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BORDER IMMIGRATION / Modified apr 9, 2025 4:56 p.m.

Tucson PD receiving $500,000 from state border security fund

The Tucson City Council voted to accept state funding designed to enhance law enforcement efforts against illegal immigration within the city. by Danyelle Khmara

tucson police Police officers in downtown Tucson on June 24, 2022.
Gage Judd/AZPM

The Tucson Police Department is using the 500-thousand dollars, from the Department of Public Safety, for five K9 vehicles.

The agreement with the state says it’s to deter, apprehend, prosecute and detain individuals charged with drug trafficking, human smuggling, illegal immigration and other border-related crimes, but TPD spokesperson Richard Gradillas said it won’t affect the department’s practices relating to immigration.

"Those aren't any different than what Chief Kasmar has said in the past," Gradillas said. "So we follow our general orders for immigration, so that's not really going to change how we work at all.

Tucson Police Department Chief Chad Kasmar, along with city leaders, has said TPD will not enforce immigration law. The department’s immigration policy says that being in the country unauthorized is not a criminal offense, and enforcement of such civil violations is reserved for federal authorities.

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