Former border agent found guilty of kidnapping and assaulting a minor
A jury found former Customs and Border Protection agent Aaron Mitchell guilty of sexually assaulting and kidnapping a 15-year old girl, who he abducted in Douglas in 2022.
Tucson migrant operation to receive new funding while spending still in question
Pima County will receive nearly $19 million in federal funding to continue services for asylum seekers who come through Tucson.
New directive says Border Patrol must return migrants’ belongings
In the past many migrants have said border officials discarded their things, including legal documents, religious items and medications.
Trump uses a stretch of border wall and a pile of steel beams in Arizona to contrast with Democrats
The visit was the fourth in a series of events held in battleground states this week to try to draw the focus away from Democrats’ celebration of Harris’ presidential nomination in Chicago.
Cochise officials to meet with Trump during Thursday border visit
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Sierra Vista Police Department, the Department of Public Safety, Secret Service and other law enforcement partners on security for former president Donald Trump’s visit to the border on Thursday.
Border arrests drop 33% to a 46-month low in July after asylum restrictions take hold
Asylum was halted at the border June 5 because arrests for illegal crossings topped a threshold of 2,500 a day.
Vendor linked to former Casa Alitas director terminated for overcharging, procurement violations, and conflict of interest
The county confirmed that a laundry vendor for the Casa Alitas migrant program is owned by the former director’s mother.
AZ Supreme Court upholds GOP-backed border security proposal for November ballot
The Arizona Supreme Court sided with a lower court that a Republican-backed border security proposal can stay on the November ballot.
Atascosa Mountains ocelot sighting, first in 50 years
Trail cameras caught footage of an endangered ocelot five miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border, in a region where ocelots haven’t been seen in 50 years.
AZ border apprehension down but prosecutions up 25%
The U.S. Attorney in Arizona prosecuted more than 2,600 migrants for illegal entry into the country during its second quarter. That’s a 25% uptick despite a drop in the number of migrant apprehensions.
Committee urges U.S. and Mexico to protect UNESCO World Heritage site from border wall damage
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee is calling on the U.S. and Mexico to work together to assess and mitigate impacts of the border wall on wildlife of the Sonoran desert, especially the endangered Sonoran pronghorn.
New report: Detained immigrant deaths were preventable
A new report published by the ACLU found that immigrant deaths in ICE detention centers were largely caused by lack of oversight and systemic failures, including two deaths in Arizona.
DOJ lawsuit says shelter for migrant children has a pattern of sexual abuse and harassment
The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against a non-profit with a facility in Tucson, alleging its employees have subjected the unaccompanied migrant children in their care to severe, pervasive, and unwelcome sexual abuse and harassment.
Number of migrants entering Arizona lowest in 3+ years
New federal data shows that the number of migrants crossing the southern border into Arizona has fallen to fewer numbers than the state has seen since February 2021, keeping with the trend across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Shadow Wolves may see better career mobility under new bill
Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema introduced new legislation that would both improve border security and the retention of Shadow Wolves agents.
