Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) announced a new border security initiative in the Grand Canyon State that includes a new partnership with federal authorities.
On Tuesday, the governor signed an executive order to create a task force gathering multiple state agencies, including the Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, the Department of Public Safety, and the Department of Homeland Security. They will work on combating transnational criminal organizations on the southern border.
Operation Desert Guardian, as Hobbs titled it, will partner local law enforcement with the federal government to combat crimes committed by criminal organizations, identifying vulnerabilities in the border in Yuma, Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise counties, the state’s four counties along the Mexican border.
“I’m proud to launch Operation Desert Guardian to combat the cartels, stop drug smuggling and human trafficking, and secure Arizona’s border,” Hobbs said in a statement. “My administration has been in contact with the federal government and local sheriffs about the Operation, its critical objectives, and our shared commitment to keeping criminals and drugs out of Arizona’s communities.”
“I have worked productively with the federal government on Task Force SAFE and partnered with local law enforcement to deliver critical border security support, and I look forward to continued partnership on our shared border security priorities,” she added. “With Operation Desert Guardian, I’m confident we can take an important next step in our ongoing work to secure the border.”
The decision by Hobbs, a Democrat, to work with the Trump administration on border security continues the trend of Democratic state administrations cooperating more than they did during Trump’s first term in the White House.
The Arizona governor previously expressed a willingness to work with the Trump administration, saying shortly after last year’s election that she was looking “forward to having conversations with the incoming president about Arizona’s needs, including border security.” She did note that she would “not tolerate actions that harm Arizonans, that harm our communities and, quite honestly, divert resources from providing real security at our border.”
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Hobbs faces a tough reelection race next year in a state that voted for Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris by 5.5% last November.
The race for governor in the Grand Canyon State in 2026 has been rated as a “toss up” by the Cook Political Report.