Gov. Katie Hobbs is launching a new border-security joint task force, dubbed โOperation Desert Guardian,โ through an executive order boosting efforts to tackle cross-border crime in four border counties: Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz and Yuma.
The Democratic governor signed an executive order Tuesday directing state agencies โ including the Arizona Department of Homeland Security, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and Arizona Department of Public Safety โ to collaborate with federal partners, as well as county sheriffs and local law enforcement, to disrupt transnational criminal organizationsโ operations.
Goals include โidentifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities along our 370-mile southern border, and combating border-related crimes perpetrated by (transnational criminal organizations) by dismantling their supply chains and operating networks,โ a Governorโs Office news release said.
The joint task force expands on the existing Task Force SAFE, or โStopping Arizonaโs Fentanyl Epidemic,โ launched in July 2024, which embedded 40 members of the Arizona National Guard with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Arizona-Sonora border. The guardsmen have been stationed at Arizonaโs ports of entry within secondary-search crews, rail inspection teams and vehicle break-down teams, Hobbs said last summer.
Since the summer, that task force has seized more than 19 million fentanyl pills at Arizona ports of entry, plus 6,598 pounds of other illicit drugs and 237 weapons, with a street value of nearly $49 million, the executive order said.
The new task force, funded by part of the $28 million balance in Arizonaโs Border Security Fund, is focused on security at the southern border, and does not involve cooperation with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcementโs interior enforcement to carry out the Trump administrationโs mass deportations, a Governorโs Office spokeswoman said.
โThis is about drug trafficking and human smuggling,โ said spokeswoman Liliana Soto. โIt has nothing to do with cooperation on mass deportation or raids, or anything like that.โ
The exact role of county sheriffsโ offices and local law enforcement isnโt clear yet, said Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, but he said heโs looking forward to the collaboration.
โIโm a big believer in the regional partnerships, with state, local and federal working together,โ Dannels, a Republican, told the Arizona Daily Star on Thursday. โThe criminals are held accountable when we do that.โ
Cochise County already has a state-funded โborder operations center,โ which opened last fall, through which local officials assist in border surveillance and share information with federal agencies.
Hobbsย
โItโs already up and running,โ Dannels said. โWhatever the operational plan is (for the new task force), I want to make sure it complements and partners with that center.โ
Hobbsโ executive order didnโt provide details on how many additional personnel would be involved in the task force, or how exactly it will operate. The executive order says the task force must report on metrics that measure the operationโs effectiveness by Aug. 31.
Soto said more information is forthcoming.
โThatโs something we need to wait for, until we get those details once all the agencies start collaborating,โ she said.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said in a statement that she welcomes the additional support โthat will bolster my officeโs ongoing efforts to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations. Fighting the drug cartels requires an all-hands-on-deck approach โ and we will continue working with our partners to take down these dangerous networks and protect Arizonans.โ
Hobbsโ office said her administration has provided more than $100 million in border security funds for local law enforcement agencies.
The 40 National Guard soldiers embedded with CBP through Task Force SAFE were part of the 170 National Guard soldiers embedded with law enforcement agencies across the state as part of the National Guardโs existing counter-drug program, Hobbs said during a November 2024 news conference, held at the Mariposa Port of Entry in Nogales.
Task Force SAFE is a โforce multiplier,โ said CBPโs then-Acting Commissioner Troy Miller at the news conference.
โItโs an operational advantage,โ he said. โItโs helping us identify and seize that fentanyl that transnational criminal organizations are trying to flood our streets with. But itโs also ensuring our CBP personnel can focus on their critical law enforcement missions, while maintaining the lawful trade and travel that keeps our nationโs economy so strong is moving.โ
