Talking shop with the sheriff

Nanos gives us the deets … 90% of life is showing up ... And local hot takes only, please.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos sat down with radio host Bill Buckmaster for more than half an hour on Friday, discussing the challenges of being the county’s top law enforcement official in today’s political atmosphere.

The long-running host asked Joe to be part of the conversation, giving us a chance to ask the two-term Democrat a few specific questions about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and his dealings with the Trump administration.

On the agenda: Nanos’ refusal to work on Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’ joint task force on immigration, known as Operation Desert Guardian, chronic staffing issues at the Pima County Jail, and his advice for what to do if you suspect an ICE raid in the county but aren’t sure how to respond.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos.

Fighting for a new jail

Nanos said the Trump administration’s recent executive order that would criminalize homelessness would be disastrous for Pima County, considering the jail cannot handle a large potential influx of individuals related to the federal decree.

Under one part of the executive order, individuals who refuse treatment programs could face involuntary “civil commitments” inside local jails for an indefinite period.

While that order has not translated into massive sweeps of homeless camps, recent counts suggest there are more than 2,000 unhoused individuals sleeping on the streets in Tucson — far more than Pima County could accommodate in its current jail.

The jail is already close to its effective daily limit on a regular basis, Nanos said on the radio broadcast.

It still needs to be replaced, he said, adding that he continues to advocate for a new jail estimated to cost $800 million. He said maintenance for the facility is close to $10 million a year, and those costs are rising annually.

“I don't want to speak for the county administrator, but the conversation (to build a new jail) continues to exist,” Nanos said.

Staffing is also an issue — the department is down by 300 deputies from its historic peak. But Nanos said he doesn’t have the funding to increase his ranks.

Ever optimistic, Nanos said the funding will have to come with the support of the Pima County supervisors.

“Hopefully I'll get the Board of Supervisors’ ears one day to say, ‘you know what? I think you could use some more help,’” Nanos said.

If it takes $100,000 to train and equip a new officer in their first year, 300 deputies would add $30 million to his roughly $200 million budget. (This is some back-of-the-napkin math, but averages out hiring and training a new recruit versus outfitting a trained peace officer who transfers in from another agency.)

To put it into context, Nanos’ annual budget has increased in the last seven years by approximately $50 million.

A memo out of Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher’s office details the funding increases over the last six years, as well as years when the department exceeded its adopted budget.

Clashing with Conover

Asked about recent clashes between Pima County Attorney Laura Conover and Tucson Police Department leadership, Nanos said he doesn’t always see eye-to-eye with his fellow Democrat. But he acknowledged that there has long been friction between PCAO and local law enforcement, even before Conover took office.

He brought up the case of Paul Clifford, the Good Samaritan who was killed on Christmas Eve while helping a stranger with his car.

“I think they've made some plea agreements there that I, you know, again, I can't get into that,” Nanos said. “I certainly understand the family's concerns that the police were too light or didn't — to them — seek the justice that should be sought.”

Two of the three people charged in the murder have taken plea deals, but a third person is expected to be prosecuted on first-degree murder charges.

Working with ICE

The Pima County sheriff didn’t go to Hobbs’ task force meeting in Sierra Vista on Friday.

The pair have been at odds for months over Hobbs’ Operation Desert Guardian, which Nanos has refused to participate in since its announcement back in February.

“I believe this governor should be coming to all of the law enforcement agencies, not sending out some email, but actually coming down and sitting with those leaders and saying, what is it that you need?” Nanos said. “The governor said that she doesn't want to be doing immigration issues, that it's a federal government responsibility. But yet then she devises a task force.”

He agrees it is a federal issue, saying his office doesn’t have the time or resources to be involved in immigration enforcement.

“Border Patrol has $50 billion — with a B — dollars. They have 50-plus thousand agents now,” Nanos said.

Nanos said Hobbs should have spoken to each county’s sheriff to find out what resources they needed, rather than funneling tens of millions of dollars into a catch-all fund related to immigration enforcement.

“What I would tell the governor is, if you're going to throw whatever, $100 million, $180 million to deal with those issues along the border, why are you not coming to this county or to other agencies and saying, we don't have that issue?” Nanos said. “I need money for other things —technology and staffing.”

While Nanos is facing a lawsuit over how often his deputies cooperate with ICE, he told Buckmaster it happens infrequently and usually involves routine issues like traffic stops.

See ICE, say something

Nanos said residents should call 911 if they see a large police action — even if it could potentially be an ICE raid — if the agents are wearing masks and are using unmarked vehicles somewhere in the county.

He said while ICE rarely coordinates with his office, he is willing to send a deputy to find out whether the raid is legitimate.

“I mean, you can always assume that, oh, this is an ICE raid, but there's nothing wrong with calling 911 so we can confirm it. What if it isn't? Then it could be worse,” Nanos said.

No-show at her own hearing: After former Republican state Sen. Justine Wadsack bailed on a key hearing in her lawsuit against the City of Tucson to attend a political event instead, city officials want her lawsuit thrown out and for Wadsack to cover the city’s legal costs, Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer reports. Wadsack sued the city after police pulled her over for driving twice the speed limit on Speedway, which she claimed was political persecution.

Turning to the feds: Tucson police have been sending firearms cases to federal prosecutors, instead of county prosecutors, saying it’s because Pima County Attorney Laura Conover allows defendants to plead to lesser offenses, Arizona Daily Star columnist Tim Steller writes. The issue was brought to the forefront when Daniel Hollander got a plea deal for 1.5 years in prison after he armed himself and went into the Legacy Traditional School gym in January. Conover says police screwed up when they read Hollander his Miranda rights, which forced her hand on the plea deal.

Check out what a University of Arizona-designed telescope is seeing deep inside a nebula that’s 5,500 light years away.

Battles brewing: A local nonprofit is clashing with Tucson officials over permits for handing out food to unsheltered people in Armory Park, KVOA’s Jacob Owens reports. After the city closed the park for renovations, Community Care Tucson moved their food operation to the sidewalk around the park. City officials and police stopped them, saying they need a permit, but the nonprofit says handing out food is protected by the First Amendment. Over at a new city-sanctioned campsite for unsheltered people on Grant Road, city officials are getting pushback from neighbors worried about safety, the Star’s Charles Borla reports.

Calling for clarification: U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego want the Trump administration to explain whether DACA recipients should fear deportation, the Star’s Emily Bregel reports. DACA is a program created during the Obama administration to offer legal protection to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. Kelly and Gallego also want to know why Trump officials are sending immigration enforcement after non-citizen military service members and their families. Last week, Republican U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani told reporters in Tucson he thinks DACA recipients “deserve a shot at the American Dream,” but he stopped short of saying he still supported a path to citizenship for them.

You can’t have an American Dream without good journalism.

Turning up the heat: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is trying to get a court order to force the owners of a mobile home park in south Tucson to fix the electrical system, which left residents without air conditioning this summer, the Tucson Sentinel’s Paul Ingram reports. Mayes filed a lawsuit in late August, and last week, she asked a Maricopa County judge to require the owners of Redwood Mobile Park to tell residents about safety hazards and provide housing until the electrical system is fixed.

In other, other news

A teacher at BASIS Tucson North helped organize the first union for charter school teachers in the state, which led to a collective bargaining agreement last month. (Shannon Conner / Arizona Luminaria) … Developers are going to build a 270-unit housing complex on the corner of Broadway and Euclid, which could be the new home of the Welcome Diner. (Gabriela Rico / Arizona Daily Star) … Cross-border trucking won’t be affected much by a Trump administration pause on issuing visas for commercial truck drivers. (Daisy Zavala Magaña / Nogales International) … Those truck drivers will be essential for commerce in Douglas, where officials just celebrated the groundbreaking on a new $320 million commercial port of entry (Alex Dowd / KGUN). And now that the University of Arizona is auctioning off branding rights for the football stadium, Sentinel columnist Blake Morlock is crossing his fingers it won’t be “KFC Yum! Arenas.”

Several members of the Agenda family made the rounds on local media channels last week, talking about politics in Arizona on TV, radio shows and a popular podcast.

Joe went on Arizona Public Media’s “Press Room“ on Thursday.

He joined Arizona Public Media reporter Danyelle Khmara, Arizona Luminaria reporter Rafael Carranza, and Arizona Daily Star columnist Tim Steller, and host Steve Goldstein to talk about Project Blue updates, a complaint filed against Democratic state Sen. Analise Ortiz and concerns about the 2026 election.

Meanwhile, both Nicole and Hank at our sister publication, the Arizona Agenda, stopped by AZFamily’s “Politics Unplugged Podcast” with political editor Dennis Welch.

We always cringe a little when we see a hot take about Tucson politics from publications outside Arizona.

Remember when the New York Times tried to link Deja Foxx’s popularity to the wave of support for New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani?

Well, hold their beer, NYT — the Washington Times now has its own fresh hot take. Four days ago, the D.C. publication ran an opinion piece titled “Democrats’ likely new ‘Squad’ member: Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva.”

The article latches onto one comment Grijalva made during the Aug. 26 debate with her Republican rival, Daniel Butierez. The supposed secret word to gain instant squad membership? Genocide.

Both candidates were asked about the nearly two-year-old conflict during the debate, and Grijalva’s remarks became the focus.

But since her father, former Congressman Raúl Grijalva, was never part of the squad — despite making far more controversial comments over his 22 years in Congress — don’t hold your breath waiting for Adelita to get an invitation.