Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Says She'll Work With Trump on Border Issue But With a Caveat

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs speaks prior to President Joe Biden's remarks at Intel Ocotillo Campus in Chandler, Ariz., on March 20, 2024. Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said on Monday that she would work with President-elect Donald Trump on border-related issues such as stopping the illegal importation of fentanyl, although she signaled she would resist policies such as mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

Throughout the 2024 campaign, Trump has vowed to mobilize the state to deport illegal immigrants en masse. On Monday morning, he confirmed on social media that he would consider declaring a national emergency to initiate the policy after taking office.

Hobbs traveled to the U.S.–Mexico border on Monday to tout her state’s National Guard working to help crack down on smuggling of the deadly synthetic opioid into the United States through Nogales, Arizona. More than half of all border seizures of the drug are made in Nogales.

“Border security was a core issue of the Trump campaign,” Hobbs told reporters as vehicles moved behind her. “I look forward to having conversations with the incoming president about Arizona’s needs, including border security and the work we’ve done here to build these partnerships that are actually producing results and how we can continue those partnerships under his administration.”

However, she added the caveat that there are Arizona “families who are worried about threats from the Trump administration as well” and that her government “will not tolerate actions that harm Arizonans.”

Hobbs later made reference to Trump’s mass deportation policy. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance have said that the initial phase of the deportation policy would likely target criminal illegal aliens.

“I will stand up to protect Arizonans from harm by the federal government, from anyone,” Hobbs said. “I’m not going to comment on hypotheticals. We don’t know what a mass deportation plan will look like, what resources it will involve.”

Democrats suffered losses two weeks ago at the polls in Arizona, with Trump defeating Vice President Kamala Harris by a margin of about 185,000 votes statewide and beefing up the Republican majority in the Arizona Legislature. Despite Trump’s win, the GOP’s Senate candidate, Kari Lake, lost to Democrat Ruben Gallego for the seat currently held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).

Hobbs said at the Monday event that border security is not a “Republican or Democratic issue” and that she will work with anyone to keep the border safe.

One of Trump’s first personnel announcements after winning the election was to name Tom Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as his border czar. Homan has also promoted the mass deportation policy, telling “60 Minutes” in late October that he would also avoid separating family members at the border by deporting illegal immigrant families together.

The president-elect also named South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees both ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

Aside from mass deportations, Trump has also floated the idea of building more sections of the U.S.–Mexico border wall, cracking down on illegal drugs flowing into the United States via Mexico, and taking military action against Mexican drug cartels.

During one rally earlier this month, the president-elect also said he would implement significant tariffs on Mexico if the current government does not comply with his administration’s demands around border security. It would start at 25 percent before moving to 50 percent, later 75 percent, and even 100 percent if Mexico continues not to comply, he said.

Since Trump’s win, at least one other governor has indicated they will not cooperate with Trump’s mass deportation program. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey earlier this month answered, “No—absolutely not,” when responding to an MSNBC reporter’s question about whether state troopers would follow Trump’s mandate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.