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Rep. Simacek speaking on the House Floor on April 8, 2026. PHOENIX — Arizona State Representative Stephanie Simacek spoke out today condemning a member of the Deer Valley Unified School District Governing Board who used a Nazi salute, punctuated by the word "heil" during a public meeting Tuesday. Board member Kimberly Fisher threw up the offensive salute at the end of the meeting in an apparent show of frustration with the board president. Fisher acknowledged and defended her use of the Nazi salute in a Facebook post after the meeting. Simacek, a former public-school teacher who also serves on the Deer Valley board, was sitting next to Fisher when she made the gesture. In response, Simacek released the following statement: "I am an Arizona state representative. I am a school board member. And I am someone who believes, to my core that our schools must be safe places for every single child, regardless of their background, their religion, or the color of their skin. What happened in that room was not a joke. It was not a political statement or an expression of frustration. It was a deliberate invocation of one of the most evil ideologies in human history on display in a building where our children come to learn. This is what antisemitism looks like when people get comfortable. This is what hatred looks like when it finds a seat at the table. I am calling for an immediate censure. I am calling for accountability. And I am calling on every parent, educator, and elected official Republican or Democrat — to stand up and say clearly: THIS HAS NO PLACE HERE. Our Jewish students, families, and community members deserve better. Every student deserves better. We will not normalize this. Not on my watch. Not in our schools. Not in Arizona."

Please see the attached letters to the Arizona Corporation Commission from Senate Democratic Leader Priya Sundareshan and House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos weighing in on efforts by Tucson Electric Power and Arizona Public Service raise their rates by double digits. These increases would both come on top of other large rate increases for both utilities since 2021 and would increase costs for ratepayers by hundreds of dollars per year in the middle of an affordability crisis in our state. Feel free to publish all, or any portion, of the letters as part of your coverage of these important cases (included below). Re: Opposition to Tucson Electric Power Company's Proposed Rate Increase Docket No. E-01933A-25-0103 Dear Chairman Myers and Members of the Arizona Corporation Commission, As the Democratic Leaders of the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate, we write to urge the Arizona Corporation Commission to reject Tucson Electric Power Company's request for a 14% rate increase. The proposed rate increase is estimated to raise the costs of electricity for residential customers by $240 per year while aiming to generate additional overall revenue for Tucson Electric Power by $172 million. This request from Tucson Electric Power formally asks everyday customers to carry the weight of price increases to prioritize the wealth of shareholders during times when residents are already feeling the burden of higher gas, grocery, and housing costs. As elected officials representing hundreds of thousands of constituents who depend on affordable and reliable electricity, and as some of us are Tucson Electric Power ratepayers ourselves, it is our duty to raise concerns regarding Tucson Electric Power's proposed rate increase. Families, seniors, small businesses, and working households across Southern Arizona are being asked to unjustly bear this burden. Tucson Electric Power serves approximately 455,000 customers in Pima County. Arizona families are already navigating significant cost-of-living pressures. In a region where temperatures regularly exceed 110 degrees, electricity services are essential to survival. Summer bills will rise sharply at the time of year when families have no choice but to run their air conditioning. A 14% rate increase would translate to hundreds of additional dollars per year for residential customers. For seniors on fixed incomes, low-income families, and small business operating on thin margins, this is a question of whether they can afford to keep both the lights and air conditioning on. Low-income households in Pima County already spend a disproportionate share of their earnings on housing costs. Adding upwards of $240 per year to their electricity bills is more than just an inconvenience for many households; it is life-altering and dangerous to ask families to decide between paying for electricity, food, medicine, or rent. The Commission must also consider proposed electric utility rate increases against the backdrop of parallel increases in other utility rates, including water and gas rate increases approved by the Commission itself. Tucson Electric Power’s service territory overlaps with several private water providers that have gotten significant rate increases approved by the Commission in recent years and a gas company with a rate case currently before the Commission. If allowed, these collective rate increases likely add up to the largest upswing in cost of living that communities in all corners of Pima County have ever experienced—a ballooning of monthly expenses that is all but guaranteed to get worse over time with proposed formula rate models for both gas and electricity. Beyond concerns for the pocketbooks and wellbeing of our constituents, we are concerned that Tucson Electric Power's rate request is not grounded in a realistic assessment of what it costs the company to maintain infrastructure and deliver reliable services. The question we ask the members of the Arizona Corporation Commission to consider is whether customers are being asked to pay a fair price or whether they are being asked to subsidize profits beyond what the evidence supports. Independent expert analysis filed in this case's proceedings suggests the latter. According to the independent analysis, the proposed shareholder returns are substantially higher than what investors in today's market require, meaning ratepayers would be overcharged by an estimated $148 million per year with no corresponding benefit to service quality or reliability. Tucson Electric Power received a 6% rate increase in January 2021 and another 10% rate increase just in August 2023, which means the proposed 14% rate hike would substantially compound those increases. Rates for Tucson Electric Power have risen nearly as fast in the three years between 2020 and 2023 as they did in the entire 22-year period from 1998 through 2020. These rate increases are outpacing the ability for families to adjust. Furthermore, we are concerned about the financial modeling underlying Tucson Electric Power's request. Credible analysis has found that the projections rely on assumptions that may be inflated, circular, and potentially economically unrealistic. The data instead supports a rate increase far closer to 4% as opposed to the 14% suggested by Tucson Electric Power. Southern Arizona residents should not be asked to pay above-market returns to shareholders of a profitable corporation when Tucson Electric Power's parent company, Fortis Inc., has reported net earnings of $1.6 billion in 2024. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes' expert testimony shows that Tucson Electric Power's proposed 14% rate increase is unjustified, and services could be maintained with strong credit rating with a rate increase of just 4%. The expert testimony provides clear demonstration that Tucson Electric Power is turning to its residential customers to bear the weight of shareholder profits that are higher than what it truly costs the maintain reliable electric services. It is important to state that we are not asking the Arizona Corporation Commission to deny Tucson Electric Power the ability to recover its legitimate costs. We recognize that a well-functioning utility requires financial health and capital investments. However, we are opposed to a rate structure that goes beyond fair compensation and transfers wealth from Arizona families to shareholders without valid justification. The evidence presented in this case indicates that a lesser percentage could fully cover the actual costs of Tucson Electric Power's capital, preserve its credit rating, and ensure continued reliable service. Arizonans deserve better than having to choose between affordable electricity and a financial stable utility; it is more than possible to have both. In conclusion, the Arizona Corporation Commission has both the authority and the responsibility to ensure that rates for Arizona consumers are just and reasonable. The Democratic Caucuses of the Arizona Legislature respectfully urge the Arizona Corporation Commission to hold Tucson Electric Power's rate increase to a level that is evidence-based and to reject any proposal that means Tucson families are on the hook of paying hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary charges each year. Finally, thank you for your service and your careful consideration of this matter. Sincerely, Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos State Representative – District 11 Arizona House of Representatives Democratic Leader Priya Sundareshan State Senator – District 18 Arizona State Senate Re: Opposition to Arizona Public Service Company’s Proposed Rate Increase Docket No. E-01345A-25-0105 Chairman Myers and Members of the Arizona Corporation Commission: The undersigned members of the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate Democratic Caucuses write to urge the Arizona Corporation Commission to reject Arizona Public Service (APS) Company’s request for a 14-percent net base rate increase. This proposal, if approved, would impose an additional burden of more than $240 per year on the average residential customer—a burden that many Arizona families simply cannot bear. At a time when the cost of housing, food, gas, healthcare, and everyday necessities has climbed sharply above what Arizona families experienced during the 2021–2022 test period on which APS grounds its request, approving this rate increase would be deeply unjust, economically harmful, and unsupported by the evidence. I. Arizona Families Cannot Afford This Rate Increase The 2021–2022 period that forms the basis of APS’s current rate structure was, by any economic measure, a dramatically different world than the one Arizona families inhabit today. Inflation, for one, has remained persistently above pre-pandemic norms in Arizona and across the nation. Families are already stretched thin, and just as overseas conflicts cause gas prices to skyrocket, Arizonans are now being asked to absorb yet another major utility rate increase on top of years of compounding price increases in every other category of their household budgets. The numbers tell a sobering story. Arizona’s cost of living—historically one of the state’s most attractive features—exceeded the national average for the first time in 2023, according to the Arizona State University Morrison Institute’s “State of Housing in Arizona” report. Rental housing and utility costs exceeded the national average by 8.6 percent that year and there’s no sign of it slowing down. Between 2019 and 2024, renters in Arizona saw their monthly costs rise 23 percent while their incomes, adjusted for inflation, rose only 4 percent. The families who have chosen between paying a utility bill, filling up a tank of gas, or buying groceries, and who are one unexpected expense away from financial crisis—those are the families the Commission must weigh against APS’s balance sheet. APS is asking the Commission to approve what would effectively be the utility’s third major rate increase in less than five years. APS received a rate increase of approximately 8.5 percent effective March 2024. If the Commission approves the current 14 percent net increase, APS’s rates will have risen by roughly 23 percent in just two years. To make matters worse, when considering the annual formula rate mechanism adjustments over five years that the Commission authorized in 2025, the Commission’s decision will likely leave the average APS customer paying significantly more by 2031 than the Commission intends to authorize in this rate case. Compounded over time, this trajectory is unsustainable for low- and fixed-income households, renters, and working families throughout the APS service territory. Arizona retirees on fixed incomes, for example, have submitted testimony before the Commission explaining that many have already reached the point of choosing between paying utility bills and buying food. That is not a hypothetical harm. It is the lived experience of Arizona families today and it is utterly unacceptable. Data from the Energy Information Administration shows that Arizona residents also pay more for electricity than residents in 38 other states. This rate increase would entrench and deepen that inequity. The Commission has the authority, and we believe the constitutional obligation, to weigh the concrete harms to ratepayers against APS’s claim of need, and to demand evidence that the amount APS seeks is genuinely warranted, not padded by excessive shareholder returns. II. APS’s Requested Return Is Excessive and Unjustified The expert testimony filed by Attorney General Kris Mayes in this proceeding deserves the Commission’s careful attention. The Attorney General, intervening in this rate case for the first time in Arizona history, has submitted analysis demonstrating that APS’s proposed 14-percent rate increase could be reduced to just 3 percent while still maintaining reliable service and a strong credit rating. The Attorney General’s experts conclude that APS’s requested return on equity of 10.70 percent significantly exceeds what investors actually require, and that the proposed rate structure would result in approximately $524 million per year being transferred from Arizona ratepayers to APS’s shareholders—above and beyond what is necessary for financial stability. This conclusion is consistent with the broader evidence. APS’s parent company, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, reported in a 2024 press release consolidated net income attributable to common shareholders of $608.8 million in 2024: a 21 percent increase over 2023’s $502 million. Pinnacle West’s CEO has a target annual incentive award opportunity of up to 120 percent of his base salary and may earn up to 240 percent of base salary depending on earnings and performance goals. These are not the financial conditions of a company that is struggling. The Commission’s standard is clear: rates must be just and reasonable. A rate of return that exceeds the actual cost of capital is not just and reasonable; it is a transfer of wealth from captive ratepayers to shareholders. APS is a monopoly. Its customers cannot go elsewhere and that monopoly position comes with a reciprocal obligation. Rates must reflect genuine costs, not inflated investor expectations. We urge the Commission to scrutinize APS’s requested return on equity rigorously and to reject any element of the rate request that serves shareholder enrichment rather than utility necessity. The Commission should further question the frequent rate increases sought by APS and other public utilities in the state when the justification for these rate increases has often pointed to the market volatility of natural gas prices, while these utilities do not offer a pathway to minimize further investment in natural gas-fired power plants. Rather, APS and other utilities have recently announced additional investments in building new natural gas-fired power plants, which will inevitably lead to more frequent rate increases to cover the expensive and volatile fuel costs of natural gas. When other options for investment in generation without ongoing fuel costs exist, it is not just and reasonable for the Commission to approve more investment in power generation that will inevitably lead to more rate increases. We recognize that utilities face genuine cost pressures. Infrastructure ages, demand grows, and as we saw with March’s record shattering heat wave, climate volatility increases operational costs. APS is correct that some cost recovery is likely warranted since current rates were set based on 2021–2022 data. We do not argue that APS is entitled to zero rate relief. But the magnitude of what APS requests demands exceptional justification. The Commission should scrutinize APS’s proposed return on equity against market evidence and the independent analysis presented by the Attorney General. It should evaluate whether data center growth and large industrial customers are bearing a fair share of the infrastructure costs their demand creates, rather than shifting those costs to residential ratepayers. And it should weigh all of this against the concrete, documented hardship that another major rate increase will impose on Arizona families who are already stretched beyond their limits. III. Rooftop Solar Customers Deserve Equitable Treatment APS’s current rate proposal includes increases to the Grid Access Charge applicable to distributed generation solar customers. We echo the concerns of Vote Solar, the Arizona Solar Energy Industries Association, and solar advocates statewide that targeting solar customers with disproportionate charges undermines Arizona’s clean energy future, penalizes customers who have made good-faith investments in renewable energy, and contradicts longstanding public policy goals. Arizona is facing a dramatic projected increase in energy demand driven in significant part by data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities. Whatever one’s view of that growth and how it should be managed, the grid-level implications are real: APS will need every available resource to meet peak demand reliably and affordably. Distributed rooftop solar is one of those resources. It generates power during the hottest hours of summer days, precisely when Arizona’s grid is under the greatest stress, and it does so without requiring new transmission infrastructure or utility capital expenditure. APS solar customers produced nearly 1,000 megawatts of power during peak output periods in 2023, approximating the output of significant utility-scale generation. That is a contribution to grid reliability, not a burden on it. Imposing charges that treat distributed solar as a cost to be recovered from solar customers, rather than a resource to be valued, sends exactly the wrong signal at exactly the wrong moment. It discourages the very investments in residential and community solar that could help Arizona meet surging demand without passing the full cost of new generation and transmission infrastructure onto all ratepayers. The Commission should ensure that the value distributed generation provides to the grid is fairly credited, not obscured by rate design that serves utility revenue goals at the expense of solar customers. Conclusion The Arizona Corporation Commission was created to protect the people of this state from corporate overreach, especially from monopoly utilities. The families we represent—the retirees on fixed incomes in Phoenix, the working parents in Goodyear, the renters in Flagstaff and Yuma who cannot afford to absorb another $240 per year in energy costs—are precisely the people the Commission was established to protect. We urge the Commission to reject or substantially reduce APS’s proposed rate increase, to scrutinize APS’s proposed return on equity against the expert evidence in the record, and to ensure that the costs of system growth are equitably allocated among all customer classes. Arizona families deserve nothing less than a Commission that holds their interests as its highest priority. Respectfully submitted, Democratic Leader Priya Sundareshan State Senator – District 18 Arizona State Senate Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos State Representative – District 11 Arizona House of Representative

SAN LUIS, Ariz. – Rep. Mariana Sandoval congratulated her constituent Arilene Gaxiola who was named the 2026 National Teacher of the Year by Teachers of Tomorrow earlier this week. Gaxiola is an 8th-grade math teacher at San Luis Middle School in San Luis, Arizona. She had earlier been recognized by the organization as Arizona's Teacher of the Year. The award celebrates educators who "demonstrate excellence in instruction, leadership, and dedication to students." "Arilene Gaxiola is everything a young student would want in a teacher, she is deeply rooted in her community, she cares about her students as people and invests herself in their success," Sandoval said. "The San Luis community and all of Arizona is so proud of this recognition." Gaxiola plans to use her $5,000 award to help expand hands-on math learning, connecting concepts to real life using visual aids and interactive learning styles. In April, when Gaxiola was named Arizona's Teacher of the Year by Teachers of Tomorrow, she was quoted as saying, "I am proud and deeply thankful for this recognition. As a teacher, I strive to create a classroom where students feel safe, respected and not afraid to take risks in their learning. I want every student to feel valued, supported and capable of success, and this recognition will continue to push me to build a classroom where students feel challenged, encouraged and proud of what they can achieve."

PHOENIX— Even before Governor Hobbs vetoed their Republican-only budget that benefits corporations over Arizona, House Republicans voted today to take a monthlong paid vacation. House Democrats opposed the motion, saying real negotiations on a bipartisan budget, and other important legislative work, must continue immediately. "After passing a budget stuffed with $100 million in corporate tax cuts to data centers. and $100 million in cuts healthcare – a budget they knew would be immediately vetoed -- Republicans voted to go on vacation for a month. That is just wrong," said House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos. "We must stay here and pass a budget to make life affordable for Arizona who are struggling to stay afloat with Donald Trump's economic chaos and failing presidency." Representative Kevin Volk led the Democratic effort to stop extended recess, but his objection was voted down along party lines. In his floor remarks, Volk said, "I oppose this motion to adjourn because we know that the budget that was just sent to the governor is not the real budget. I oppose this motion because I don't think we've done enough to address the cost of living on groceries, housing, childcare, insurance premiums or utility costs. Volk added, "I don't see that we've accomplished enough to say, 'We should go home for one month.'" --30--

PHOENIX –  Senate and House Democratic Leaders Priya Sundareshan  and Oscar De Los Santos  released the following statement today after Governor Hobbs revealed that Republicans Legislative Leaders have abandoned bipartisan efforts to renew Proposition 123. For the past decade, the bipartisan, voter-approved Prop. 123 has used interest from State Land Trust revenues to provide stable, secure funding – approximately $300 million a year – to public schools for teacher salaries, support staff and classroom resources. But to continue this funding, a negotiated renewal plan must be sent to voters.   "Time and time again, Republican leaders say they’re ready to negotiate a budget that helps every Arizonan succeed and build a better future. But actions speak louder than words, and they have walked away from the table, apparently willing to betray the vast majority of Arizona families who choose public schools. What that renewal looks like can and should evolve through negotiations, but refusing to even consider it makes clear that, for some, 'negotiation' is nothing more than political theater.   Arizona Legislative Democrats have been clear about our priorities. Renewing Prop. 123 is about supporting hundreds of thousands of students in critically underfunded public schools, preventing school closures, supporting educators, and ending the cycle of temporary budget fixes as the original measure expires.   At the same time, Republicans must recognize the need for real accountability and transparency in their runaway ESA entitlement program. We are ready to work across the aisle to protect taxpayer dollars and put an end to wasteful spending on luxury purchases like lingerie, diamond rings, and overseas vacations.   We remain ready to negotiate in good faith. But real negotiation requires both sides to show up, listen, and be willing to compromise. Let’s stop the political theater and get to work. Arizonans are counting on us, and they deserve better. We are ready to deliver An Arizona We Can Afford."

PHOENIX- Senate and House Democratic Leaders Priya Sundareshan and Oscar De Los Santos released the following statement regarding recently published allegations of sexual assault and misconduct involving Cesar Chavez. "The Arizona Senate and House Democratic Caucuses are deeply troubled by recent reports detailing allegations of sexual abuse involving Cesar Chavez, including those brought forward by Dolores Huerta and others. We honor their courage to tell their stories after so many years. We hear you, we see you, and we stand with you. These allegations are painful and difficult, especially for a community that has long look to this legacy with pride. But let us be clear, there is no place, ever, for abuse or exploitation of power. Allegations involving the abuse of young women or minors are especially serious and must be confronted with honesty and transparency. Every leader, no matter their stature, must be held accountable. We recognize the deep pain this moment brings. It is okay to feel anger, heartbreak, and confusion. But we must also understand: These actions are not reflective of our values. Our community and coalitions have always been rooted in dignity, respect, justice, and the collective strength of the people. This movement is bigger than one person. The progress achieved was built by countless individuals who carried this work forward with integrity and courage. We stand unequivocally with survivors and remain committed to ensuring they are supported, heard, and never silenced.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     March 16, 2026 TUCSON — Arizona State Representative Betty Villegas  has been honored with the Richard Elias Housing Champion Award by the Pima County Community Land Trust (PCCLT) during the organization’s 15-year anniversary celebration recognizing leaders who have advanced affordable housing in Southern Arizona. Villegas, a third-generation Tucsonan and longtime affordable housing champion, was recognized at PCLLT's 15th anniversary celebration ("Quinceañera") for her lifelong career dedicated to expanding housing opportunities and strengthening neighborhoods across the region. Villegas worked alongside the late Richard Elias on housing initiatives and later served as a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors after Elias’s unexpected passing in 2020, helping guide the county through the COVID-19 pandemic. She said receiving an award named after Elias and which recognizes leaders who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to affordable housing and community development, holds special meaning. “Richard Elias believed deeply that housing is about dignity, stability, and opportunity,” Villegas said. “His commitment to working families continues to inspire the work we do today.” Early in her career, Villegas managed housing programs for Pima County and later served as Director of Housing and Community Development for the City of South Tucson, where she helped develop initiatives supporting working families and neighborhood revitalization. She was also among the community leaders involved in efforts that helped lead to the creation of the Pima County Community Land Trust in 2010 following the foreclosure crisis that destabilized neighborhoods across Tucson and Pima County. The community land trust model separates ownership of land from the home, allowing families to purchase homes while the land remains in trust for the community to preserve long-term affordability. Today Villegas continues that work in the Arizona House of Representatives, representing Legislative District 20, where she focuses on policies that expand housing opportunity and stability for Arizona families. Additional honorees at the celebration included Elizabeth “Liz” Morales , Assistant City Manager for the City of Tucson, and WaFd Bank, which received the event’s corporate award. Over the past 15 years PCCLT has helped create more than 100 permanently affordable homes while providing housing counseling, financial education, and homeownership assistance to families across Southern Arizona.

PHOENIX  – Arizona State Representatives Cesar Aguilar and Quantá Crews  released the following statement on the long overdue firing of Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security.   "The fact that the President took this long to get rid of a person who spent her time terrorizing our immigrant communities like Legislative District 26 and wasting our hard-earned taxpayer money flying on private jets and filming glamour videos and photo-ops is a disgrace to our country. Kristi Noem's ICE agents shot and killed American citizens, conducted indiscriminate roundups, and kidnapped immigrants, including children and many with legal status. Her attacks on our community have instilled fear that will take generations to repair, including our children’s trauma whose families have been targeted.   While it would be hard to find someone worse than Noem to run DHS, Trump has chosen Senator Markwayne Mullin, a completely unqualified yes man who is unlikely to stop targeting hard-working law-abiding immigrant communities like the one we represent. That's like crapping your pants but only changing your shirt.   While our everyday costs for gas, groceries, rent and utilities rise, Noem has spent billions to terrorize Arizonans. What the DHS needs is a shower to cleanse its leadership from the trauma residue and blood on its hands. We call on this Administration to stop targeting our family friends and neighbors and focus on keeping us all safe. Enough is enough."    -30-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24, 2026 PHOENIX – In the wake of a second unjustified and unwarranted killing by ICE agents in Minnesota, Arizona State Representative Mariana Sandoval is calling for hearings on her bill to require law enforcement officers to show their badges and identification at all times, and which bans wearing masks to conceal their identities from the public they are sworn to serve and protect. On Saturday, masked ICE agents in Minneapolis swarmed, maced, beat, then shot to death 37-year-old Alex Pretti, who was observing a raid outside a donut shop and filming with his phone. Pretti, a registered nurse and U.S. citizen, is also licensed handgun owner with no criminal record, and was legally carrying a pistol tucked into his waistband. Multiple videos from multiple angles show an ICE officer removing the gun from Pretti's pants and hurrying away shortly before other agents pulled Pretti to his knees and shot him multiple times execution style. "Today’s unjustified and unwarranted shooting of a Minneapolis man by federal agents is sickening and underscores the urgent need for transparency, accountability, and an end to this operation that is not creating safety anywhere," Sandoval said. "How many more lives must be lost before federal leadership recognizes the harm being done and stops invading our communities with unchecked force?" While expressing condolences to the families and loved ones of both Alex Pretti and Renee Good, who was killed by ICE agents earlier this month, Sandoval added, "We stand with Minnesota because Arizona families are being terrorized by ICE as well. That is why we are pushing for laws that require uniformed police to be unmasked and displaying their identification at all times." Sandoval is the sponsor of House Bill 2882, which would require uniformed law enforcement officers to display their badges and identification at all times, and would prohibit wearing masks for the purpose of concealing their identities. Sandoval is also sponsor of House Bill 2880, which would more strongly regulate law enforcement and immigration actions in and around court houses, schools, hospitals and daycares.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 24, 2026 PHOENIX – House Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos released the following statement regarding the unwarranted killing of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by ICE agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota, earlier today. Pretti, 37, was an intensive care nurse at the VA hospital in Minneapolis. Renee Good, also 37, was a writer, poet and mother of three. "What happened on the streets of Minneapolis today with Alex Pretti, and earlier this month with Renee Good, were unjustified, lawless executions by a rogue masked federal secret police force answering to a madman in the White House. Alex and Renee deserve justice and the people of Minnesota deserve peace. This is not border security or immigration enforcement. Arizonans believe in border security—and they also believe in human decency, due process, and the rule of law. What we are seeing from ICE has long ago crossed a line. Armed and untrained agents conducting aggressive raids, using excessive force, wearing masks, and entering sensitive places like schools and hospitals does not make our communities safer. It creates fear. It separates families. And it undermines trust in law enforcement and public institutions. We can enforce the law without terrorizing communities. We can secure the border without violating civil rights."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         January 23, 2026   Rep. Alma Hernandez Statement on ICE Arrest Near School in South Tucson TUCSON, Ariz. – Representative Alma Hernandez released the following statement today after ICE agents conducted a stop and arrest near an elementary school near her home in South Tucson. "This morning, ICE conducted enforcement actions across the street from my home. I am in communication with the passenger who was not arrested but watched her three family members be taken. All of this happened  in front of an elementary school while children were outside playing. This kind of recklessness is unacceptable. My neighbors called me to alert me of what was taking place. The passenger told me they were on their way to her doctor's appointment. Her husband was driving and noticed a car was tailgating them. He did not know why or who it was, ICE turned on the lights and when they pulled over, they asked why and were told that they were just conducting a 'routine operation.' and that they simply were just 'checking.'  This   family was not breaking any law. In fact, this family is currently in their asylum process as they are from Venezuela, they all had proper documentation to show they are legally here while their case is being processed, and her husband the driver has already been granted asylum. ICE was made aware of this and still took them. This puts families, children, and entire neighborhoods like mine  at risk, and demonstrates a blatant disregard for public safety. These actions do not make our communities safer. They terrorize neighborhoods, tear families apart, and undermine public trust --   especially when carried out by masked agents operating with no transparency or accountability. What happened today is exactly why so many people in Tucson are living in fear: Fear of detention, deportation, and criminalization simply for existing. I stand in full solidarity with our Tucson community, particularly our immigrant neighbors who are being targeted, profiled, and dehumanized. Despite repeated claims by elected officials that only 'dangerous criminals' are being targeted, that is not the reality They were  ignored and taken away  without any  explanation.   Our community will not be complicit in systems that dehumanize our residents or erode public trust. We deserve safety rooted in dignity, accountability, and humanity, not fear."