Governor Katie Hobbs and Republican legislative leaders reached agreement on a broadly negotiated $18.3 billion state budget that includes money to hire 100 new Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers, half of whom are designated for immigration enforcement and border security duties. The package, finalized ahead of the June 30 deadline that would have triggered a government shutdown, also contains $1.45 billion in tax cuts tied to changes made at the federal level in what lawmakers described as codifying provisions from President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” The trooper hiring and related border-security provisions were disclosed Tuesday afternoon as part of the larger budget announcement.
The budget allocates $14.2 million specifically to pay for those 100 troopers. Of that sum, $7.1 million is identified for the 50 troopers earmarked to support the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Gang and Immigration Intelligence Team Enforcement Mission, commonly known by the acronym GIITEM. The measure lists four principal responsibilities for the troopers assigned to GIITEM: enforcing federal laws related to “illegal aliens and arresting illegal aliens,” responding to or assisting county sheriffs or prosecutors investigating complaints about the employment of undocumented workers, enforcing the state’s SB1070 statute and investigating identity theft tied to unlawful hiring and entry, and taking “strict enforcement action” under federal immigration laws. The plan frames the positions as support for GIITEM’s existing operations rather than a standalone new unit.
An Arizona state trooper stands beside a marked patrol SUV on a rural highway — the state has agreed to fund 50 additional troopers to assist with immigration enforcement.
Hobbs’ office pushed back on characterizations that the newly funded troopers would be used to carry out federal immigration deportations. “Repeating what the governor has said time and time again: the State of Arizona has not, and will not, participate in or fund mass deportations, indiscriminate round-ups of immigrants and violations of constitutional rights,” gubernatorial spokesman Christian Slater said in a statement. He said the expanded GIITEM capacity will be directed at disrupting drug trafficking, human smuggling and cartel operations, emphasizing a focus on drug interdiction rather than wide-scale immigration enforcement.
The governor’s comments echoed a position previously articulated by the head of state police. Last year, Department of Public Safety Director Col. Jeffrey Glover said immigration enforcement is primarily a federal responsibility and that state personnel do not generally take part in immigration operations. “Unless a state crime has been committed that falls under AZDPS jurisdiction, our personnel — including GIITEM units — do not participate in immigration enforcement operations,” Glover said, adding that state troopers would notify federal partners as warranted if their investigations uncovered someone in the country unlawfully.
GIITEM has been a component of state budgets for several years; the department’s enforcement mission and its dedicated funding streams date back to 2016. Under the new budget, GIITEM will see more than $26 million in total funding, with $14.2 million directed specifically to the trooper hires. The legislation also creates a separate subaccount and places $1.2 million into it; that fund can be used by GIITEM to distribute grants to selected county sheriffs for border-security related expenses. The budget language reiterates that local border support dollars may be used for law enforcement positions focused on border drug interdiction and for grants to cities, towns and counties to cover costs associated with prosecuting and detaining individuals charged with drug trafficking, human smuggling, illegal immigration and other border-related crimes.
Razor wire tops a section of the U.S.-Mexico border fence with a nearby road in view — a visual representation of the border-security context for the new trooper funding.
Immigrant-rights groups reacted sharply. Living United for Change in Arizona, which has opposed GIITEM funding in previous years, criticized the allocations while acknowledging a separate reduction in another fund. “That reduction matters, and it’s a step in the right direction, but our position remains clear: Arizona should not be spending state dollars on immigration enforcement, helping an authoritarian federal government expand its vicious campaign of ICE enforcement, deportation and family separation,” LUCHA spokesman César Fierros told the Arizona Mirror. He pointed out that while the new budget keeps overall GIITEM funding roughly flat compared with last year, it trims $5 million from the Local Border Support Fund — a change the group called insufficient given competing needs for housing, healthcare, food assistance and heat relief.
Beyond the GIITEM allocations, the budget sets aside $13.2 million in a Local Border Support account to be used to fund local law enforcement officer positions tasked with border drug interdiction and for grants tied to prosecutions, detention and other border-related operational costs. The statute also allows the department to allocate those resources toward capital-related equipment for border operations. Past uses of similar border-security dollars have included purchases of advanced surveillance technology; one recent example at the local level involved a police department’s acquisition of a social media surveillance tool that has also been used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The budget package was the product of months of negotiation between the governor’s office and Republican lawmakers determined to avoid a lapse in funding for state government. Lawmakers included provisions that mirror recent federal tax changes and over $1 billion in tax cuts, while channeling modest additional resources into border and public-safety programs. The trooper hiring and GIITEM funding will take place within that context, with Hobbs’ office reiterating that the expanded force is intended for drug interdiction and targeting organized criminal activity, not for participating in federal mass deportation operations. The administration’s statements and the budget text itself will guide how the new positions are deployed once the hires are under way and the subaccount grants are awarded.