Highlights

Judicial Watch filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court against Gov. Katie Hobbs, seeking records on how much the state spent to build knowyourrights.az.gov and what evidence her administration had that Arizonans were actually denied rights before the site went live.

The lawsuit, reported by the Arizona Capitol Times, stems from a February public records request Judicial Watch submitted shortly after Hobbs launched the bilingual site. The site provides a point-by-point list of what people can do when confronted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, including the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, and the right to refuse entry to ICE agents who carry only an administrative warrant rather than a judicial one.

Judicial Watch wants all documents or reports showing federal law enforcement has denied Arizona residents the right to peacefully protest. It also seeks information on Arizonans unlawfully detained, arrested, and shot or killed by federal officers. And it seeks any records showing the governor provided advice on what Arizonans should do if protesters come to their homes or places of worship and engage in activities like trespassing, disorderly conduct, assaults and threats.

In a prepared statement, Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said Hobbs should comply with public records laws. The lawsuit does not accuse Hobbs of doing anything illegal.

Gubernatorial press aide Christian Slater acknowledged some records are likely owed, at least on the cost of production, but pushed back on the framing. He attributed the delay to the scope of the requests, saying the governor did nothing wrong.

Judicial Watch also points to Hobbs's veto last year of Republican-crafted legislation that would have authorized state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, required jails to honor ICE detainer requests, and directed the attorney general to investigate public entities suspected of restricting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Hobbs, in her veto message, wrote that she would continue working with the federal government on border security but that the state should not force officials to take direction from Washington.

This is the second time Judicial Watch has sued Hobbs over public records tied to immigration. KJZZ reported that the group dropped a prior lawsuit after the governor's office said it had located no responsive records about any directive to state police regarding ICE cooperation. In that earlier case, KJZZ also reported, Judicial Watch had filed a public records request with the Governor's Office on December 17, 2024.

What does Judicial Watch say the website gets wrong?

Judicial Watch does not allege the site contains false information. Instead, the organization argues that Hobbs used taxpayer resources to promote claims about federal law enforcement without disclosing the cost, the development process, or the underlying records that support those claims. The group also sees a political dimension, noting that Hobbs vetoed legislation designed to align state enforcement with federal immigration priorities.

A Maricopa County Superior Court case number was not included in the Arizona Capitol Times report. The governor's office has not indicated a timeline for producing records.

Sources

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  1. azcapitoltimes.com retrieved 22/07/2026 23:47

Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 22/07/2026 23:47. Every claim traces to a source.