Arizona Attorney General Faces Calls To Resign Over ICE Remarks

Arizona Senate Majority Leader John Kavanaugh demanded Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes "step down in disgrace" in a Jan. 23, 2026, letter responding to her Jan. 20 interview about Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a televised Jan. 20, 2026, interview with KPNX-TV's Brahm Resnik, Kris Mayes said she does not consider ICE "officers" to be "real law enforcement" and asked, "How do you know they are a peace officer?"

The Arizona Police Association condemned Mayes' comments as "reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous" in a Jan. 22, 2026, letter, Executive Director Joe Clure wrote that elected officials should de-escalate rather than inflame.

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the New York Post that Mayes' remarks were "a direct threat calling for violence against our law enforcement officers" and warned "this kind of rhetoric is going to get someone killed."

Mayes, a Democratic incumbent seeking re-election, said in the interview "we are watching you" and warned she would prosecute ICE if it violated Arizona law, raising political stakes as Republican officials intensified calls for recantation.