All across Arizona, community members have spent the past year taking action to protect their neighbors from violence at the hands of federal agents by monitoring and filming US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. But some of those efforts could soon be illegal under a vague new bill that would make obstructing a federal immigration officer a felony.
Arizona Republicans introduced a proposal on Jan. 12 that would effectively criminalize any attempts to “obstruct” ICE officers’ arrests. The plan was announced just days after a deadly shooting in Minneapolis where an ICE agent killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three.
Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller, who took credit for the proposal, backed federal immigration officials in a press conference, standing alongside Arizona’s Republican Senate President Warren Petersen and GOP State Reps. John Gillette and Alexander Kolodin.
Miller claimed that ICE agents have been the victims of violence, and their operations are only making Arizona safer.
“Without ICE, cartels would overwhelm our local resources even further and more Arizona families would suffer, but ICE agents face escalating dangers for doing their jobs, assault on federal officers have skyrocketed in Arizona,” Miller said in the press conference.
Gillette also insisted that the immigration crackdown had nothing to do with race, just the rule of law.
“It’s not about black, it’s not about brown, it’s not about any other demographic, it’s about the rule of law to people that came into this country unlawfully,” he said at the press conference.
But the overwhelming majority of those detained by federal agents nationwide have no violent convictions. In Arizona, this includes a Phoenix grandmother, a DACA recipient, and a University of Arizona student.
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ICE agents have been credibly accused of racially profiling in Arizona and across the country. Hundreds of US citizens, most of whom have been people of color, have also been unlawfully detained by federal agents, according to ProPublica.
As they’ve increasingly targeted undocumented immigrants without convictions, federal immigration agents’ use of force has also been on the rise, including in Tucson—where federal agents pepper sprayed members of the press and US Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.).
The Jan. 12 press conference, originally scheduled to be held outside the Arizona State Capitol, was interrupted by anti-ICE protestors that were organized by several activist groups.
The proposal, which does not appear to have formally been introduced as legislation, would expand the legal definition of obstructing governmental operations to include threatening or intimidating a law enforcement officer while making an arrest.
In the press conference, Miller said the bill “draws a constitutional line,” and people will be able to “observe, record, [and] question,” but cannot “physically obstruct [or] threaten in ways to heighten danger or interfere with a lawful arrest.
Miller and his fellow Republicans did not specify what could be considered threatening, heightening danger, or count as interference. It’s also unclear if speaking loudly, yelling, or following ICE agents as they drive around would formally qualify as obstructing, threatening, or intimidating in any way.
Miller’s office did not respond to a request for comment as of publication time.
The new proposal is just the latest effort by the Pinal County Attorney’s Office (PCAO) to affirm its support of ICE.
Miller previously volunteered to prosecute State Senator Analise Ortiz (D-Maryvale), who shared information about ICE activity on her social media accounts, for allegedly endangering the lives of law enforcement officers.
And in December, the PCAO announced it will coordinate with ICE via a 287(g) agreement with the agency that was signed in Aug. 2025. 287(g) agreements expand the ability of local law enforcement agencies to participate in enforcing immigration laws, but typically are entered into by sheriff’s offices or police departments rather than a county attorney’s office.
In this case, the PCAO’s 287(g) agreement expands immigration enforcement in the county—which isn’t a border county—and allows the county agency to identify and process immigrants with pending or active criminal charges, enforce immigration authority with the oversight of ICE, and serve and execute administrative warrants on immigrants in its prison.
The PCAO’s particular agreement is considered a “task-force” model, allowing for on the ground enforcement.
But on Jan. 21, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors blocked the PCAO’s from moving forward with the agreement, declaring it as illegal and void after Miller’s office entered into the federal agreement without board approval.
However, both Miller’s office and ICE said the agreement will remain active, according to a Jan. 22 news release from the PCAO. It remains unclear how the dispute will be resolved.
