Hi John,
It's Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I marched in Phoenix alongside thousands of Arizona residents.
This was a particularly poignant MLK Day in the state of Arizona.
We're seeing parallels to the political turmoil faced during Dr. King's heyday. ICE has more than doubled its officer supply — hiring an additional 12,000 agents in just under four months. And we're seeing aggressive tactics that concern me deeply.
At the march, I made a promise: I want Arizonans to know that the attorney general's office and the state of Arizona will protect all of our residents.
I don't believe ICE is a real law enforcement agency. It is not a professionalized law enforcement agency. When ICE agents pepper-spray U.S. Representative Adelita Grijalva during a Tucson raid, that's not professional law enforcement. When an ICE agent shoots and kills Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, that's not professional law enforcement.
I am very concerned about ICE's surge and its tactics. But we will remain vigilant.
My opponent Warren Petersen is pushing legislation to criminalize protesting ICE while defending agents who kill citizens. He wants to jail Arizonans for "obstructing" ICE operations. He's chosen to protect government agents over American citizens.
I've chosen differently. I will protect all Arizona residents — regardless of who they voted for, what they look like, or where they were born.
Dr. King taught us that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. When government agents act without accountability, when they use excessive force, when they kill citizens without consequences — that's injustice. And it threatens all of us.
I'll keep standing up to any government agency that thinks it's above the law — no matter how many agents they hire.
Thank you,
-Kris
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