Arizona Senate Wants State AG to Step Down Immediately Over Controversial Immigration Enforcement Comments

The Arizona Senate wants Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes to resign after comments she made that indicated shooting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents could be justified.

“The Democrats have put a target on the lives of every single federal law enforcement officer attempting to execute their lawful duties to protect the people of this country from dangerous, criminal illegal aliens,” Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman said during debate, according to KNXV-TV.

Her comments even drew a frown from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

“I think her comments were inappropriate, and she should retract them,” she said, adding that the remarks Mayes made “created more confusion and the potential for escalation than the opposite of that, which is what we should be doing.”

🚨This vote was about leadership and responsibility.

Attorney General Kris Mayes suggested deadly force against law enforcement could be justified. SR1036 calls on her to resign.

All Senate Democrats voted no.
Republicans voted yes.

The record is public. pic.twitter.com/6j916KKzsc

— AZSenateRepublicans (@AZSenateGOP) January 29, 2026

The vote in the GOP-majority Senate was 17-13, according to The Center Square.

“The Attorney General publicly suggested Arizonans could invoke self-defense laws against law enforcement officers,” Senate Majority Leader John Kavanagh, the Republican who sponsored the resolution, said.

The resolution calls on Mayes to retract what she said, clarify what is allowed under Arizona law, and then quit.

“Her statements were wrong, dangerous, and fundamentally inconsistent with Arizona law,” Kavanagh said in a statement. “When the state’s top law enforcement officer implies that police officers may be lawful targets, the Senate has a duty to act.”

Mayes said Arizona’s “Stand Your Ground” law allows the use of lethal force when threatened, according to KRCR-TV.

“It’s kind of a recipe for disaster because you have these masked federal officers with very little identification, sometimes no identification, wearing plain clothes and masks,” Mayes said.

“And we have a Stand Your Ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force,” Mayes said.

Mayes said ICE agents are “very poorly trained,” according to the New York Post.

Mayes said she was not encouraging violence, but only stating the facts.

“If you’re being attacked by someone who is not identified as a peace officer — how do you know?” she said, adding that “real cops don’t wear masks.”

“I mean, if somebody comes at me wearing a mask, by the way, I’m a gun owner, and I can’t tell whether they’re a police officer, what am I supposed to do? No, I’m not suggesting people pull out their guns, but this is a ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ state,” she said,

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