Gov. Katie Hobbs defends record fighting illegal immigration in wake of opponent’s ICE claims

PHOENIX — Two candidates in Arizona’s upcoming gubernatorial race sparred on Thursday over Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ record on border security and her stance on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Karrin Taylor Robson, one of the leading Republican contenders in next year’s primary, slammed Hobbs during an appearance on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show. She criticized the incumbent Hobbs’ stance on border security and claimed the governor opposed President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

“She even called for the defunding of ICE,” Taylor Robson said.

Later that day, Hobbs refuted that claim during an interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos.

Calling Taylor Robson’s accusation “absolutely” false, Hobbs emphasized her commitment to border security and praised Trump’s efforts.

“Border security is a top issue when I talk to Arizonans, and it’s why I focused on border security from day one,” Hobbs said. “It’s why I fought the Biden administration who wasn’t giving it the attention it deserved and why we’re working hand-in-hand with the Trump administration on border security now.”

To support her argument, Hobbs pointed to her record, particularly her launching of Operation Desert Guardian earlier this year.

“It is a statewide multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency effort to go after cartel activity,”  Hobbs said. “We have the federal government’s cooperation on that effort that is bearing big results in terms of drug interdictions and seizures and illegal weapons and getting bad guys in jail.”

Gubernatorial candidates disagree over job growth, market health

Beyond immigration, the candidates are also clashing over campaign momentum and Arizona’s economic health.

In Taylor Robson’s opinion, Arizona is struggling financially, saying Arizona had negative job growth in 2025’s first quarter.

“There’s a reason, under Gov. Doug Ducey, we had achieved the status as No. 1 in the nation on job growth, and today we’re 47,” Taylor Robson said. “Gov. Hobbs has somehow figured out how to take us from the top of the heap down to the bottom of the barrel.”

In Hobbs’ opinion, that was an example of cherry-picking data.

“It’s one statistic from one report that isn’t even an accurate picture of how we measure job growth,” Hobbs said. “In fact, Arizona right now is one of 12 states that is experiencing economic expansion, and we are eighth in the country for private sector job growth.”

She said the only area where Arizona has experienced negative job growth is the government sector, which she attributed to the Trump administration’s widespread cuts in government spending.

“We are still experiencing a strong position in terms of jobs in our state and continued economic investment and job creation,” Hobbs said.

“I think when the national job numbers were corrected, Arizona was the only state that had a net gain, and we had a pretty significant net gain,” she added. “Our job numbers are reliant on the national numbers now because that report’s not being created because of the shutdown.”

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