the vetoes in upcoming political campaigns. Republicans argue these measures are necessary to support law enforcement and curb crime, while Democrats say the bills could open the door to overreach and civil rights violations. Arizona’s legislative battles are likely to remain a key battleground in the broader debate over how immigration enforcement should be handled — and by whom.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Jonathan Eberle | May 8, 2025 | News
By Jonathan Eberle |
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed a Republican-sponsored immigration enforcement bill, drawing sharp criticism from Senator John Kavanagh and other GOP lawmakers who say the legislation was a necessary step toward protecting public safety.
SB 1610, introduced by Kavanagh, would have required county detention facilities to cooperate with federal immigration authorities by providing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with access to information about non-citizen individuals arrested for certain serious crimes, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, burglary, and offenses resulting in serious bodily injury or death.
Governor Hobbs vetoed the bill, saying it would have undermined trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement and could have led to racial profiling. Hobbs has previously said that Arizona should not be in the business of enforcing federal immigration law — a view aligned with many Democrats who argue that local entanglement in immigration enforcement can have unintended legal and social consequences.
Senator Kavanagh sharply disagreed, framing the veto as a dereliction of duty.
“Hobbs continues to give her veto stamp more attention than the citizens she’s required to protect,” Kavanagh said in a statement. “People are fed up with the massive tsunami of dangerous criminals who have entered this country illegally.”
He added that the bill was a way to align Arizona with federal deportation efforts and referenced the recent Laken Riley Act, a congressional proposal with bipartisan support that also centers on deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes.
The bill comes at a time when immigration remains a political issue in Arizona, a border state that has long wrestled with foreign nationals attempting to enter illegally into the U.S. Republican lawmakers have increasingly advocated for state-level legislation to fill what they see as gaps in federal immigration enforcement. Democrats, however, claim that such bills often cast too wide a net and risk violating constitutional protections.
Governor Hobbs has issued more than 100 vetoes since taking office in 2023 — a record-setting pace that reflects the divided government in Arizona, where Republicans control the Legislature and Democrats hold the governor’s office.
With the latest veto, the clash between state lawmakers and the governor over immigration policy is likely to continue into the next legislative session and could become a focal point in upcoming elections.
Jonathan Eberle is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | May 6, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Under the direction of Governor Katie Hobbs, the Arizona Department of Administration (ADA) sold the state’s first private prison rather than repurposing it for illegal alien detainment.
The State House overwhelmingly rejected a bill last Thursday to lease the prison, Marana Community Correctional Treatment Facility adjacent to Tucson, to the federal government for illegal aliens and other violators of immigration law for just $1 a year. The bill failed due to bipartisan rejection despite its party-line passage in the Senate.
“The federal government should have access to the empty Marana Prison to house these dangerous criminal illegal aliens so that Arizonans are protected from further threats,” said the bill’s author, Senator John Kavanaugh.
One Republican lawmaker representing Marana, Rep. Rachel Keshel, rejected repurposing the prison for immigration violations over concerns of bringing criminal illegal aliens into their community.
Keshel and fellow lawmaker to the area, Democratic Rep. Kevin Volk, alleged in remarks to Capitol Media Services that Kavanaugh failed to consult with local leaders about his proposed plan.
“Now, I do agree that something needs to happen with it instead of it just sitting there. But why was I not consulted with?” Keshel asked. “Why wasn’t I able to go to the mayor, the vice mayor, the town council of Marana, and figure out what their desires were for their community?”
The prison’s buyer, Management and Training Corporation (MTC) out of Utah, had operated and managed the prison. MTC purchased the 500-bed facility for about $15 million last Wednesday.
MTC owns nearly 40 correctional facilities, community release centers, and treatment programs across the nation.
The Marana prison was the state’s first private prison, established over 30 years ago. The minimum-security facility housed around up to 500 prisoners requiring substance abuse intervention. The declining prison population in the state prompted the prison’s closing and its recent sale.
The sale comes less than two years after Governor Katie Hobbs announced the prison’s closure in late 2023. The prison closed with under half of the number of prisoners that would constitute capacity.
Hobbs said the closure was a means of saving taxpayer dollars and eliminating government waste. The governor projected a savings of $15 million between the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR) absorbed the Marana inmates into other prisons throughout the state. ADCRR operates 15 prisons, six of which are private.
“So not only are we demonstrating significant savings, we’re demonstrating, with actions, our ability to be more efficient with the resources already provided to us,” said ADCRR Director Ryan Thornell.
The move by the Hobbs administration put off some local leaders. Marana Mayor Ed Honea said Hobbs gave notice to nearly 90 prison employees and staff of their impending job loss just three weeks before Christmas. The prison had the capability of employing over 200 individuals at full capacity.
Per Honea, the Marana inmates also provided affordable labor for the town. The inmates managed and cleared roadways, and during storm seasons would also clear debris.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | May 1, 2025 | News
By Staff Reporter |
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday ordering an end to in-state college tuition for aliens — the very policy endorsed by Republican gubernatorial candidate Karrin Taylor Robson.
Robson advocated for the passage of Proposition 308 in 2022: the proposition extending in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens protected from deportation by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, usually referred to as “Dreamers.”
Robson was featured in a commercial by “Yes on 308” advocating for Proposition 308’s passage. Robson argued Dreamers provided a fiscal benefit to the state.
“It will improve Arizona’s economy by keeping skilled workers here in Arizona – kids we’ve already invested in for years, with zero tax increase,” said Robson.
Robson also signed onto a letter alongside over 50 Arizona Republican leaders advocating for aliens as critical members of the workforce.
Proposition 308 passed narrowly thanks to millions in dark out-of-state funds.
Trump’s executive order ordered an end to these college tuition benefits, claiming these and other similar policies qualified as unequal treatment of Americans. Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to end state and local laws, regulations, policies, and practices which favor aliens over American citizens.
The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and appropriate agency heads, shall identify and take appropriate action to stop the enforcement of State and local laws, regulations, policies, and practices favoring aliens over any groups of American citizens that are unlawful, preempted by Federal law, or otherwise unenforceable, including State laws that provide in-State higher education tuition to aliens but not to out-of-State American citizens that may violate 8 U.S.C. 1623 or that favor aliens in criminal charges or sentencing.
Of note, Trump endorsed both Robson and her Republican primary opponent, Congressman Andy Biggs. Dual endorsements aren’t rare for the president, though Trump’s endorsement of Robson occurred prior to Biggs entering the race.
Arizona Republican leadership opposition to Robson’s campaign prompted Robson to unregister as a lobbyist earlier this year.
Shortly after Trump’s executive order, Biggs backed the move to end in-state tuition for Dreamers. The congressman also cited his support for a bill by Congressman Paul Gosar to prevent illegal aliens from receiving benefits restricted to American citizens.
“President Trump is right – US citizens shouldn’t pay more for college tuition than illegal aliens,” said Biggs. “I stand with President Trump on securing the border and ending policies that incentivize illegal immigration.”
Arizona’s legalization of in-state college tuition for illegal aliens resulted in the increased influence of dark money operations. These opaque cash flows have funneled into scholarship programs offered by the state’s universities.
Arizona isn’t the only state to grant this privilege to aliens. About half of the country and the District of Columbia also allows illegal aliens to pay in-state tuition for public colleges and universities including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Matthew Holloway | Apr 20, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
In a stark contrast to her efforts to rebrand herself as tough on the border, Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed the Arizona Immigration Cooperation and Enforcement (ICE) Act, SB 1164. The bill would have required that every police department and sheriff’s office in the state comply with detainer orders from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Amidst her ongoing deliberate obstruction of the legislative process, labeled as a “moratorium” on signing new bills, Hobbs vetoed an additional 32 bills as well.
In Hobbs’ veto letter, she addressed Senate President Warren Petersen, seeming to attempt a conciliatory tone and saying in part, “You and I both disagreed with the previous administration’s immigration policies, and we may both disagree with the next administration’s immigration policies. I have worked productively with the federal government to secure our border, stopping fentanyl at our ports of entry through the Task Force SAFE, disrupting cartel operations with Operation Desert Guardian, and working across all levels of government to keep communities safe with the Border Coordination Office.”
She claimed, “I will continue to work with the federal government on true border security, but we should not force state and local officials to take marching orders from Washington.”
The Republican State Governor’s Association’s Rapid Response Director Kollin Crompton released a statement in response to Hobbs’ veto saying, “Katie Hobbs’ veto is no surprise — her record on the border is pitiful. Hobbs tried to fool Arizonans into thinking she was a border hawk, but this shameful veto shows she is unserious about addressing the border and protecting Arizonans from the violence and drugs coming into the state. She waited until 7:00 pm on Friday of a holiday weekend to try to hide from her open borders record. Arizonans are sick of Katie Hobbs’ window dressing — they deserve a governor who will actually work to secure the border and keep them and their families safe.”
As reported by AZ Free News in November of last year, Hobbs stated during her disjointed kick off of Task Force SAFE, “We will not be participating in misguided efforts that harm our communities. And I’ve been incredibly clear about that.”
Petersen described the bill as a measure to make Arizona a “partner and not an obstacle,” to the federal government’s efforts to enforce immigration law.
“It deals with this first wave of deportation that the Trump administration is focused on, which is removing the most dangerous criminals from our streets,” Petersen explained.
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.
