Tag: Sheriff Mark Dannels

Phoenix Teens Arrested After High Speed Chase as Police Warn Juveniles Increasingly Recruited for Human Smuggling

Tom Pappert

Two Phoenix teenagers were arrested in Cochise County last Thursday after police say they attempted to evade law enforcement at high speeds while smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States. Their arrests came just days after Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels warned more than 100 juveniles have been arrested after being recruited to participate in illegal human smuggling since April 2022.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook that the two minors arrested “were 14 and 15 years of age.” The teens allegedly refused to pull over for a routine traffic stop, and instead fled until “being stopped after tire deflation devices were employed.” Before they were forced to stop, the sheriff’s office claims the minors “reached speeds in excess of 124 miles per hour,” requiring a multi-agency response that included the Douglas Police Department and United States Border Patrol.

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Arizona Officials Share Outcry in Mass Release of Migrants

The Center Square

Counties in Southern Arizona have seen a sudden influx of busloads filled with processed asylum-seeking immigrants released into towns, and local officials are calling for answers.

County sheriffs began alerting the public this week to the increased number of migrant releases, which indicate a surge of immigrants seeking entry into the U.S. larger than federal facilities and local nonprofits can contain.

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Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels Speaks in Washington on Southern Border Crisis Affect in Arizona

Neil Jones

Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels spoke at the US House Judiciary Committee’s Wednesday hearing on the southern border crisis, speaking on how his county has been affected by the ongoing issue.

“Our southern border, against all public comfort statements out of Washington D.C., is in the worst shape I have ever seen it,” Dannels said. “Communities have been neglected and abandoned, relying on our own local and state resources to address a border that is in crisis mode.”

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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey Continues to Fill Border Barrier Gaps as Migrant Encounters Soar

Neil Jones

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Monday that he had continued his mission to plug holes in Arizona’s border, this time in Cochise County.

“Today, we continued to follow through on our promise to add physical barriers to the border where possible. We stepped up to the plate in Cochise County. Construction on a 10.25-mile border wall gap began this morning [Monday],” Ducey said. “The unresolved border and public safety crisis caused by the Biden admin continues – in Arizona, we don’t stand idly by when our citizens need us most. Arizona isn’t afraid of a challenge. We will not back down. We will protect our state.”

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