Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes earlier this week suggested residents could use lethal force against masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents under the state's "stand your ground" law.
"It's kind of a recipe for disaster because you have these masked federal officers with very little identification, sometimes no identification, wearing plain clothes and masks," Mayes told 12News on Monday, calling ICE "very poorly trained."
"And we have a stand your ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger, and you're in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force."
Arizona's stand your ground law eliminates the duty to retreat before using force in self-defense if a person is lawfully present and not committing a crime, allowing physical or deadly force when an individual reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious injury.
The statute broadly applies outside the home, but prosecutors and courts still evaluate whether the threat was immediate and the belief reasonable, and it does not protect those who seek out or provoke a confrontation.
Mayes, when pressed on her comments by 12News reporter Brahm Resnik — who said they could be interpreted as a "license to an individual to shoot" — said: "Absolutely not ... but again, if you're being attacked by someone who is not identified as a peace officer — how do you know?"
She said she's a gun owner and asked, "If somebody comes at me wearing a mask, and I can't tell whether they're a police officer, what am I supposed to do?
"It's got all the makings for, you know, shootout at the O.K. Corral all over again," she added.
ICE officers wear masks to prevent doxing, which can — and has — placed them and their families at risk.
Several states have moved to restrict or ban ICE agents from wearing masks during immigration enforcement, arguing that anonymous officers undermine transparency and public trust — most notably California's No Secret Police Act, which would outlaw masks and require visible identification for federal and local officers during operations.
But the Department of Justice has sued to block the law, arguing that states lack authority to regulate federal agents and that the mask ban jeopardizes officer safety, leaving the measure's enforcement in legal limbo.
Meanwhile, similar bills — including efforts in New Jersey to bar masked ICE agents — are advancing amid continued debate over accountability, public fear, and federal supremacy.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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