(Photo via iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Hobbs vetoes ‘unbalanced and reckless’ Republican budget, calls for negotiations to resume
Arizona’s Democratic governor on Tuesday vetoed a Republican budget plan after it passed both chambers of the state legislature on party line votes, saying it would bring “chaos and dysfunction” to the Grand Canyon State...
The floor of the Arizona house of Representatives in April 2024. (Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0)
Arizona legislature heads home for a month with budget shutdown clock ticking
The Arizona legislature is set to take a hiatus for most of the month of May and it doesn’t look like there are any plans for Republican leaders to hammer out a budget agreement with the governor during the time off.
With a state government shutdown looming in 57 days, lawmakers are set to take the next four weeks off...
A Cuban immigrant in Arizona is one of 65,000 people the Trump administration is fining $1.8 million as a cudgel to force them to self-deport. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror)
‘I can’t even sleep’: Arizona immigrant hit with $1.8M fine for staying in US
Sanchez was already nervous about receiving a letter from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, but nothing could prepare him for seeing the dollar amount the government said he owed them: $1,820,252.00
The Cuban landscaper, who came to the United States with his family 20 years ago, was floored...
From left to right: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons and Executive Director for Operations at CBP Chris Holtzer participate in the ‘State of the Border’ panel at the 2026 Border Security Expo on May 5, 2026, in Phoenix. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror)
ICE director Todd Lyons admits he didn’t know some deportation countries existed
The leader of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement admitted that he had never even heard of some of the countries his agency has been deporting immigrants to.
“Now we are actually removing people to countries that I didn’t even know existed...
A man holds a 3D printed whistle in his mouth as demonstrators gather outside of the Henry Whipple Federal Building, shouting at federal vehicles and recording their plates Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)
Republicans fall one vote short on bill to criminalize blowing whistles to warn of ICE
A GOP-backed bill that would criminalize blowing whistles to alert people to immigration agents, a tactic embraced by activists in Minnesota earlier this year, was rejected on Tuesday. But that failure is likely to be temporary, and the measure may still land on the governor’s desk.
The proposal would create a new state crime called “unlawful alerting,” and punish it with...
A judge has blocked Arizona from prosecuting the online prediction market company Kalshi for violating state gambling laws. (Photo by Jim Small/Arizona Mirror)
Arizona’s criminal case against Kalshi permanently blocked by federal judge
A federal judge has permanently blocked Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes from prosecuting Kalshi, halting the state’s unprecedented attempt to criminally charge an online prediction market company with violating state gambling laws.
Even though regulating gambling is “among the most rudimentary exercises of state police power,” Judge Michael Liburdi concluded that federal law...
The U.S. Supreme Court, pictured April 9, 2026. Some progressives are seeking to restructure the court after seeing decisions in recent years they believe have provided political support to President Donald Trump and Republicans. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
Democrats newly energized to reform ‘illegitimate’ US Supreme Court after voting rights decision
After the U.S. Supreme Court severely weakened the federal Voting Rights Act in an April 29 decision, a furious U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries condemned what he called an “illegitimate” conservative majority on the court.
“This isn’t even the Roberts Court,” Jeffries said, referring to Chief Justice John Roberts. “It’s the Trump Court...
Mifepristone is one of two drugs that can be used before 10 weeks to terminate a pregnancy and to treat miscarriages.(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Senate Republicans want to give Trump $1 billion for his ballroom
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans released a roughly $70 billion spending package Monday night that will keep Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol operating for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term without any of the new constraints Democrats have demanded.
The legislation also includes $1 billion...
ICYMI
Thanks for reading AZ Report. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.