This page is information, not legal advice. Arizona has a complex and evolving immigration enforcement landscape. Laws, agreements, and county-level policies change. Verify current conditions with a licensed immigration attorney or the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project before relying on anything here.
Arizona has been at the center of immigration enforcement debates for over fifteen years. It was the birthplace of the most litigated state immigration enforcement law in American history and today has one of the most varied county-by-county enforcement landscapes in the country. Some counties have formal ICE partnerships. Others have declined them. State legislators are actively trying to mandate cooperation statewide. A Democratic governor is the primary check on those efforts. If ICE comes to your door, stops you on an Arizona road, or encounters you at a workplace, your rights are federal, but how those rights play out on the ground depends significantly on where in Arizona you are.
Part 1: Your rights under federal law - everywhere, including Arizona
These rights come from the U.S. Constitution and apply in Arizona exactly as they apply everywhere else, regardless of immigration status, citizenship, or how you entered the country.
At your front door
The Fourth Amendment protects your home from government entry without your consent or a judicial warrant. There are two very different documents that ICE may present, and the distinction matters entirely.
A judicial warrant is signed by a federal judge, based on probable cause, and authorizes entry to a specific address. If ICE shows you a valid judicial warrant with your correct address and a judge's signature, they have legal authority to enter. Ask to see it through a closed door or window before opening.
An administrative warrant, typically ICE Form I-200 or I-205, is signed by an immigration officer, not a judge. Under established constitutional law, an administrative warrant does not authorize ICE to enter your home without your consent. You do not have to open the door. Ask through the door which kind of warrant they have. If it is administrative, you are not required to let them in.
There is ongoing litigation about whether an I-205 related to a prior removal order authorizes forced entry. Federal courts have generally rejected that argument as of mid-2026, but the law continues to develop. The consistent advice from immigration attorneys is: ask which warrant is at the door, and do not open it for an administrative warrant.
During a traffic stop or street encounter
You have the right to remain silent. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, your immigration history, or your status. You can say you are exercising your right to remain silent and that you want to speak to a lawyer. You can ask if you are free to go. If the officer says yes, you may calmly leave.
Do not lie. Do not provide false documents. Silence is a legal right. False statements to a law enforcement officer are a separate crime. Many families carry a printed card asserting these rights that can be handed to an officer instead of speaking.
At your workplace
ICE may enter the public areas of a workplace without a warrant. Private, non-public areas generally require a judicial warrant or employer consent. You have the right to remain silent regardless of where an ICE encounter occurs.
Do not sign anything without a lawyer
Documents presented during an ICE arrest may include voluntary departure agreements or stipulated removal orders that waive your right to a hearing before an immigration judge. These waivers are very difficult to reverse. Do not sign anything without first speaking to an attorney, no matter what you are told about speed or convenience.
Part 2: SB 1070 - Arizona's 'show me your papers' law
Arizona Senate Bill 1070, signed into law in 2010, became the most widely known state immigration enforcement law in the country. It was challenged in federal court almost immediately and eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court in Arizona v. United States in 2012. The Supreme Court struck down three of the law's four challenged provisions but upheld one: the requirement that law enforcement officers check the immigration status of people they stop, detain, or arrest when there is reasonable suspicion the person is unlawfully present in the United States.
That provision, often called the show me your papers provision, remains in effect in Arizona as of mid-2026. Under SB 1070 as it currently stands, an Arizona law enforcement officer who has stopped or detained someone for another lawful reason may check that person's immigration status if reasonable suspicion exists. The officer cannot stop someone solely because of suspected immigration status without any other reason for the stop.
The risk of racial profiling under this provision has been documented extensively since SB 1070 was enacted. Civil rights advocates have long argued that the reasonable suspicion standard is applied based on appearance, accent, or ethnicity rather than observable legal violations. That concern is real and documented. U.S. citizens and lawful residents who appear to be of Latin American origin have reported being subjected to immigration status inquiries during routine encounters. If you believe a stop was motivated by your race or ethnicity rather than lawful conduct, documenting the encounter and consulting a civil rights attorney is the appropriate response.
The remainder of SB 1070's challenged provisions were struck down or permanently blocked: Arizona cannot criminalize the failure to carry federal immigration registration documents as a separate state offense. Arizona cannot authorize warrantless arrests based solely on probable cause that someone is deportable. And Arizona cannot criminalize unauthorized immigrants seeking or accepting work as a state-level crime. Those provisions are gone. The status-check provision remains.
Part 3: 287(g) agreements - which counties are in and which are out
Arizona has significant county-to-county variation in formal ICE cooperation agreements. As of mid-2026, six of Arizona's fifteen counties had agreements with ICE under the 287(g) program, as did the city of Mesa and the Arizona Department of Corrections. Several other counties have explicitly declined to join the program.
Counties and agencies with 287(g) agreements
The following agencies had active 287(g) agreements with ICE as of mid-2026: the Mesa Police Department, the Arizona Department of Corrections, and the county sheriff's offices in Yuma, Navajo, La Paz, Cochise, Pinal, and Yavapai counties. These agreements authorize local officers to perform certain immigration enforcement functions, primarily in jails through the jail enforcement model, which allows officers to check immigration status of people already in custody and issue detainers.
What this means practically: if you are arrested on any charge in one of these counties and booked into the county jail, the local agency has trained officers who can perform immigration enforcement functions including checking your status and issuing an ICE detainer. The pathway from a state-law arrest to ICE custody can happen without a separate ICE agent being involved in the arrest itself.
Maricopa County: no 287(g) agreement
Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and the largest county by population in Arizona, does not currently have a 287(g) agreement with ICE. Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan chose not to enter the agency into an agreement, conscious of the county's fraught history with immigration enforcement under former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose racial profiling practices led to a landmark federal court finding and eventual consent decree. That history shaped a deliberate decision to step back from formal ICE partnership. ICE still operates independently in Maricopa County and still makes arrests there, but without the formal local deputy-as-ICE-officer structure that exists in 287(g) counties.
Pima County: declined 287(g), protective measures passed
Pima County, home to Tucson, does not have a 287(g) agreement. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos declined to enter the agency into one, saying it would undermine community trust in law enforcement. The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted in February 2026 to approve measures limiting immigration enforcement on county property and opposing the establishment of an ICE detention center in Marana.
Note that the Pima County Attorney's Office separately attempted to enter into an agreement with DHS in August 2025 without Board of Supervisors approval. A judge issued a temporary order putting that deal on hold, and the Board sued the County Attorney, asserting the attorney overstepped authority. As of mid-2026, that dispute was ongoing. The Pinal County Sheriff's jail enforcement agreement with ICE remains separately in force.
The mandatory-cooperation legislation: blocked as of mid-2026
Republican legislators in Arizona have pushed bills that would require all law enforcement agencies in the state to enter into 287(g) agreements with ICE, removing individual agency discretion. As of mid-2026, those measures had advanced through the Senate but faced an uncertain path under Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, who had not signed such legislation. The situation may change. If a mandatory-cooperation law passes and takes effect, it would transform the enforcement landscape in every Arizona county, including Maricopa and Pima.
This is the most volatile piece of information in Arizona's enforcement environment. Check current status with local immigration attorneys or advocacy organizations before relying on which counties have or do not have agreements.
Part 4: ICE enforcement in Arizona - the border context
Arizona shares a long border with Mexico and sits within what the federal government defines as the 100-mile border zone, in which Customs and Border Protection has expanded checkpoint and enforcement authority. CBP checkpoints on major highways in Arizona, including on Interstate 19 north of Nogales and Highway 86 west of Tucson, can stop any vehicle regardless of whether the driver is suspected of any violation, and officers can ask about citizenship and immigration status.
Being within 100 miles of the border does not remove your Fourth Amendment protections in your home or give CBP authority to enter a private residence without a judicial warrant. But it does mean that CBP checkpoints on public roads are legally authorized stops where you may be required to interact with federal agents even if you have done nothing wrong. At a checkpoint, you can state your citizenship. You do not have to answer questions about where you are going or where you have been. You do not have to consent to a search of your vehicle unless the agent has legal authority beyond the checkpoint stop.
Arizona immigration arrests increased significantly in 2025, with more than 1,200 more arrests in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. Enforcement has included workplace operations, targeted home arrests, and in at least one documented case, an encounter at a Tucson courthouse.
Part 5: What to do right now, before anything happens
Know your A-number and make sure your family has it written down somewhere accessible. It appears on any prior immigration document. It is how the family locates someone in the ICE Online Detainee Locator after an arrest.
Identify an immigration attorney before you need one. The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, one of the most respected nonprofit immigration legal organizations in the country, is based in Florence, Arizona and provides free legal services to detained immigrants at facilities across Arizona. Having their number saved means you are not searching when a crisis is happening.
Know which county you live and work in and whether it has a 287(g) agreement. In a county with an agreement, a traffic stop or any arrest that leads to booking can escalate to ICE involvement through the jail system. In a county without an agreement, ICE still operates but does not have deputized local officers doing the same functions.
Prepare guardianship documents for any children in your household. Arizona law governs the specific forms and process, and they vary by circumstance. A legal aid organization can help you prepare what is appropriate for your situation before a detention crisis forces those decisions.
Set up a financial power of attorney so a trusted person can manage your accounts and property if you are detained. Do it now, while it is easy.
Part 6: Legal help and resources in Arizona
The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project is one of the premier nonprofit immigration legal organizations in the United States. Based in Florence, Arizona, they provide free legal services to detained immigrants at facilities throughout the state, including the Florence Detention Center, Eloy Detention Center, and the La Palma Correctional Center in Eloy. They also operate a hotline and provide know-your-rights resources. Their website is firrp.org.
The ACLU of Arizona has been actively litigating immigration enforcement issues in the state for years and provides know-your-rights resources. Their website is acluaz.org.
Aliento AZ is a Phoenix-based organization that supports DACA recipients and immigrant communities and provides resources specifically oriented to affected families.
Immigration Advocates Network maintains a directory of nonprofit legal organizations serving Arizona at immigrationadvocates.org. For general immigration legal help, ImmigrationLawHelp.org also lists Arizona providers.
For immigration court case information, call the EOIR automated information line at 1-800-898-7180. For help locating someone in ICE custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov, or call the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line at 1-888-351-4024.
Arizona has multiple ICE detention facilities, including major facilities in Florence and Eloy. If someone is arrested in Arizona, they are likely to be held within the state, unlike Alaska where out-of-state transport is immediate. That proximity matters for families trying to visit and for attorneys trying to appear in person.
Arizona's immigration enforcement history is longer and more legally complex than almost any other state. SB 1070 established a legal framework that other states have copied and courts have repeatedly had to interpret. The county-by-county variation in 287(g) participation reflects real political choices that community members made, and those choices can change. Knowing where you stand in Arizona's enforcement landscape, agency by agency and county by county, is the foundation for protecting your family.
This page reflects laws and enforcement conditions as of mid-2026. Arizona's legislative landscape regarding mandatory ICE cooperation is actively contested. County agreements may change. Verify current conditions with the Florence Project, the ACLU of Arizona, or a licensed immigration attorney before relying on anything here.