Attorney General Kris Mayes says resources formerly directed to criminal fentanyl investigations is being redirected to immigration enforcement, and hurting Arizonans.
That’s after a watchdog report found ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations wing is spending less time on drug trafficking cases.
The report was released in August by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and found fentanyl investigations decreased by 24% between 2024 and 2025 fiscal years — as more ICE personnel were shifted to immigration enforcement work.
One HSI office reported approximately 99% of its work was dedicated to immigration, according to the report, leaving almost no capacity for fentanyl investigations. Seizures carried out by HSI decreased nationwide by 39% during the 2025 fiscal year, despite the several record-breaking fentanyl seizures reported by the DEA.
Richey Taylor, communications director for Mayes’ office, says over half of all fentanyl seized every year is seized along the Arizona-Mexico border.
“We know that Arizona serves in many ways as the fentanyl funnel for the rest of the country — drugs that cross the border here end up in New York, Philadelphia, the Midwest,” he said. “If we can stop the drugs here in Arizona from reaching the rest of the country, then we can save lives everywhere.”
More than 90% of fentanyl is interdicted at U.S. Ports of Entry, according to the report. A 2024 report from the Cato Institute also found the majority of those smugglers are U.S. citizens.
Taylor says Arizona normally works closely with the federal government on fentanyl interdiction, but those efforts have been hampered since 2025, when the focus agency-wide began shifting to immigration enforcement.
Mayes’ office is asking the federal government to immediately restore the HSI agents previously dedicated to fentanyl investigations and state-specific figures on how many drug trafficking cases have gone unexamined since resources have been diverted.
ICE did not respond to a request for comment on the report or Mayes' requests in time for publication.
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