Why It Matters
Arizona is home to more than 18,000 people who arrived in the country as children and received federal DACA protections. A pledge by a leading Republican attorney general candidate to actively assist in their deportation would mark a sharp policy departure from the state’s current legal posture and could affect tens of thousands of residents.
What Happened
Warren Petersen, a Republican seeking the Arizona attorney general’s office, publicly committed to cooperating with the Trump administration to deport DACA recipients — including those who arrived in the country as minors. The pledge came through a social media exchange with incumbent Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes on the platform X.
Petersen argued that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program lacks constitutional grounding, writing that DACA “is found nowhere in the Constitution.” He referred to recipients as “illegals” and said he would work with the federal government to facilitate deportations regardless of when individuals entered the country.
Mayes pushed back sharply, noting that DACA recipients contribute to Arizona’s workforce and communities. “News flash Warren: DACA recipients are police officers, firefighters, nurses and small business owners in Arizona,” she said.
Mayes, who is seeking reelection, has taken the opposite approach in office. She joined 22 other attorneys general in filing an amicus brief with a federal appeals court in February 2024 urging preservation of the program, and in January 2025 moved to intervene in a case seeking to bar DACA recipients from purchasing health insurance through the Affordable Care Marketplace.
Petersen faces Rodney Glassman in the Republican primary. Glassman did not respond to requests for comment on his position on DACA.
Arizona Democratic Party chair Charlene Fernandez accused Petersen of fearmongering, though she did not elaborate publicly on any legal counterarguments.
By the Numbers
According to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services report, Arizona has approximately 18,450 DACA recipients. Nationally, the program covers nearly 500,000 people. DACA was created through executive action by former President Barack Obama in 2012, providing two-year deportation reprieves and work permits to individuals brought to the country as minors.
Public opinion has generally favored keeping the program intact. A 2023 survey found majority support for DACA across party lines, and a 2025 poll found 78 percent of Americans backing a pathway to citizenship for this population — up from 70 percent the prior year. Separately, 85 percent of Americans said children brought to the country should have the opportunity to apply for citizenship.
Arizona voters in 2022 approved Proposition 308 by a 51-percent margin, extending in-state college tuition rates to undocumented students. The measure drew support from 54 percent of independents, while only 27 percent of Republican voters backed it.
Zoom Out
The Arizona race reflects a broader national debate over immigration enforcement that has intensified under the Trump administration’s second term. Several states have become flashpoints over immigration detention and enforcement cooperation, with state attorneys general increasingly becoming key figures in either resisting or advancing federal immigration policy.
At the national level, federal courts have been divided on DACA’s legal status for years, leaving recipients in prolonged legal uncertainty. The program has survived multiple legal challenges but remains vulnerable to further litigation, making the position of state attorneys general increasingly consequential in shaping how it is enforced or defended at the state level.
What’s Next
Petersen and Glassman will face each other in the Republican primary before a potential general election matchup against Mayes. The DACA debate is likely to remain a defining issue in the race, particularly as federal courts continue to weigh challenges to the program’s legal foundation.
Mayes’s office is expected to continue its interventionist legal strategy in cases affecting DACA recipients. Whether Petersen’s position gains or costs him support in the primary will test how Arizona Republican voters weigh immigration enforcement against the personal circumstances of longtime state residents who arrived as children.