Tucson Politics

  Five Democrats and three Republicans filed to run for the Southern Arizona House seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva. The primary is set for July, with the general election in September.

  Despite border delays and new visa requirements for Americans, hundreds of patients a day travel from the United States to Nogales, Sonora, to visit the dentist.

  New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker joined a group of local Democrats on Sunday to criticize U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani for supporting a budget framework that includes deep cuts to federal programs, including up to $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid over the next decade.

  U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to build nearly 25 miles of new border wall in the San Rafael Valley, sealing up the "biological hotspot" in Southern Arizona as part of a wider push to close gaps left during the last Trump administration.

  Arizona has not identified up to 50,000 noncitizens on its voter rolls, nor have counties begun canceling any voter registrations, despite news reports over the weekend suggesting otherwise.

  The Az Supreme Court said former Maricopa County prosecutor April Sponsel deserved to have her law license suspended because her decision to press forward with made-up gang charges against 15 Black Lives Matter protesters was “a complete abdication of her prosecutorial duties.”

  Cases were filed by a long list of national groups challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to overhaul elections, and among them this time is a lesser-known local wildcard: the Arizona Students’ Association.

  Former state Rep. Andres Cano seems like the frontrunner for the District 5 seat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors — but beware frontrunner status. Plus: Oro Valley looks to change up its planned town center, new Santa Cruz judges and more from government meetings around Tucson this week.

  A federal judge denied a multifaith coalition’s request to block a Trump administration policy reversal that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to freely enter places of worship to arrest migrants.

  Many local law enforcement agencies have programs meant to provide support for specific communities, foster trust in reporting crimes and encourage people to work with police, yet there is little evidence from local police departments that they have done any of that.

  President Donald Trump signed a memorandum directing several agencies to start militarizing a stretch of the southern border, an escalation of the administration’s use of the U.S. military amid its immigration crackdown.

  Richard Fimbres, on the Tucson City Council for nearly 16 years, has been a good guy who likes public service. Sometimes it doesn't have to be more complicated than that.

  Republican lawmakers hoping to turbocharge President Trump’s mass deportation campaign have successfully pushed through a proposal that would force every law enforcement agency in Arizona to cooperate with ICE agents — but it’s headed straight for Gov. Katie Hobbs’ veto pen.

  Following the lead of the Trump administration, Republicans in the Arizona Legislature want to ban state government from using diversity, equity and inclusion in its hiring practices.

  The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss its claims against Arizona in regards to two Republican-backed voter citizenship laws that the Biden administration had argued violated federal law.

  A roundup of upcoming political events: Sen. Cory Booker coming to Tucson, Sentinel reporters on the air, deadlines approaching for pecial congressional election; Rockafellow plans launch party in Ward 6 Council race

  Housing, workforce development and the importance of Pima County's Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and the Prosperity Initiative were central issues during a public forum Wednesday night for the six applicants vying for the open Board of Supervisors seat.

  Bonds are an easier sell when voters can be told  "This what is needed, here's how much it is going to cost and when it's paid for the tax for it disappears." Unfortunately, Pima County's PAYGO approach scuttles that bargain.

  Just minutes after Trump ‘border czar’ Tom Homan was welcomed into the Arizona House of Representatives and began his speech where he warned immigrants they ‘should be looking over your shoulder’, Democratic lawmakers in attendance filed out of the chamber in protest.

  U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got an enthusiastic welcome from the Make America Healthy Again crowd during a stop at the Arizona Senate, but shut down questions about  the measles outbreak that has primarily sickened the unvaccinated.

  President Trump signed four executive orders aimed at boosting the declining U.S. coal industry, as U.S. electricity demand - driven by data center growth and transportation electrification - is expected to increase 2% annually and 50% by 2050.

  Arizona voters who haven’t proven their citizenship are being treated differently across the state as they try to update their voter registration, in some cases seeing their registration suspended entirely until they provide proof.

  Trump administration officials were speakers at the 2025 Border Security Expo at the Phoenix Convention Center, and most extolled Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, including the acting ICE director, who said his dream for the agency is squads of trucks rounding up immigrants.

  The Tucson City Council voted to consider reimplementing fares on public transit Tuesday in the face of a potential $68 million budget shortfall. Public transportation has been free since March 2020, and will remain so until at least this summer.

  University of Arizona President Suresh Garimella named the second-in-command at his former school to be his "enforcer" in his new position Tuesday, announcing Patricia Prelock will move from Vermont to become the UA's provost.