Officials in Douglas — along the border between Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora — have declared a state of emergency. The designation could free up additional financial aid from the state and make it easier to impose curfews.
The city’s mayor, Jose Grijalva, says it’s necessary because of policy shifts enacted under President Donald Trump — including his national emergency declaration along the U.S.-Mexico border. Grijalva says those changes stand to hurt his city’s economy, which relies on tourists coming over from Sonora.
“This is an effort to remain guarded, be proactive and create a preventive position for the city of Douglas,” he said.
Grijalva says he hopes the designation sounds the alarm about how federal immigration policy impacts local border communities.
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Activists have spent the last 70 days camped around and inside a cottonwood tree right along the border in the tiny town of Lochiel. The tree was the last of an old grove estimated to be up to 250 years old. -
The relationship between Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller and the Board of Supervisors has been rocky since a legal fight started over Miller unilaterally signing up to work with ICE. -
The National Park Service has denied an activist group’s request to place water stations along the Arizona-Mexico border — marking the first time their permit has been denied in more than two decades. -
The Utah-based Management & Training Corporation, or MTC, operates several prisons and ICE facilities around the U.S. This Marana site is an old state prison that was run by MTC before Arizona severed that contract and shut it down in 2023. -
The association says immigrant workers account for more than 25% of the construction workforce. And the impact of immigration enforcement and workplace raids is felt across the board — with some markets reporting even workers with legal status not showing up due to ICE fears.
