On Friday, Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller scored a procedural victory in a legal battle with the Pinal County Board of Supervisors involving the County Attorney’s Office’s 287(g) agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The 287(g) program authorizes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to delegate limited immigration enforcement authority to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies, allowing them to identify and process noncitizens for removal.
Miller had sought to transfer the matter to Maricopa County Superior Court.
The Pinal County Superior Court found that Miller was entitled to a change of venue under A.R.S. § 12-408 and § 12-411(B), and specifically determined that Maricopa County is “the most convenient and least objectionable County for this transfer of venue.”
The Court rejected the arguments of the Pinal Board of Supervisors that the case should be transferred to Pima County. The Court stated that the Board of Supervisors’ choice of venue would likely result in more costly, time-consuming, and burdensome taxpayer-funded litigation.
Earlier this month, the court had issued a temporary restraining order preventing the County Attorney’s Office from implementing or enforcing the 287(g) agreement and set an order-to-show-cause hearing for February 25, 2026.
That Temporary Restraining Order the Board expire on Friday under Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 65(b).
The County Attorney’s Office says that means it “will resume working with ICE to track and remove dangerous criminals from the county.”
sure send to pima co and have the case adjudicated by the leftist judges down here. Just wait they will appeal to the 9th circus no matter the outcome.
Shame on the Pinal Board! They should retroactively approve the county attorney’s contract and be done with it. Instead of following the wishes of the voters in fighting illegal immigration they hide behind buerocratic and legal issues. There is no will in that old boy board to serve the voters. Pinal need new and younger board members to regain vitality.
Good for Miller. WTF is wrong with these supervisors?