by Staff Reporter | Apr 8, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Republican lawmakers are challenging Pima County over its resolution to prevent federal immigration enforcement from using county property.
House and Senate leadership filed a complaint with Attorney General Kris Mayes on Monday requesting an SB1487 Investigation. There is only one other active complaint under this designation, relating to a similar regulation prohibiting federal immigration enforcement activity on city property passed by the city of Phoenix.
In February, Pima County adopted a resolution, “Protecting County-Owned Properties,” prohibiting county departments, agencies, and employees from giving federal officials access to county buildings without a court warrant. The policy also barred departments, agencies, and employees from voluntarily assisting, facilitating, or cooperating with immigration enforcement.
The policy also prohibited county property from being used for staging areas, processing locations, or operations bases for immigration enforcement. The county defined staging area to include an assembling, mobilization, or deployment of vehicles, equipment, materials, or personnel for immigration enforcement.
Pima County Supervisor Rex Scott told AZPM that federal agents would have to justify themselves to county officials.
“If somebody with an enforceable warrant comes in, wanting to deal with what we’ve heard are the ‘worst of the worst,’ they’re going to be able to do that,” said Scott. “These warrantless, random sweeps that we’ve been seeing around the country are not going to happen on county property.”
Pima County Supervisor Tanya Nunez went a step further. She told KOLD that ICE needed to cease operations entirely.
“It’s a first step, it’s an important step, but it is really just the beginning. We need to have ICE not operate anywhere in our community, not just county property,” said Nunez.
According to the supervisors, the goal of the resolution was to prevent mass deportations and to limit immigration agents to warrant-based actions.
GOP leadership in the legislature say this resolution violates Arizona law prohibiting subdivisions of the state from limiting or restricting the enforcement of federal immigration laws, and the Supremacy Clause included in the Arizona Constitution.
Senate President Warren Petersen called the resolution a “radical” undermining of public safety in a press release.
“We’re seeing Democrat-run local governments put radical political agendas ahead of public safety,” said Petersen. “Instead of supporting law enforcement and protecting their citizens from crime, they’re creating barriers that make it harder to enforce the law and easier for criminals to stay in our communities.”
Senate President Pro Tempore TJ Shope argued these patchwork mandates from municipalities would only undermine law and order.
“This is about making sure our laws are applied consistently across Arizona,” said Shope. “When one county decides to go rogue, it creates gaps that undermine enforcement statewide. Arizonans expect coordination between all levels of government, not policies that tie the hands of law enforcement.”
House Majority Leader John Kavanagh questioned whether Mayes would have an biased approach, given her outspoken criticisms of ICE.
“Given her record and her public opposition to immigration enforcement, there is a serious question about whether she can review this case objectively. This is not a policy debate. The law is clear, and it must be applied,” said Kavanagh.
The city of Phoenix passed a regulation similar to Pima County’s resolution last month.
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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.
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by Staff Reporter | Mar 28, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Protests against President Donald Trump over his mass deportation policies are scheduled to take over the streets across dozens of Arizona cities this weekend.
The protests were coordinated through the national “No Kings” organization. “No Kings” refers to the belief that Trump has overreached in his powers, much like a monarchy, based on the drastic increase in federal immigration enforcement actions. The organization coordinated protests last spring, summer, and fall.
Over 7 million activists attended over 2,700 protests across the nation during the latest designated No Kings protest day last October.
Last year’s No Kings protests presented problems as some devolved into looting and rioting.
Some who hit the streets under the pretense of protest committed crimes that targeted law enforcement and local businesses.
Activists on the lookout for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have targeted local law enforcement under suspicion of their affiliation with the federal agency. Officers conducting operations and arrests for crimes other than immigration have faced off against violent rioters attempting to disrupt what they believe to be deportation proceedings.
Such was the case in one incident last summer when anti-ICE activists assaulted a Peoria police officer participating in a narcotics raid.
Saturday’s No Kings protests are scheduled to occur in Ajo, Anthem, Apache Junction, Arivaca, Bisbee, Bullhead City, Casas Adobes, Casa Grande, Chandler, Cottonwood, Douglas, Flagstaff, Florence, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Glendale, Globe, Goodyear, Green Valley, Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Marana, Maricopa, Mesa, Nogales, Oro Valley, Patagonia, Payson, Phoenix, Prescott, Quartzsite, Queen Creek, Safford, Sahuarita, Scottsdale, Sedona, Show Low, Sierra Vista, Sun City, Sun City West, Superior, Surprise, Tempe, Tubac, Tucson, Tucson Estates, Vail, Willcox, Winslow, and Yuma.
The No Kings coalition has over 200 partners backing it, including: Accountable.Us, American Federation of Teachers, American Federation of Government Employees, ACLU, Bernie Sanders campaign, College Democrats of America, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Greenpeace, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, NextGen America, Planned Parenthood, and Sierra Club.
The primary coordinators behind the initial formation of No Kings were the organizations Indivisible and 50501.
The 50501 movement has a chapter in Arizona, which has a private Facebook group containing over 6,500 members. This chapter’s online administrators include Tucson resident Scott Jackson; Erica Connell, a Phoenix drag performer who goes by the name “Weird Violet”; and Gilbert resident Kristin Clement.
Activists aligned with the 50501 movement attempted to breach the Arizona Capitol last February.
Other local activist organizations have played a role in organizing No Kings protests as well. Among these are the Party for Socialism and Liberation in Phoenix, East Valley Unite AZ, Gilbert Good Trouble, Mesa Valley Indivisible, Rural Arizona Action, Instituto Power, Progress Arizona, LUCHA Arizona, AZ Resistance Front, and United Campus Workers of Arizona.
Earlier this month, anti-ICE activists disrupted proceedings in the Arizona legislature to protest deportations.
In addition to educating illegal aliens on avoiding immigration enforcement, these organizations have encouraged the use of hotlines to report and track the whereabouts of federal agents. One hotline, “Migra Watch,” has dedicated caller hotlines for Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson, and rural areas, and a text hotline as well.
Financial data revealed tens of millions of federal dollars flowing into the organizations throwing their support behind No Kings protests.
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 8, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The GOP-led Arizona House censured Attorney General Kris Mayes over remarks they say endangered law enforcement.
The House passed HR2004 on Thursday with only Republican support. All Democrats voted against the measure.
State Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-LD3), the bill sponsor, said in a press release that Mayes had spoken in a manner that proved her lack of fitness for office. House Republicans are urging the attorney general to resign.
“This was not a slip of the tongue. These reckless statements, which she has refused to retract, put officers in danger. When the top law enforcement official in the state fuels confusion, criminals listen and peace officers pay the price,” said Chaplik. “Our officers deserve leadership that protects them, not an Attorney General who puts targets on their backs.”
Last month, Mayes offered a response to the increased federal immigration enforcement in a sit-down interview that political leaders from both parties said was inappropriate and dangerous.
The attorney general faces accusations that she effectively created a legal justification for shooting ICE and other law enforcement agents in an interview with 12News.
“[I]f 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,” said Mayes.
Mayes later told KTAR News that Renee Good would have been justified in shooting ICE. Good was shot by an ICE agent last month after she began driving her car at him. Good was present on the scene to disrupt immigration enforcement operations. Her partner yelled at Good to drive after ICE agents ordered Good to stop and exit the vehicle.
“If you are really sure that they are ICE and they present a badge or they present identification, then I would not recommend using lethal force against them. But one of the worries that I have is [that] we have a Stand Your Ground law in Arizona,” said Mayes. “If you reasonably believe that your life is in danger and especially if you’re in your home or your automobile, essentially the Castle Doctrine, you can use lethal force to protect yourself.”
Gov. Katie Hobbs told reporters that Mayes’ speech was “inappropriate” and advised her to issue a retraction.
“It is the responsibility of every elected official to turn down the temperature and do everything we can to be very careful with our language about ramping up the potential for violence,” said Hobbs. “We are seeing across the county people’s fear increasing and the potential for violence.”
So far, Mayes has maintained that her remarks were misunderstood: she didn’t advise the shooting of ICE agents, she advised ICE agents that they were in danger of a justified shooting because they often wear masks.
“Arizonans do not want masked agents entering their homes without warrants. It is un-American and it threatens the rights and safety of everyone in our state,” said Mayes. “We have all witnessed the increasingly chaotic and dangerous activity of ICE agents in cities across the country.”
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