In Nogales, Hobbs praises partnerships against fentanyl smuggling as Trump returns to White House

Highlighting recent efforts to combat fentanyl smuggling across the border, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs pushed for partnerships between state and federal agencies while warning the incoming Trump administration she would fight “misguided” policies.

During a press conference at a border crossing in Nogales, Ariz., on Monday, Hobbs repeatedly praised state and federal partnerships and told reporters she would not “tolerate attacks on Arizona families.”

“I will not tolerate misguided policies that don’t actually help with the critical work that’s happening here, that you’re seeing here today, that actually keeps our communities safe and secure,” Hobbs said. “I will not tolerate terrorizing communities or threatening Arizonans.” 

However, Hobbs demurred on answering how the state would defend Arizonans, saying she would not “comment on hypotheticals.”

“We will absolutely respond appropriately when we know what those threats look like and how we can effectively respond,” she said, speaking to reporters at the Mariposa Port of Entry. “I will work with the administration when it benefits Arizonans. And if I need to stand up to them because their actions will harm Arizonans, I will do that.”

Instead, she focused on recent efforts to combat fentanyl smuggling by a contingent of Arizona National Guard soldiers who were deployed to Nogales in July as part of Task Force SAFE, or Stopping Arizona’s Fentanyl Epidemic.

Hobbs was joined Monday by acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller; the Arizona
National Guard’s Major General Kerry L. Muehlenbeck; Kimberly O’Connor,
the director of the Arizona Department of Homeland Security; Col.
Jeffrey Glover, the director of Arizona Department of Public Safety; and
Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado.

“As governor, I have spoken many times with local and federal law enforcement leadership to hear what their officers and our communities face every single day. I’ve heard stories of tragic overdoses and violence in our communities, and how cities like Nogales are suffering from strained resources,” Hobbs said.

“As I
continued to have these conversations, two things became very clear,”
she said. “One, the people on the ground are doing the very best they
can with what they’ve got. And two, this crisis is happening in real time and requires real action.”

Hobbs said she has launched a “comprehensive, multi-million dollar
strategic effort” to crack down on drug trafficking, support law
enforcement and provide treatment to people addicted to fentanyl.

Around 40 soldiers were sent to Nogales to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection staffers, tasked with directing traffic for secondary search and scan lanes and helping to dismantle vehicles that may be carrying contraband at the Mariposa border crossing, and helping with rail operations at the Dennis DeConcini border crossing a few miles east.

Hobbs said Task Force SAFE has supported the seizure of more than 6 million fentanyl pills and more than 1,400
pounds of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl powder, and heroin, at a cost of around $3 million in state funding.

“Every fentanyl pill taken off the street,
every ounce of heroin seized, every gram of cocaine stopped, is a
serious blow to the cartels and drug traffickers doing Arizonans harm.”

Hobbs said effort builds on more than 170 service members currently embedded in law enforcement agencies
across the state as part of the National Guard’s Counter Drug Program, which has increased the “operational
capacity” by over 20 percent.

She added that under SAFE,  another $17 million was given to the Arizona Department of Public
Safety to aid local law enforcement agencies with drug interdiction
efforts in border communities. Another $5 million was earmarked to support
veterans substance abuse treatment programs, and $1 million to distribute
and equip first responders with lifesaving overdose reversal
medication, her office announced.

Hobbs said the state has also sent $84 million in funding to law enforcement agencies across the border.

She added the state also created a “border coordination office” inside the
Arizona Department of Homeland Security to “bolster cooperation among
local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement partner partners.”

She said when she launched Task Force SAFE, “it
wasn’t about making headlines. I saw an opportunity for the state to
step in, to mobilize our resources to make a tangible difference in
partnership with federal agencies.”

“The
people of Arizona and this nation want more than words. They want
results,” Hobbs said. “They want politicians to treat the border as more
than a convenient place for a photo op.”

“The people in uniform
with us here today can tell you, the fight against cartels and bad
actors transcends any one person or political party,” she added.

‘All this work matters’ 

A month earlier, Miller used the same backdrop to praise his agency’s fight against fentanyl, telling reporters CBP has “taken the fight” to criminal organizations, launching a combination of efforts targeting fentanyl smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border. This includes efforts to target “plaza bosses” in the twin border cities of Nogales who help move fentanyl in Arizona.

Last month, Miller said at least five “plaza bosses” have been arrested by law enforcement officials, and he said last week, officials in Mexico arrested Omar Felix Loaiza during a raid. Operating as the plaza boss for the area south of Sasabe, Ariz., Loaizaor “El Pelon”is closely linked to the Los Chapitos, a criminal organization run by the sons of Joaquin Guzmán Loera, or “El Chapo” who have filled in their father’s role while he resides in a U.S. prison.

Miller has served as acting head of CBP since the early days of the Biden administration, but was never confirmed for the job. Miller served as acting head until December 2021 when former Tucson Police Department Chief Chris Magnus took on the role. However, Miller stepped back into the role after Magnus was ousted in Nov. 2022.

During the last Trump administration, the commissioner’s seat was often in chaos. After Kevin McAleenan was confirmed in 2018, he was later pushed to Homeland Security before he was fired from the administration, and John Sanders served just 81 days before he quit and was replaced by former FBI agent Mark Morgan.

“We are having an impact in this fight,” Miller added. “We are disrupting the fentanyl supply chains. We are stopping the precursors and production equipment coming into entrancing us, and we are doubling down on our efforts to find and seize fentanyl at our ports of entry.” 

In the last two years, we’ve seized more than 50,000 pounds of fentanyl,” he said. “All this work matters.”

When asked about how CBP is working to mitigate gun smuggling into Mexico,  Miller told reporters screening “goes both ways” and the agency is working to add non-intrusive inspection technology designed to peer into vehicles and look for anomalies on outgoing lanes. 

Guard on border ‘not something new’

Muehlenbeck noted partnerships between the Arizona National Guard and CBP are “not something new.”

“We’ve actually, since 1989, been partnering with law enforcement agencies across the state and at the border to get after drug interdiction,” she said, adding troops work under a “specific statutory authority for the National Guard to engage in counter drug operations.”

In 2018 and 2021, former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey repeatedly deployed National Guard troops to the border.

In April 2018, Ducey held a press conference at the U.S. Border Patrol station in Nogales to announce the deployment of roughly 338 guardsmen to the border as part of the Trump administration’s move to harden border enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Through 2018, Guard troops were deployed along the border under Operation Guardian Support. However, they could not detain people crossing the border, but were instead relegated to support roles, including managing the feeding and care of Border Patrol’s horses, fixing and maintaining the agency’s vehicles, and watching remote surveillance cameras. 

Some Air National Guard units flew helicopters over the southwestern desert, providing surveillance, and when needed, search and rescue operations, including plucking hurt migrants from remote mountain-tops. 

In late 2018, the Trump administration went further, and launched Operation Secure Line, a 7,000-strong deployment of National Guard troops—which included not just soldiers, but border defenses, intelligence analysts, and heavy aircraft adding “robust military capabilities” in Arizona’s border towns. Along with the troops, engineers added concertina or “razor wire” along the U.S.-Mexico border, welding the dangerously sharp wire to the border wall in places like downtown Nogales. 

Border Patrol officials defended the guard’s role by stating that by aiding the agency in support roles, more agents could be out in the field to secure the border. 

During the 2018 deployments, U.S. military and CBP officials were careful to note that guard troops would not deal directly with migrants, and would not be put in charge of security or detention efforts.

In 2021, Ducey sent 250 guardsmen to the border again in support roles, relegating them to installing and maintaining cameras, and helping with medical care at detention centers.

Muehlenbeck said Hobbs has sought nearly $50 million over the last two fiscal years from the federal government, however, Congress allocated a little over $16 million. “So if my math is correct, what we need for effective support came up short,” Muehlenbeck said. 

Muehlenbeck said Hobbs sent $3 million to the state National Guard to help make up for the shortfall, and using that funding, the guard has 40 active duty members on Task Force SAFE. “Their primary mission is to surge down to the ports of entry to support CBP in drug interdiction,” she said. 

“We’ve enhanced our capacity to protect our communities,” she said. “And I think selfishly, our national guardsmen will tell you they have a vested interest in this. First and foremost, they’re public servants, but secondarily, they’re part of these communities. They live here, they work here, they serve here, and now they’re serving as force multipliers down at the border to assist in drug interdiction.”

‘I’m not going to jump into lawsuits’

Hobbs repeatedly declined to be specific when asked how the state of Arizona would
defend immigrant communities against the Trump administration.

“I
will stand up to protect Arizonans from harm by the federal government,
from anyone,” she said. “I’m not going to comment on hypotheticals. We
don’t know what a mass deportation plan will look like, what resources
it will involve. I’m here to protect Arizonans, and I will do that.”

“I’m not going to talk about specifics about a plan when I don’t know what the specifics are,” she said.

Following the election just a few weeks ago, the governors of
California, Illinois and Colorado began laying the groundwork for a
stand-up fight against the Trump administration, forming Governors Safeguarding
Democracy. During the election, the
president-elect said he would launch a massive deportation effort and
tapped former ICE head Tom Homan to serve as a “border czar” tasked with
launching deportations and workplace raids across the U.S.

During an interview with PBS News Hour, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his organization is designed to combat an “onslaught
from the federal government to take powers away from the states and/or
to actually violate the Constitution.”

Hobbs said she hadn’t joined the coalition. 

“I’m
not the governor of other states, I’m focused on the needs of
Arizonans,” she said. “And I’m not going to jump into lawsuits that
don’t exist yet against actions that haven’t been taken, yet.”