ACLU of Arizona Seeks News Records about Pima County Sheriff's Collaboration with ICE, Border Patrol

TUCSON, Ariz. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona filed a brief in Pima County Superior Court today in its lawsuit against Sheriff Chris Nanos, accusing the Pima County Sheriff's Department (PCSD) of repeatedly violating Arizona’s Public Records Law. The ACLU of Arizona is also seeking additional documents regarding PCSD deputies’ encounters with primarily Spanish-speaking individuals that led to federal immigration involvement.

The ACLU of Arizona obtained some records through a previous court order in the case which contradict Sheriff Nanos’ denials of collaboration with federal immigration enforcement. Incident reports between that time period detail PCSD deputies calling U.S. Border Patrol in the following situations:

• A 911 caller reported seeing 25 to 45 Hispanic individuals with foreign accents gathering behind a Dollar General store.

• A PCSD deputy approached a group of Spanish-speaking men on the side of the road and called Border Patrol, indicating he couldn’t legally hold them longer than 15 minutes since they were not suspected of any crime.

• After a car crashed into a guard fence and unidentified individuals fled from the scene, PCSD deputies called Border Patrol under the suspicion that those involved were undocumented immigrants.

• Five individuals on a construction company property claim to be looking for work, prompting a private security guard to call both PCSD and Border Patrol. When PCSD deputies found out Border Patrol was over an hour away, they offered the men a “ride into town,” and drove them to a Taco Bell. The PCSD deputies then called Border Patrol to meet at the Taco Bell, placing the men in federal custody.

PCSD has demonstrated reluctance to cooperate with additional requests seeking records between July 2024 and May 2025, claiming that identifying the incidents would be unduly burdensome and requesting exorbitant fees to comply.

“The progress of this lawsuit confirms what concerned community members have long suspected: Sheriff Nanos’s public statements contradict the full picture of his deputies’ actions,” said John Mitchell, immigrants’ rights attorney with the ACLU of Arizona. “We will continue to push for the transparency that real accountability demands — especially as concerns for the safety of our immigrant neighbors is driving a wedge between the public and law enforcement.”

The ACLU of Arizona first sued PCSD in July 2025 after the agency failed to fulfill public records requests from the ACLU of Arizona and the Arizona Luminaria. Before receiving the requests, PCSD maintained a record-keeping policy that required the department to track requests for assistance from federal immigration officials. However, according to the Arizona Luminaria, PCSD stopped tracking this contact in June of 2024, even though the policy remained in effect. Today’s brief is the ACLU of Arizona’s latest attempt to obtain the remaining records after multiple attempts outside of the court in accordance with Arizona’s Public Records Law.