PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes today received court approval of a consent judgment terminating illegal secrecy clauses in arbitration agreements used by dozens of Arizona assisted living facilities. The consent judgment applies to all facilities operated by Bandera Healthcare, the Arizona subsidiary of The Ensign Group, Inc. “This is another important step toward the goal of transparency and accountability for all companies that provide care to our most vulnerable citizens,” said Attorney General Mayes. “The Legislature gave the Attorney General a vital role in enforcing our statutes against abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults, but I cannot do that job if victims and their attorneys are blocked from notifying me when they learn of abusive practices because of these illegal secrecy clauses.” For any future arbitrations involving those facilities, residents and their families will be free to notify the Attorney General if they discover evidence of abusive practices.  This is the second such consent agreement in recent months, following a similar 

consent judgment 

with Senita Ridge in February. In May, Attorney General Mayes 

sought to intervene

 in a lawsuit filed by the family of Robert Knight, a man suffering from dementia who died from a massive bed sore he received while at the Sunwest Choice facility. Some claims were covered by an arbitration agreement containing a secrecy clause, in violation of Arizona law requiring notice to the Attorney General in when a case involves abuse, neglect, or exploitation of vulnerable adults. Rather than opposing the intervention, the defendants quickly agreed to invalidate all existing secrecy clauses. As part of the consent judgment, the defendants acknowledged they had discontinued use of these secrecy clauses in January 2024, shortly after the Attorney General’s

 December 2023 intervention

 in the Senita Ridge case. “I was especially pleased to learn that Bandera had already changed their forms to eliminate these clauses even before we intervened in their case,” said Attorney General Mayes. “I am prepared to keep filing interventions for as long as necessary, but it won’t be necessary if facilities stop using these secrecy clauses.” The defendants will also provide a copy of the consent judgment to any claimants who previously signed an older version of the arbitration agreement, so those residents and families know that the secrecy clause is invalid and unenforceable. “Anyone who has signed one of these secrecy clauses in the past should know that the clauses are not enforceable against them,” said Attorney General Mayes. “If the facility doesn’t inform you that the secrecy clause in your agreement is invalid, contact my office and we will intervene.” The case Attorney General Mayes sought to intervene in is Knight v. Sunwest Choice Health and Rehab, et al., Maricopa County Superior Court number CV2024-007103. “I believe the best way to protect our vulnerable citizens going forward is exposing and eliminating the failures that led to previous harms," said Attorney General Mayes. "I hope every long-term care facility in Arizona gets that message and embraces transparency without the need for intervention from the Attorney General’s Office.”

The U.S. Supreme Court just removed Arizona city officials’ excuse for refusing to clean up their cities amid the devastating homelessness crisis. The Goldwater Institute responded to the decision in 

Grants Pass v. Johnson

 with the following 

statement

: “Today's decision removes Arizona cities’ excuse for failing to enforce the law amid a devastating homelessness crisis that has destroyed countless lives and livelihoods. Leaders in cities like Phoenix have claimed that a Ninth Circuit ruling forbade them from taking action to clean up the streets – and law-abiding property and business owners have paid the price through no fault of their own.” “Arizonans no longer trust that their tax dollars are being used by local governments to enforce the law and address rampant homelessness. But Prop 312, a first-in-the-nation reform on Arizona’s 2024 general election ballot, offers relief – compensating the residents, businesses, and property owners who have suffered from government’s inaction via a tax refund for mitigation expenses incurred as municipalities refuse to enforce the law.” Local leaders, especially in Phoenix, have been using a pair of Ninth Circuit rulings

 

as cover to avoid addressing the homelessness epidemic spreading pollution, disease, and violent crime through our cities — but their lack of action has only made the crisis worse. Analyzing today’s decision, Goldwater VP for Legal Affairs Timothy Sandefur 

writes

: Today’s decision also makes clear why local communities must take responsibility for enforcing the law to protect taxpayers and property owners, rather than engage in massive, ideologically driven dereliction of duty. Arizona voters will have a chance to do just that this fall, when they consider 

Proposition 31 2

, an initiative that provides that when city officials purposely create homeless encampments and lawless zones, as Phoenix leaders did in recent years, citizens who take steps to protect themselves—by installing security bars or cameras or hiring a security guard—will at least be entitled to deduct the costs of doing so from their taxes, and that cities that refuse to shoulder their responsibilities have their funding reduced proportionately. If cities won’t do their jobs—as Phoenix refused to do—taxpayers should at least get their money back.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA— A major victory in the fight to address Arizona's homeless crisis after the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled in favor of the position argued by Senate President Warren Petersen in an amicus brief on a case originating out of Oregon, clearing the way for states and local jurisdictions to adopt policies tackling the issue of tent cities and other encampments plagued with public safety and public health concerns. In July of last year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson finding a constitutional "right" for individuals to camp and sleep on sidewalks, in parks, on playgrounds, and other public places, in defiance of traditional health, safety, and welfare laws. The court's bizarre interpretation of the Eight Amendment effectively required states and municipalities to surrender public spaces to homeless encampments, with all the criminal activity, drug abuse, violence, and dangerous diseases associated with them. Two months later, while Phoenix residents were pleading for help with the homeless encampment near the Arizona Capitol known as "The Zone," President Petersen filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Arizona State Legislature asking the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the case. The request was accepted in January of this year, and the Court confirmed today the Ninth Circuit seized a policymaking area reserved for state and local lawmakers, while it also wrongfully classified the enforcement of laws to limit homeless encampments as "cruel and unusual punishment," and that the Ninth Circuit's ruling blocked state and local lawmakers from doing their jobs to mitigate the problems surrounding homeless encampments. According to a 2024 report from Common Sense Institute, Arizona is spending approximately $1 billion yearly on homelessness, with an estimated 14,000 people experiencing homelessness statewide. In 2023, 7600 of those individuals were living on the streets. "This ruling is a victory in our state's efforts to tackle the humanitarian crisis destroying lives and livelihoods within our communities on a daily basis," said President Petersen. "Our children shouldn't be forced to walk to school on streets littered with needles, feces, and trash. The individuals camping out should be discouraged from this practice through enforceable laws and be provided with the mental health or substance abuse services they need to overcome this terrible situation. Our Governor and other progressive elected officials serving in Arizona no longer have any excuses as to why we must continue to allow these encampments. We look forward to crafting common sense legislation on this matter in the near future, and for the Governor to do the right thing by signing those bills. While Arizona's attorney general remains absent on these issues of grave importance to our state, the Legislature remains committed to defending our laws and fighting against both judicial and executive overreach."

TUCSON, ARIZONA – June 28, 2024 – In response to the Supreme Court ruling on homeless camping bans, the Pima County Attorney’s Office has released the following statement: “Regarding homelessness, the Ninth Circuit had developed an excellent rule. If there is bed space available and a person refuses services, authorities could proceed under trespass guidelines. But now the U.S. Supreme Court has turned that on its head by saying that even when there’s no space available, we can just pretend that people are deliberately outside in 105-degree heat. Let me be clear, when criminal behavior is afoot, we have and will continue to hold people accountable. But arresting people for sleeping is not the way. Fortunately, I don’t foresee our local authorities using precious resources in an attempt to arrest our way out of chronic illness. While the Supreme Court might tolerate cruelty, our community does not.”

PIMA COUNTY STATEMENT:

Pima County struggles with affordable housing availability and the necessary funding to reduce or eliminate acute or chronic homelessness. We cannot arrest our way out of the problem and simply being unhoused is not a crime. If a homeless encampment is a problem, we have a longstanding policy to deploy assistance resources to these areas and affect relocations before requiring people to leave an area.

PIMA COUNTY, June 28, 2024 – Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said today that the decision by Catholic Community Services to reduce the scope of its sheltering services for legally processed asylum seekers (LPAS) will not affect the County’s ability to keep asylum seekers off the streets in Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise counties. “The coalition of agencies that have come together over the years to manage this issue continues,” Lesher said. “Our overriding goal since the County got involved in this effort in 2019 is to make sure asylum seekers have shelter, food, and travel aid and never have to spend a night on the street. That goal is still being met and won’t be affected by the change in shelter providers.”

Catholic Community Services

 Executive Director Elena Dwyre 

announced today

 that the human services nonprofit was reducing its role as the primary shelter services provider for Pima County. The County since 2021 has served as the fiscal agent for federal grants that reimburse the County and its contractors for the costs of providing shelter and travel assistance to LPAS released into the three border counties by agencies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Dwyre and Lesher said the change will be effective July 1. The County contracted with CCS in 2021 to serve as its primary shelter services contractor. As the number of LPAS released each year increased, the County and CCS expanded shelter operations to meet the need, operating two shelters and overflow hotels as needed. By December 2023, the volume of asylum seekers released into the three counties every day had grown to more than 1,200 a day, severely taxing the shelter system and exhausting the staff and volunteers needed to house, feed, and assist the ceaseless flow of people. Since 2019, federal immigration agencies have released nearly 500,000 asylum seekers in Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise counties, all of whom have been provided shelter through the Pima County-led coalition. More than half of those releases have come in the past 18 months. In its announcement, CCS wrote, “To everything there is a season, and it has become apparent that without substantive change to our nation’s immigration and asylum policies the ever-growing crisis of the last decade has become the norm. It is now the endemic reality of day-to-day life along the border. Reflecting this current reality, noting the reality of limited resources, and respecting the staff and volunteers who have been stretched beyond reasonable expectations, Catholic Community Services is refocusing the efforts of Casa Alitas to better support women and families with children – those most at risk and in need of expanded services while under our care within our shelter facilities.” The County repurposed a section of the County’s juvenile detention facility on East Ajo Way in 2019 as a 140-bed shelter and leased it to CCS to assist the agency with its LPAS sheltering effort, which started in 2014, calling their small shelter Casa Alitas. As LPAS volumes increased, the County added hotels to handle the overflow but determined by 2022 a larger shelter was needed. The County and state purchased a vacant call center on West Drexel Road in early 2023 and converted it to a 650-bed shelter with CCS as the operator. Under the new system, CCS will operate the Ajo Way shelter and keep its Casa Alitas name. It will focus on aiding families with young children and people with special needs. Pima County has increased its contract with 

AMI Expeditionary Healthcare

 to take over as the primary shelter provider and to operate the shelter on Drexel Road as well as overflow hotel rooms, if needed during border-crossing surges. AMI provides crisis logistical and healthcare support to agencies worldwide. Pima contracted with the agency in 2023 to fill in staffing gaps that threatened to limit the number of LPAS who could be assisted and which would have resulted in street releases. Pima County Emergency Management Office Director Shane Clark, who coordinates the sheltering response by the coalition of nearly a dozen government and nongovernmental agencies, said CCS, the County, and AMI have been working for the past month to ensure the change in shelter system structure is seamless. “While there are still a few nitty gritty details to be worked out, the asylum seekers won’t notice any change. They will still have a place to lay their head and a lot of people to help them move on to their destination,” Clark said. About 99 percent of the asylum seekers assisted by the coalition travel on to other cities in the country where they have family, friends, or sponsors. Most only spend between 24-72 hours in the shelter before traveling on. Legally processed asylum seekers are in the United States legally. They all have been apprehended by DHS, processed, and released with paperwork that allows them to remain in the U.S. until their asylum claims are adjudicated in an immigration court. Those court hearings can be months or even years in the future. Diocese of Tucson Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger and Pima County Board of Supervisors Chair Adelita Grijalva praised CCS for its work the past decade and with the County. "I continue to be immensely proud of the great work done by the staff and volunteers at Catholic Community Services. Their compassion for serving our brothers and sisters in need is nothing short of remarkable. The partnership between Catholic Community Services and Pima County is commendable as it serves as a model for others to follow," Bishop Weisenburger said. Chair Grijalva was equally laudatory. “The people of Pima County owe Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona and its incredible staff and volunteers an enormous amount of gratitude,” Grijalva said “For more than 10 years the agency has shown the people of our nation who we are as a community—one that doesn’t turn our back on people in need. Catholic Community Services has shown kindness and compassion to nearly a half a million asylum-seekers fleeing oppression and grinding poverty hoping for a life of safety and prosperity. I am heartened that CCS, while in a reduced role, is still standing with our community and providing aid, shelter, and compassion to the continual stream of asylum seekers coming through Pima County.”

More information about the County’s response to the asylum seeker crisis.

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-03) voted against H.R. 8752, the 

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2025

. Following the vote, he released this statement: “Just like when they rejected the bipartisan border deal, this bill is proof that extremists in Congress have no interest in actually securing our border or helping border communities. It slashes funding for CBP and USCIS and provides no increase in the number of Border Patrol agents, meaning slower response times and increased backlogs. And, it completely zeros out funding to local governments and nonprofits, straining their budgets and likely leading to increased street releases. “We need bipartisan, comprehensive solutions that secure our border and fix our broken immigration system. This bill does none of those things which is why I voted against it.” H.R. 8752 eliminates the Shelter and Services Program (SSP) which over the last two years has provided over $86 million to Arizona border communities for migrant shelter and transportation. It also cuts funding to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by $1.4 billion and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by $168.7 million.

Background On Rep. Gallego’s Wins To Support Arizona’s Border Communities:

Following 

numerous

 

letters

 

urging

 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Biden Administration to deliver Arizona’s frontline border communities essential resources to deal with the border crisis, as well as a 

one-on-one call

 with Sec. Mayorkas, Rep. Gallego announced in September that he had 

secured over $2 million

 in emergency funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support Arizona’s border communities as they address an increase in migrant crossings. After close coordination with Arizona’s non-profits, border community leaders, and law enforcement officials, Rep. Gallego 

rolled out

 

his plan

 to institute sweeping reforms to address the problems plaguing FEMA’s failed Shelter and Services Program (SSP) that has shortchanged Arizona’s border communities on the front line of the border crisis. In December, Rep. Gallego traveled across Arizona meeting with border community leaders. He 

met with

 local officials, farmers, and business owners in Yuma to discuss the impact the closing of the Lukeville Port of Entry had on their businesses and Arizona’s economy, and 

he visited

 Nogales, Bisbee, and Tucson to meet with local leaders, nonprofit officials, and representatives from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to discuss the impact of increased migration on Arizona’s border communities. To stop the flow of fentanyl across the border, Rep. Gallego 

introduced

 the Buck Stops Here Act to authorize the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to designate financial institutions, transaction classes, or accounts as primary money laundering concerns in connection to illicit fentanyl trafficking. This bill was signed into law in April. In April, Rep. Gallego 

announced

 $54,573,093 in funding from SSP to support Arizona’s border communities on the frontlines of the border crisis. Rep. Gallego helped secure $650 million in SSP funding as part of the fiscal year 2024 government funding package. 

He immediately called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorka s

 to swiftly disperse the funds and to prioritize Arizona border communities. In May, Rep. Gallego introduced the 

Direct Hire Act

 and the 

Screening Efficiency Act

, both aimed at speeding up migrant processing and providing relief to Arizona’s frontline border communities.

TUCSON, Ariz. –The scorching Sonoran Desert heat has claimed the lives of three Mexican migrants. Early Wednesday morning, U.S. Border Patrol agents in Ajo, Arizona were alerted to an activation of a Rescue Beacon in an area referred to as Sheep Peak. After agents were advised by surviving migrants of four others who had been left behind, and exhaustive air and ground search involving Ajo Station agents and air assets from the Yuma Air Branch was initiated. A second activation of the same Rescue Beacon led agents to a member of the missing migrants, they had been searching for. The aircrew was able to locate the body of a Mexican male. Shortly after noon, agents located the bodies of the second and third migrant. The bodies have been transported to the Pima County Medical Examiners by Pima County Sheriff’s Department. The Mexican Consulate has been notified of the incident. “CBP’s message for anyone who is thinking of soliciting the services of smuggling organizations to enter the United States illegally along the Southern border is simple: don’t do it”, said Tucson Sector Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Justin De La Torre. “As is evidenced by this case, when migrants cross the border illegally, they put their lives in peril. The terrain along the border is extreme, the relentless summer heat is severe, and remote areas where smugglers bring migrants is unforgiving. Far too many people who made the decision to place their lives into the hands of the criminal organizations have died of dehydration, and heat stroke.” Smugglers continue to lie to migrants, claiming the borders are safe to cross. The borders are not open to irregular migration, and people should not attempt to make the dangerous journey. Transnational criminal organizations continue to recklessly endanger the lives of individuals they smuggle for their own financial gain with no regard for human life. Smuggling organizations abandon migrants in remote and dangerous areas.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, LUCHA and Poder Latinx will host White House Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Tom Perez, in Phoenix, Arizona, for a roundtable discussion on the recent immigration actions announced by the Biden-Harris Administration with LUCHA, Poder Latinx and Building Back Together Executive Director Mayra Macías. At 10:15 MST at the LUCHA Office, Director Perez, LUCHA, Poder Latinx, and Building Back Together Executive Director, Mayra Macías, will meet to discuss 

President Biden’s new actions

 to provide relief from deportation to nearly 500,000 eligible undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens, 50,000 non-citizen children under the age of 21 and streamline the process for Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants who graduated from college to obtain temporary work visas. Director Perez, LUCHA, Poder Latinx, and Ms. Macías will discuss how these new actions will affect mixed-status families across Arizona. Roundtables on the Impact of the Biden-Harris Administration’s New Actions on Immigration in Arizona WHO: White House Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Tom Perez Poder Latinx LUCHA Building Back Together Executive Director Mayra Macias WHAT: Roundtable discussion on the impact of President Biden’s new immigration actions on mixed-status families in Arizona WHEN: Friday, June 28 at 10:15 MST WHERE: LUCHA Office, 5716 N 19th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85015 RSVP: Sign Up for the Roundtable on Immigration 

Here

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) joined 11 of his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) in a 

letter

 to Secretary Austin urging the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to implement policies previously mandated by Congress that would expand access to contraception for service members. “We write to urge the Department of Defense (DoD) to take additional action to ensure service members and their dependents can access their contraceptive of choice,” wrote the Senators. “In 2022, 18.3 percent of active duty service women reported that they were unable to access their preferred birth control method from the Military Health Service. As Congress continues to seek to address this issue, including by working to pass the 

Access to Contraception for Service Members and Dependents Act

, we respectfully request an update on the DoD’s efforts to implement policies previously mandated by Congress that would expand access to contraception for service members.” “Expanding access to contraception is critical to meeting the needs of service members, as well as recruiting and retaining members of our Armed Forces,” the Senators continued. “We look forward to learning more about the barriers preventing the Department from implementing provisions mandated by Congress to protect and expand service members’ access to contraception and contraceptive counseling.” Other signers on the letter include Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME) and Gary Peters (D-MI). In the letter, the Senators call on DoD to comply with the FY 2016 NDAA by revising its pre-deployment form to allow service members to indicate if they would like to receive contraception counseling and include information on the full range of contraceptive methods, as well as implement the provisions included in the FY 2016 and FY 2017 NDAAs to expand access to contraception for service members. Read the full text of the letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd James Austin 

here

.