AG Mayes: ICE comments mischaracterized, won’t stop speaking out about Trump administration

PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes on Sunday said her ICE comments were mischaracterized, adding she will not stop criticizing President Donald Trump’s administration for “abuses of power and its trashing of our sacred constitution.”

“Despite how right-wing media has mischaracterized recent comments I made about ICE and the danger its actions pose to public safety, the idea that I would want the life of any member of law enforcement put in danger is wrong, offensive and an outright lie,” Mayes said in a video statement. “Danger to law enforcement is the very thing I want to avoid in Arizona.”

She said she’s concerned about the safety of Arizonans and law enforcement at the local and state levels in the event Trump “surges a large number of poorly trained agents into our state.”

Mayes added ICE’s behavior is hurting the public’s trust in law enforcement, and that it could take “years if not decades” to undo damages that have been done in Trump’s first year back in office.

“The Trump administration must stop this chaos and destruction and pull this country back from the brink,” the AG said.

“I will always stand in support of Arizona’s sheriffs and police departments, and my office will continue to work with our state, local and tribal partners to keep Arizona safe and peaceful,” she continued. “I urge the Trump administration to do the same.”

More about ripples from AG Kris Mayes’ ICE comments

The controversy began early last week when Mayes expressed concerns that confrontations between Arizona residents and ICE could turn deadly in an interview with 12News. She called the combination of armed residents who are empowered under the law to defend themselves and mask-wearing agents without uniforms “a recipe for disaster.”

Brahm Resnik, the journalist conducting the interview, asked her to clarify if she was “giving license to a person to shoot an officer.”

“Absolutely not. But how do you know they’re a peace officer? That’s the key,” Mayes said. “And so if there’s a situation where somebody pulls out their gun, because they know Arizona is a Stand Your Ground state, then it becomes, did they reasonably know that they were a peace officer? You know? I mean, this is a different set of circumstances in the state of Arizona.”

Arizona Police Association (APA) executive director Joe Clure was among those reacting to the comments, telling KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show that Mayes’ comments were “reckless” and “dangerous” on Friday.

“I was in complete shock when I heard the … highest law enforcement official in the state of Arizona essentially giving a tutorial on how to shoot a police officer, specifically ICE agents, and get away with it,” Clure said.

Clure, whose organization represents more than 12,000 law enforcement professionals across the state, took issue with Mayes’ implication that ICE agents might not be clearly identifiable as law enforcement officers. He said they always have badges and markings visible that indicate who they are in the videos he’s seen.

Mayes’ police liaison resigned in the aftermath of her initial comments, but it wasn’t immediately clear if it was directly because of them.

The APA on Sunday reemphasized part of its statement that followed the comments, urging officials at all levels of government “to work collaboratively toward solutions that are lawful, meaningful and lasting; solutions that reduce risk, strengthen trust and protect both the public and the officers who serve them.”

KTAR News’ Kevin Stone contributed to this story.

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