A new public-records lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court is testing how the Governor’s Office documents and defends a high-profile “know your rights” website about interactions with federal immigration agents. Judicial Watch, a national conservative organization, sued Gov. Katie Hobbs after the group says the administration did not answer records requests it submitted in February, shortly after the site launched. The governor’s spokesperson denies wrongdoing and calls the requests overly broad. (Source: https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2026/07/22/judicial-watch-sues-gov-katie-hobbs-over-arizona-ice-rights-website/)
The complaint seeks records showing how much taxpayer money funded the site, knowyourrights.az.gov, and what evidence underlies the governor’s claims that federal agents have denied Arizonans their rights at protests, unlawfully detained and arrested citizens, and, in “horrific cases” in Minnesota, shot and killed two people. According to Capitol Media Services reporting, Judicial Watch says the Governor’s Office did not provide the material after its February request and is asking the court to compel disclosure.
The site, available in English and Spanish, lists what people can do when confronted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, including asserting the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, and asking if one is being detained or free to leave. It also states that residents can refuse ICE entry to a home without a judicial warrant, distinguishing those from administrative warrants. A video on the site features Hobbs saying she shares “the fear and anger of many Arizonans who, over the past year, have seen far too many instances of federal agents denying us our right to peaceful protests, in some instances unlawfully detaining and arresting American citizens.”
The lawsuit does not accuse Hobbs of illegal conduct. But Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said the governor should turn over basic information about the site’s costs, development, and the records supporting its claims. “Gov. Hobbs is using taxpayer resources to promote a website built around claims about federal law enforcement, yet her administration refuses to provide the public with basic information about its costs, development, and the records supporting those claims,” Fitton said, per the report.
Judicial Watch also highlights policy context around the website. The group notes Hobbs vetoed Republican legislation last year that would have directed state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, required honoring ICE detainers at jails and prisons, and empowered the attorney general to investigate non-cooperating public entities on a legislator’s request. The organization called that measure “reasonable” and “common-sense.” In her veto message, Hobbs argued her administration is working to secure the border and disrupt cartel activity and said the state should not be forced to take “marching orders from Washington, D.C.,” according to the report.
