Katie Hobbs shares plans to strengthen border security, stop drug flow, work with Donald Trump

PHOENIX — With President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration policies on the horizon, Gov. Katie Hobbs set forth her border security blueprint for Arizona.

During a Monday news conference at the Nogales port of entry, Hobbs said communities across the state are becoming safer thanks to an anti-fentanyl task force launched in July 2024.

The Democratic governor touted Task Force SAFE for helping seize over 6 million fentanyl pills off Arizonan streets.

The task force, which supports U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is made up of members of the Arizona National Guard. It’s also helped seize 1,400 pounds of meth, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl powder.

Hobbs also reminded Arizonans of her past moves to address border security, such as enhancing sentencing on criminals who traffic large amounts of fentanyl and directing over $84 million to support local law enforcement.

Border security isn’t a bipartisan issue, she told reporters. It impacts everyone — and thus she’d be willing to work with “anyone” to keep American borders safe.

How will Trump’s deportation campaign impact Arizona?

Hobbs said she’s willing to work with the Republican president set to take over the Oval Office come January 2025.

However, she expressed concern about President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to launch the largest deportation campaign in American history.

“We don’t know what a mass deportation plan will look like, what resources it will involve,” Hobbs said.

Hobbs also said she didn’t want the oncoming president’s agenda to disrupt the lives of Arizonans.

Although Trump has said his deportation plan will focus on criminals, his immigration policies could impact the lives of 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally.

It’s not only undocumented migrants whose lives would upend. Their families in the U.S. would also be rattled.

According to the Pew Research Center, over 22 million people live in an American household with at least one occupant who is in the country without authorization.

“I will not tolerate actions that harm Arizonans, that harm our communities and, quite honestly, divert resources from providing real security at our border,” Hobbs said.

Despite her misgivings, Hobbs said she hopes to prioritize cooperative strategies such as Operation Secure, in which the National Guard fights the opioid crises in communities near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona.

“I look forward to having conversations with the incoming president about Arizona’s needs, including border security and the work we’ve done here to build these partnerships that are actually producing results and how we can continue those partnerships under his administration,” Hobbs said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.