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An Arizona state bill would allow local and state authorities to shoot down drones used by drug cartels.
House Bill 2733, sponsored by Republican state Rep. David Marshall, would provide qualified immunity to authorities for injuries that may be caused by taking out an "unmanned" drone within 30 miles of the southern border. Cartels regularly use drones as a tool to monitor law enforcement activity around the border in hopes of evading them in their own smuggling operations, even using the technology to send their drugs into the country.
Although the situation at the border is calming down, there are still plenty of issues to tackle when it comes to crime, according to one sheriff.
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A drone reportedly flew into a crowd of Boston Celtics fans Tuesday night at an outdoor party. (Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images)
"As the border gets more secure under President Trump's new administration, we didn't think for a second that drug cartels were just gonna go away," Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes, who is the president of the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"They're getting more creative now – drone technology for smuggling drones over the border and dropping them, you know, external loads out in the desert to be picked up. They've been doing that for a while, but it's increasing in frequency. And so local law enforcement can literally see these things fly through the air, but you don't know where they're going," he continued.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes speaks during a rally for then-Vice President Kamala Harris in Douglas, Arizona, on Sept. 27, 2024. (Rebecca NOBLE / AFP)
The use of small aircraft is becoming a key concern for not only local and state authorities, but also federal border agents, as an expert recently told Fox News Digital that the cartels are trying to find ways to keep the cash flowing in despite the recent border crackdown.
The state-level legislation is co-sponsored by a mix of Republicans and Democrats, which is a rare moment of bipartisanship, as some of the state’s leaders are bitterly divided on the new administration’s border and immigration policies. Still, drug interdiction has been a point of common ground in the Grand Canyon State.
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A sign warning of smuggling and illegal immigration stands in the Organ Pipe National Monument near the U.S.-Mexico border on Dec. 8, 2023 in Lukeville, Arizona. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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"This bill gives them the tools they need to do exactly that. Let’s empower Arizona law enforcement to disable these cartel drones. Let’s give our sheriffs the authority to fight back by passing this bill. And let’s work together to take back our border from the Mexican drug cartels," Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes said at a news conference on Monday, as she’s been asking for a policy to be enacted on the issue as of last spring.
If the bill passes the Republican-majority legislature, it will then head to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk. The governor's office did not respond in time to comment on whether she plans to sign the legislation.
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