Arizona
‘We are united’: how Arizona’s attorney general plans to manage border chaos
Kris Mayes, the attorney general of Arizona, has vowed to fight the incoming Trump administration over key aspects of its immigration policy, including any attempt to set up deportation camps on Arizonan soil or remove thousands of migrant “dreamers” who came to the US as children.
In an interview with the Guardian, Mayes said that any move by Donald Trump in his second presidential term to unpick the rights of dreamers to remain and work in the US would be a “bright red line for me. I will not stand for an attempt to deport them, or undermine them.”
Arizona, a critical border state that will be on the frontline of the struggle over Trump’s plans for mass deportations, has more than 30,000 dreamers, undocumented migrants who entered the US unlawfully as children but who were afforded rights under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca). The program was introduced by Barack Obama in 2012 but has been under relentless attack by Republicans ever since.
“I definitely will be fighting on behalf of dreamers,” Mayes said. “These folks are firefighters, police officers, teachers – they are part of the very fabric of our state and we will protect them.”
Trump tried to scrap Daca protections during his first presidency and was only stopped by a narrow ruling from the US supreme court. He recently softened his position, telling NBC News that he wanted to find a way to allow dreamers to stay in the country, though his apparent U-turn has left many skeptical of his intentions.
The Daca program is already being challenged by Republican states in a lawsuit that is currently before the ultra-conservative fifth circuit court of appeals. The case is almost certain to reach the supreme court, which has a six-to-three supermajority of rightwing justices.
Despite the hurdles facing dreamers, Mayes said she remains optimistic.
“I think the supreme court will ultimately see the merits of protecting them. We want to give the courts the opportunity to make the right decision here, and we’ll be making very strong arguments on that proposition,” she said.
Arizona’s attorney general also had strong words about any attempt by Trump to construct detention camps in her state as part of his plans to mass-deport millions of undocumented immigrants. She said her army of lawyers were also primed to push back on any move to renew family separation, the policy under which thousands of children were taken away from their parents at the Mexican border as part of a “zero tolerance” strategy.
“If Trump tries to engage in family separation, or build mass deportation camps, I will do everything I can legally to fight that. That is not happening in Arizona, not on our soil,” she said.
Mayes added that family separation – which has left up to 1,000 families still rent apart six years later – was “fundamentally anathema to who Arizonans are”.
Mayes and her team have been preparing for months for the anticipated whirlwind of activity as soon as Trump re-enters the White House on 20 January. They have “scoured”, as she put it, Project 2025, the rightwing playbook for a Trump second term compiled by the Heritage Foundation.
She has also been working closely with other Democratic state attorneys general, noting that between them they filed more than 100 lawsuits during Trump’s first presidency, winning 80% of them.
“One of our strengths is that we are doing this very much together, we are united and we are organized,” Mayes said.
The importance of cross-state cooperation is likely to be all the more critical over border issues.
Mayes said that she was working with her Democratic counterparts Rob Bonta of California and Raúl Torrez of New Mexico – with only the Republican attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, taking a very different, anti-immigrant approach.
“Three of the four border states have attorneys general in Democratic hands and we are going to fight for due process and for individual rights,” she explained.
A complicating factor is Proposition 314, the ballot measure passed in Arizona in November with a resounding 63% of the vote. It allows state police to arrest any undocumented person who crosses into the US other than at legal ports of entry.
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Mayes said that the decision would not deter her from resisting Trump’s unconstitutional moves.
“Proposition 314 tells us that Arizonans are fed up with a dysfunctional border,” she said.
“We are facing a serious fentanyl crisis in our state, and there’s no doubt that Arizonans want our border addressed. But when Arizonans voted for Donald Trump they did not vote to shred the Arizona and US constitution – I strongly believe that.”
What was needed at the border was more federal resources to increase border patrol boots on the ground, boost the interception of fentanyl, and enhance prosecution of drug cartels. What was not needed, Mayes insisted, was Trump’s threatened plan to send in the national guard and even the US military to act as a souped-up deportation force.
“There’s nothing more unAmerican than using the military against Americans,” she said. “It’s clearly unconstitutional, and it’s not something Arizonans want to see.”
Since being elected to the position of Arizona’s top law enforcement officer in 2022, Mayes has established herself as a rising star in the Democratic party capable of negotiating the at times fraught politics of a border state. Her most high-profile act came in April when she indicted 18 people including Trump’s former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former chief of staff Mark Meadows for participating in the 2020 “fake electors” conspiracy.
A similar prosecution of fake electors in Georgia was recently upended after an appeals court disqualified the Atlanta prosecutor in charge of the case, Fani Willis.
Mayes told the Guardian that despite Trump’s victory in November, she had no intention of dropping the fake electors case. “These indictments were handed down by a state grand jury, and you don’t do justice by popular vote. The case is in the courts now, and that’s where it’s going to stay until it’s over.”
Such a prominent prosecution could place her in the crosshairs of Kash Patel, Trump’s pick for director of the FBI. Should Patel be confirmed for the job by the US Senate, he has made it clear he will pursue revenge investigations against those deemed to be Trump’s enemies.
Mayes didn’t want to discuss Patel’s nomination. But she did say: “I’m not afraid of anyone. I’m going to do my job, uphold the law and protect Arizonans. I’m going to do it no matter who is at the helm of the FBI.”
Hear from Arizona basketball players ahead of Final Four
Hear from Arizona men’s basketball players Anthony Dell’Orso and Jaden Bradley ahead of the Wildcats’ Final Four matchup against Michigan.
INDIANAPOLIS – Chandler native Koa Peat has won a lot of big games.
He led Perry High School to four straight state high school championships. He’s been part of gold-medal-winning entries for Team USA. And he’s a star freshman on the No. 1 University of Arizona team, which is on the precipice of the school’s first national championship since 1997.
It should have been hard for him to come up with an answer when asked the last time he actually “lost” a big game, but he did come up with one.
He singled out Arizona’s loss to then-No. 9 Kansas at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in February. That was one of just two games the Wildcats dropped this season. It says a lot that it was the worst loss he can remember.
Peat and the Wildcats (36-2) will square off against Michigan (35-3) in the second of two NCAA semifinals on Saturday, April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. The game is scheduled to tip off at roughly 5:50 p.m. MST, and will be televised on TNT, TBS and truTV.
The first Final Four game will pit Illinois against Connecticut at 4 p.m. and will be televised on TBS and truTV. The winners will compete for the national championship on Monday, April 6.
Arizona has won 13 straight games since back-to-back losses to Kansas and Texas Tech in February. Peat has hardly looked the part of a freshman.
“They call him Mr. Arizona,” said Wildcats’ coach Tommy Lloyd, who agreed to a contract extension on the eve of the team’s semifinal showdown. “Koa is special, and I know you guys hear it, but you got to hear it again. Four state championships at the same high school. Didn’t go to a prep school. Four gold medals with USA Basketball. No one in FIBA history has ever done that. And helped lead Arizona to a Final Four.”
At 6-foot-8, 235 pounds, Peat hardly looks like a freshman physically. He doesn’t play like one either.
Peat is averaging 14.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. That might sound pedestrian compared to some athletes who have put up video-game-like offensive numbers. But this Arizona team is balanced offensively, with all five starters averaging double figures.
Peat has been at his best in the big moments. He was named the most outstanding player in the West Region, scoring 21 points against Arkansas in the Sweet 16 win and 20 against Purdue in the Elite Eight victory, which earned the Wildcats a berth in Indianapolis.
He came onto the scene with a bang, scoring a season-high 30 against defending national champion Florida on Nov. 3.
Message delivered.
While that game was a long time ago, it was a good indicator that the Wildcats could go the distance because they beat a team like Florida, which is similar to Michigan with size in the front court.
“We always watch our good highlights, so just seeing those (against Florida) definitely gives us confidence for sure,” Peat said.
Michigan coach Dusty May said it takes a certain kind of player to be able to compete at this level as a true freshman, and Peat fits the bill, as does Brayden Burries.
“When we were at Florida (Atlantic) we used to talk about how there are certain prerequisites to be able to play as a freshman at a Power Five level,” May said. “And one of those prerequisites was playing USA Basketball because of the amount of intensity that it takes to compete during the trials, during the practices and also the games and also the sacrifice it takes because you’re playing with 11 of the best players in our country and you have to sacrifice so much just to play.”
Genes and a competitive drive probably help too. Peat grew up in a house full of athletes as the youngest of seven siblings, all of whom played football or basketball. His brother, Andrus Peat, has been in the NFL for 10 years and currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. His father, Todd, played for four teams in the NFL, most notably the Cardinals.
“It’s been a blessing to have great people like that around me, a family as I have with so many athletes who played Division I sports,” Peat said, on the eve of the national semifinal. “I would say I am the most competitive just because their competitiveness was passed down to me, seeing how good they were and what it took to compete.”
Lloyd has been impressed, although not necessarily surprised, with how Peat has performed as well as the way he has remained grounded.
“The dude, he’s amazing. His ability to perform the way he did in these moments, you know, he’s been in a lot of them,” Lloyd said. “I told our guys, don’t make too much out of this. It’s like a state championship game. You guys have all played in them. Or a gold medal game or whatever. Let’s just find a way to win the game. Don’t make it more than it is.”
For the first time, researchers are taking to the skies to quantify Arizona’s changing snowpack, and results from these new operations are in. FOX 10’s Megan Spector reports.
The weather in Tucson has gotten warmer, and the days are getting longer, meaning one thing: football season has returned to the delight of Arizona fans everywhere.
Spring football practice began a little over a week ago, and the Wildcats are looking to build off of an impressive season that saw them go 9-4, finish as the 21st-ranked team in the NCAA, and earn an appearance in the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl.
Although it is just spring practice and full pads haven’t been worn yet, Arizona is looking like a strong team, and as teammates continue to gel over the months, it will only get better.
The running back position group is greatly benefiting from having four returning players and a new coach in Lyle Moevao, who is already familiar with the Wildcats and how head coach Brent Brennan and offensive coordinator Seth Doege like to run things.
Quincy Craig was a part of a three-running back committee that had all the makings of an elite-level backfield. Now that Ismail Mahdi is gone and preparing for the NFL Draft, he and Kedrick Reescano are the team’s veterans and will see a lot more carries throughout the season.
Craig’s Initial Growing Pains in First Year With Arizona
In his first season with the Wildcats, Craig established himself as an all-purpose back who can scorch a defense, both on the ground and through the air. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Sacramento State missed just one game and racked up 364 yards on 65 carries (5.6 yards) while also snagging 14 receptions for 114 yards,
Although transferring to a new team and getting acclimated to another offense may seem like a huge burden, Craig actually got used to it quickly, and it showed on the field. Now that he is in his second year, he is fully used to the ‘RedLine’ ways and credits the coaching staff and players for the smooth transition.
“I think the coaching staff does a really good job at keeping everybody together, and the team also does a good job at accepting everybody,” Craig said. “I actually do think that we have the potential to be another really close team, and I think that’s going to benefit us in the fall.”
Craig Taking Time To Get Back to Full Health
The 2025 season took a toll on Craig’s body. An undisclosed injury even sidelined him in Arizona’s week 11 game against Baylor. Craig is listed as limited in spring practice, meaning he is taking all the necessary steps to rehab any lingering injuries so he will be 100% by the time summer camp rolls around.
“It’s definitely been a grind,” Craig said. “We each have our ups and downs, and I think this is something to where, how can we be of value for the team through our own injury or through our own circumstances right now?”
Craig Accepting Leadership Role
Now that Craig is considered one of the veterans of the running back room, Moevao challenged him and Reecano to take on more of a leadership role with the second-year players Wesley Yarbrough and Cornelius Warren.
Craig feels that the coaches have done an exceptional job in letting him speak and share advice with the younger players, which allows him to be a role model on the field.
“I think our coaching staff does a really good job at letting us have the opportunity to talk and speak out about it,” Craig said. “I’m definitely taking this role of trying to, ‘how can I be of value?’ That’s the main thing that I’m really trying to step up… As of right now, it’s me trying to vocalize and become more of a leader into the situation. Just trying to take it day by day.”
Arizona’s spring practice will run through April 22, giving Craig about a month to fully rehab any lingering injuries. Until then, he will continue to be a vocal leader and help the running back room improve.
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