Today, Attorney General Kris Mayes issued the following statement in response to Reuters reporting record low federal prosecutions for drug violations, money laundering, and other drug trafficking cases as the Trump administration shifts priorities to going after gardeners and construction workers instead of career criminals:  

“Donald Trump promised to go after drug cartels, but in reality, his administration is pulling federal agents off drug cases by the thousands to target immigrant workers.   The Arizona Attorney General’s Office will go after the actual threats to public safety: the drug traffickers flooding our communities with fentanyl and other illicit drugs. More than 50% of the fentanyl trafficked into our country is seized in Arizona. The president is making our state and our country less safe. At a time when we have a massive synthetic drug problem, and cocaine is making a comeback, the feds are turning a blind eye to these very real threats to public health and safety. Earlier this year, I requested that additional Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents be sent to Arizona to combat the illegal drug trade. That request went unfulfilled. As the Trump administration forces federal law enforcement to abandon their duty to protect us from the drug cartels and career criminals, my office will continue to prosecute those responsible for the fentanyl crisis to the fullest extent of the law.”