Cochise Cronyism, Part 1: a rural Arizona sheriff, ICE, and a quarter of a million dollars
Individuals, entities, with ties to Trump and Project 2025 seem to be cashing in at the border
Cochise County, with its 84 miles of international border and vocally MAGA-alligned sheriff, appears to be a nexus for unfolding cronyism and profiteering under this new Trump administration.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office recently received a million dollar federal taxpayer-funded grant-- at least a quarter of which appears to be earmarked largely for the travel expenses of Sheriff Mark Dannels, so that Dannels may spread the gospel of “standing united and border security.” This is an interesting expenditure of taxpayer dollars, given Dannels’ history of ties to far-right extremists and dubious border security claims [read more here and here].
Further, Dannels has seemingly used his public office and public law enforcement agency to undertake an advertising campaign for a private defense contractor. This campaign has not only benefited the profit-driven corporation in its quest to attain contracts under the reign of Trump, but has also likely enriched the corporation’s board members and others receiving equity compensation. Among this defense contractor’s board members is a Trump ally who served in a Project 2025 leadership position, and appears to have provided guidance to the Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup.
The Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup was an entity Dannels was also also involved with. This group worked throughout 2024 to shape policy and plans meant to implement Donald Trump’s mass deportation and other national security objectives.
A core effort of this group was the creation of plans meant to implement a new nationwide fusion center-style law enforcement command structure that would merge all levels of domestic law enforcement (from municipal and county, to state and federal) with the military. This new command structure would ultimately fall under the command of President Trump [read more about this here].
“Cochise Cronyism” is a continuation of the “Big Takeover” series of investigative reporting detailing these plans and the individuals involved in crafting them. The series is jointly published by Cochise Regional News and Phoenix New Times.
“Cochise Cronyism” is broken into two parts. This is the first part. [Read Part 2.]
Cochise County signs on with ICE
In August, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) quietly executed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through its 287(g) program.
This program delegates authority to enforce federal immigration law to state and local partners through section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
287(g) has been a controversial program, virtually since the time of its creation in 1996. Critics argue that conversion of local law enforcement officers into immigration enforcement agents causes reluctance among minority communities to seek help from law enforcement.
A large part of this fear is based in the sense that 287(g) encourages racial profiling. This fear in not unfounded. in 2011, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS, which has purview over ICE) revoked the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) agreement upon findings that the agency, under Sheriff Joe Arpaio, systematically engaged in discriminatory and profiling tactics against Hispanic residents-- regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
The Trump administration has pushed hard for the expansion of 287(g) as part of its mass immigration enforcement and deportation efforts.
According to ICE materials, there are three “models” through which state and local partners may participate in this program: the Task Force Model (which allows state/local cops to act as immigration agents during routine duties), the Jail Enforcement Model (which is “designed to identify and process removable aliens-- with criminal or pending criminal charges-- who are arrested” by state/local agencies), and the Warrant Service Officer (WSO) model.
It is this later model that CCSO chose to participate in, according to the agency’s MOA with ICE. The WSO model of engagement “allows ICE to train, certify and authorize state and local law enforcement officers to serve and execute administrative warrants on aliens in their agency’s jail,” according to ICE materials.
The WSO model is the least aggressive form of 287(g) participation, and CCSO has only two such designated employees.
ICE, abetted by both state and local law enforcement and, at times, military forces, has been carrying out widespread and indiscriminate immigration raids through this first year of Trump’s second presidency. Such raids have recently taken place in southern Arizona— including in Cochise County’s largest town, Sierra Vista. According to national polling, public opinion of these actions is quite low and does not seem to be a high priority at a time when most Americans struggle to afford even basic groceries.
Perhaps in light of unfavorable public sentiment, CCSO seems eager to downplay their role in ICE operations.
“Under [the 287(g) Warrant Service Officer program], delegated officers get training and are only authorized to have a single function, which is to execute ICE administrative warrants within the jail [boldface original]. Under this program, Sheriffs [sic] can hold people for up to 48 hours-- in the local jail, but technically in ICE custody under the WSO authority-- before they are transferred to longer-term ICE detention,” CCSO Public Information Officer Carol Capas told Cochise Regional News and Phoenix New Times in a written statement.
“These officers can only serve warrants and can only do it in the jail. They have no authority outside the jail,” she added.
According to the MOA, 287(g)-designated CCSO personnel may also transport prisoners subject to these warrants to ICE facilities, once prisoners’ criminal cases in the local jurisdiction are concluded. It is not clear whether any CCSO personnel are performing this function.
During an October 21 public meeting of the Cochise County Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Kathleen Gomez (whose supervisory district includes the largely Hispanic town of Douglas) asked CCSO personnel what 287(g) is an what CCSO involvement with it is.
“287(g) is a warrant service officer, and they will be trained by ICE to, um, serve immigration warrants inside the jail-- and only have authority inside the jail,” responded CCSO Detention Commander Kenny Bradshaw.
“So, just inside the jail-- because you know somebody’s gonna look that up-- and they’re gonna say, ‘you’re going to be taking kids off the school, you’re going to be going into homes’-- and I just want to reiterate, for the public, that this is just within the jail. You’re not kidnapping people off the bedrooms, right?,” Gomez followed up.
“Yeah-- we don’t want to get a bunch of furries and blow-up animals runnin’ around with signs in front of our jail, so... yeah,” affirmed Bradshaw, apparently referencing ICE-related protests involving such costumes in cities like Portland, Oregon. Protestors in that city adopted the tactic of dressing up as lovable cartoon characters after President Trump falsely described the city as a burned-out war zone and attempted to deploy military forces to it in September.
Whatever the cause for CCSO’s impulse to downplay their involvement with ICE, one thing is clear: the August MOA marked a substantial reversal for Sheriff Dannels.
Though Dannels is a border hawk whose star has been rising in the MAGA sphere (largely on the back of his persona as a border sheriff), he has long resisted programs or other efforts that would delegate enforcement of aspects of federal immigration law to his agency.
This has included resistance to Arizona Proposition 314, which was approved by voters in November 2024. The proposition sought, among other things, to create an Arizona state-level criminal offense for being in the country without documentation. As such, this provision of the initiative (which has not been enacted, due to ongoing litigation) would have converted state and local law enforcement into enforcers of immigration law-- which is traditionally the responsibility of the federal government, as immigration law is typically federal law.
“Long story short is it places a real hard burden on local jurisdictions, sheriffs, police chiefs, in the fact that it’s unfunded. We don’t have the infrastructure, we don’t have more personnel-- so, until there’s a funding or a path forward, by each county attorney, by the state-- this is a state law, it’s not a county law,” said Dannels of his view of Prop. 314 in an interview with News 4 Tucson following the election.
Where 287(g) is concerned, Dannels has long stated his agency simply does not have the resources to enforce federal immigration law. And, in February, when asked by Cochise County Supervisor Frank Antenori whether CCSO would be signing up for 287(g), in light of the Trump administration’s promised immigrant mass deportation efforts, Dannels said that he would not.
According to minutes of this meeting, Dannels raised a number of concerns relating to participation in 287(g). The sheriff cited concern that 287(g) would result in a shift of focus from local law enforcement to federal immigration law enforcement (odd, given the fact Dannels has built a career by playing up his proximity to the border). He also stated that CCSO had no need to cross-designate personnel for the purpose of transferring prisoners to ICE, as CCSO already coordinates with U.S. Border Patrol to transport undocumented individuals.
Further, Dannels told county supervisors that participation on 287(g) could result in “immediate jail shutdowns due to compliance issues,” according to minutes of the meeting.
Indeed, Dannels spent much of the past two years trying to sell Cochise County voters on a new county-wide sales tax, proceeds of which are to be used to replace the county’s existing jail. According to Dannels and proponents of the initiative, this was needed due to the existing jail’s age, obsolescence, state of disrepair, overcrowding, and overall concerns for staff and prisoners alike.
Cochise County voters initially approved the tax in May 2023, though that was enjoined though litigation. Voters re-approved the jail sales tax initiative in November 2025, and completion of the new facility is anticipated by 2029.
Further, where this jail and detention of federal immigration prisoners is concerned, Dannels has long complained of the cost of housing undocumented persons in his county’s jail.
For all these reasons, Dannels has historically not been a fan of 287(g) and similar measures.
Nevertheless, on August 7, Dannels signed a 287(g) MOA with ICE. Absolutely none of the sheriff’s historic concerns were addressed in that agreement.
According to the MOA, CCSO’s partnership with ICE does not alleviate any jail population issue-- and the MOA certainly did not provide any funding to address jail safety, repair, or issues of compliance with federal detention standards.
Per the MOA: “[CCSO] is expected to pursue to completion all criminal charges that caused the alien to be taken into custody and over which it has jurisdiction. ICE will assume custody of an alien only after said individual has been released from [CCSO] custody.”
Further, the ICE MOA signed by Dannels in August placed the full financial burden of any and all costs incurred by CCSO through fulfillment of delegated federal immigration authority on CCSO (and the taxpayers of Cochise County). The ICE MOA was so explicit on this point, in fact, that it stated that not only would CCSO bear all personnel costs (man-hours, overtime pay, costs associated with mandated training, materials, equipment, etc.)-- but ICE would not even pony up a dime for “printer toner.”
Special money for a special sheriff
Dannels signed this MOA on August 7. On August 28, the agreement was executed with the signature of ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan.
On September 2, DHS issued a press release announcing financial incentives for agencies partnering with ICE. Beginning October 1, according to the press release, state and local law enforcement agencies may receive salary and some overtime reimbursements for “eligible” 287(g) personnel.
The press release also announced “performance” awards, which appear to essentially be bounties paid to participating agencies, on the basis of “successful location of illegal aliens.”
Both this DHS press release and subsequent ICE 287(g) promotional materials indicate that this reimbursement, and various other perks, are available to agencies participating in the 287(g) Task Force Model, and make no mention of reimbursements associated with the either Jail Enforcement or Warrant Service Officer models (CCSO’s agreement is for the later).
Then Christmas came early to CCSO-- and, seemingly, to Sheriff Dannels in particular.
Through a letter dated September 30, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded $1 million to CCSO through DHS’ Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program (TVTP).
FEMA is a DHS agency whose Grant Programs Directorate distributes several homeland security and counter-terrorism grants.
The majority of the money awarded through the letter was for CCSO’s involvement in the Warrant Service Officer 287(g) model.
CRN/New Times asked CCSO PIO Capas whether Dannels had foreknowledge of this funding when he signed the ICE MOA nearly two months prior. Capas did not respond to this question.
CRN/New Times asked both DHS and ICE whether they are typically reimbursing costs associated with 287(g) models other than the Task Force Model. Neither agency responded.
CRN/New Times attempted to reach the FEMA Grant Programs Directorate with questions pertaining to the award as well, using contact information contained in the CCSO award letter. The phone number provided in the letter routed to a FEMA help desk meant to help agency personnel with IT issues. FEMA personnel there had no idea how to reach the Grants Program Directorate or those involved in distributing TVTP funds (attempts to transfer us to other offices were rerouted back to the same IT help desk). These FEMA employees expressed their own bewilderment to CRN/New Times, noting that the only phone number they could find pertaining to this grant program was 9-1-1, which they said was the phone number provided through the DHS TVPT webpage.
CRN/New Times sent questions relating to the CCSO grant award, 287(g) and the TVTP program to multiple email addresses associated with DHS, relevant DHS offices/agencies, and TVTP. None of these emails received any reply.
The most recent information available through DHS web pages relating to this grant program detail TVTP awards for fiscal 2024 (October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024). According to that information, the median award issued in that year was around $500,000. Awardees included non-profits, educational institutions, and law enforcement entities. Available abstracts describing the purpose of these awards did not include any mention of 287(g). According to these materials, the largest grant in that year ($962,704) went to a Pennsylvania group called “Eradicate Hate,” which claimed to be working to “prevent violent extremism.” TVTP priorities for that year were aimed at reducing recidivism, helping “underserved communities,” addressing online radicalization, and “preventing domestic violent extremism,” according to DHS materials.
Though the DHS web pages dedicated to the TVTP program state that “application guidance” relating to the program “will be published in Spring 2025,” it does not appear as though it ever was (at least, not publicly)-- nor does it appear as though the majority of DHS web pages related to TVTP have been updated since 2024. The primary TVTP web page does link to an “infographic” posted on January 23, 2025, which seems to have been created with the intent of demonstrating how the program “saves lives-- and money.” This was posted just three days following Trump’s inauguration, a time in which many federal employees feared the imminent deployment of chainsaw-wielding billionaire Elon Musk and his new “Department of Government Efficiency.”
In any event, today’s DHS seems to be an informational black hole. Bear this in mind, considering the fact that memoranda of understanding entered into between ICE and agencies participating 287(g)-- including CCSO-- contain provisions requiring all public or press requests for information or records pertaining to state/local agency involvement in 287(g) be routed through ICE’s Office of Public Affairs.
Setting aside the question of whether DHS typically issues awards for 287(g) involvement outside the Task Force Model, another oddity of this million dollar grant is that CCSO appears to be the only Arizona agency to sign on to the 287(g) WSO model this year to receive such a grant.
Through the course of this year, as the Trump administration has sought to implement its mass immigrant deportations agenda, the administration and their allies have worked to aggressively expand 287(g) involvement. According to DHS materials, as of December 12, ICE had entered into 1,255 287(g) MOAs with agencies in 40 states. At the outset of this Trump administration, there were only 135 such agreements in place, nationwide.
As part of this push, CCSO and a number of other Arizona law enforcement agencies signed on with ICE through the course of 2025. The other agencies, according to ICE records, were: the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office (WSO model, effective date April 16), the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office (WSO model, effective date June 3), and the Pinal County Attorney’s Office (Task Force Model, effective date August 28).
Neither the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office or Pinal County Attorney’s Office responded to CRN/New Times’ questions asking whether they are receiving any federal funding relating to their 287(g) involvement. However, in order for either agency to accept such a grant, if awarded, the grants would need to be approved by their respective county boards of supervisors. Review of available supervisory meeting minutes and agendas for both Yuma and Pinal counties show no trace of any such awards.
Navajo County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Tori Gorman told CRN/New Times that the agency is working to bring a total of five Warrant Service Officers online for their county jail, and that they will be receiving no federal funding.
So, CCSO with it’s two WSOs, appears to exist in a league of its own.
According to the FEMA CCSO grant letter, $825,000 of the million-dollar award was to be used, from September 2025 to September 2028, to: “fund two CCSO Detention Officers’ [sic] salaries, employee related expenses. These two Detention Officers [sic] will be 287G qualified warrant service officers to process and handle illegal immigrants held at the Cochise County Jail.”
Specifically, the total million-dollar grant is broken down into several award amounts-- though the math is far from transparent.
The most easily decipherable amount of the award was of $42,539, for the purchase of a portable X-ray imaging system used in explosive ordinance disposal operations.
The remainder is where the math seems to get a bit fuzzy.
According to the FEMA letter, a total of $315,000 was awarded for “personnel.” Another $234,966 for “fringe benefits,” another $250,000 for “travel,” and another $157, 495 for “indirect charges.”
Bear in mind that, according to the FEMA award letter, $825,000 of this amount ($957,461-- which is the remainder of the million, after the X-ray machine) is to be spent on two WSOs who, by CCSO’s own admission, don’t seem to do much.
It is the quarter of a million dollars for “travel” that stands out the most, as this is the portion of the million dollar award that seems, largely, to have Dannels’ name on it.
As is stated in the award letter’s description of this specific amount:
“$250,000.00 for travel, training, conferences and expenses associated with issues and challenges as an International Border [sic] community. Sheriff Mark J. Dannels has a strong commitment to the Southern Border [sic] and challenges faced being a border community. Through collaboration and leadership with the American Sheriff’s Alliance [sic] which includes the National Sheriff’s Association (NSA), Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalition, Texas Sheriff’s Coalition (SWBS & TXSC), Major Counties Sheriff’s Association [sic] (MCSA), and Western States Sheriff’s [sic] Association (WSSA), Sheriff Dannels is spotlighting the importance standing united [sic] and border security. [...]” [parentheticals all original.]
To be clear, while “training” is listed among possible expenditures of this quarter of a million dollars, the WSO model of 287(g) involvement is the least demanding-- and requires the least amount of training. In the past, WSO officers required eight hours of training. Reporting indicates that this second Trump administration has reduced that training requirement to only four hours. Further, according to Congressional Research Service materials, WSO officers undergo their training “either at a local site or online.”
Given these facts, it seems like a stretch to say CCSO’s two WSOs could spend $250,000 on this kind of training-- rigorous as it might be.
So what makes Dannels so special? Why are his name, and the names of these various sheriffs’ groups, all over this quarter of a million dollars earmarked for “travel”?
The Cochise County sheriff, who has a history of association with far-right extremists and of making dubious border security claims [read more here and here], has used his office’s proximity to the border to leverage a burgeoning political career-- particularly in the era of Trump. Dannels has made frequent mention of his relationship with Trump “border czar” Tom Homan. During the 2024 election cycle, Dannels took part in Trump and Homan-related political events.
Dannels is a key player in a number of committees and councils, including Operation Desert Guardian, which was created by Governor Katie Hobbs (a Democrat) in early 2025-- and he does seem to have the ear of the governor. And, in June, Dannels was appointed (along with such luminaries as the founder of Bikers for Trump and several investment fund managers) to Trump’s Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC). He served on HSAC during Trump’s first term as well.
Perhaps most notably: throughout 2024, Dannels took part in the Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup, according to documents obtained by CRN/New Times. This group crafted policy proposals and plans intended to implement then-candidate Trump’s promised mass immigrant deportations and other national security objectives.
According to documents obtained by CRN/New Times, the “main operational effort” of this Project 2025 subgroup was creation of plans for the implementation of a new nationwide “multi-jurisdictional law enforcement” fusion center-style law enforcement structure. This new system would unite state, local, and federal law enforcement, along with components of the military to be used in matters of domestic law enforcement-- under the direct command of Donald Trump.
A major component of implementing these Project 2025 plans, according to documents, was to be a drastic expansion of 287(g) participation.
Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup documents obtained by CRN/New Times demonstrate that the group worked to craft “strategic communications” strategies for the advancement of their objectives. A component of this propaganda campaign was advocacy through participating and/or sympathetic sheriffs, according to documents.
Dannels is not only an acolyte of the Trump/Project 2025 vision, but is in a position to serve as a prime evangelist.
Within Arizona, Dannels is chair of the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board and holds leadership positions in various state councils relating to homeland security and border security.
On the policy stage, the rural Arizona sheriff has long held leadership positions within several influential law enforcement groups. This includes: the Arizona Sheriffs’ Association (where Dannels has served as president); the Southwestern Border Sheriffs’ Coalition (SWBC, an offshoot of the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition), where Dannels is as an executive board member; the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA, where Dannels has long chaired the Border Security Committee); and the Western States Sheriffs’ Association (WSSA, where Dannels is currently president).
These associations hold a number of conferences each year where members hobnob with fellow sheriffs, private sector vendors (who often underwrite these conferences and are rewarded with market access), and policymakers alike.
Private sector vendors who underwrite these events are often companies that sell law enforcement and defense-related technologies-- such as drones, biometrics systems, surveillance systems, etc.
As such, conferences held by these various groups are something of a nexus between the realms of public policy (NSA, for example, has a substantial lobbying presence) and private profiteering.
“The beautiful, modern Peppermill Resort and Casino”
Given the fact that the September 30 FEMA award letter seems to bestow a travel fund of up to $250,000 in federal taxpayer revenue to CCSO for travel and expenses seemingly related to such conferences, it is worth noting that these conferences are often held at resorts, casinos, and luxury hotels.
For example, NSA’s winter conference is to be held January 31 through February 4, 2026 in Washington, D.C., at the the luxury JW Marriot, situated right down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, according to NSA materials.
WSSA’s next conference, according to a statement signed by WSSA President Mark Dannels, is the group’s “annual gathering,” to be held February 28 through March 4, 2026, at “the beautiful, modern Peppermill Resort and Casino which features a beautiful conference center, first class restaurants and the opportunity to see the sites of the greater Reno area.”
This event is explicitly marketed as a “trade show” and the group solicits sponsorships from private vendors to underwrite the event. According to WSSA materials, an official “conference sponsorship” (which gets a vendor two booths in the “exhibit hall” as well as corporate logo placement on WSSA materials and speaking opportunities for company reps at the conference) runs $20,000.
“This is the annual gathering of Sheriffs [sic] and their command staff from across 18 western states. Our trade show provides the perfect opportunity for you to showcase your law enforcement-related company,” reads WSSA conference promotional materials signed by Dannels. “If you would like to obtain maximum exposure to the Sheriffs [sic] in the Western United States - this is your chance! [sic]”
Similarly, SWBSC solicits corporate contractor/vendor sponsorships and holds their various events at fun locations. In September, the group held its “Annual Fall Cooperative Meeting,” in conjunction with the Texas Border Sheriffs’ Coalition, at the Gila River Resort and Casino in Chandler, Arizona.
You get the idea. Attendance at these conferences is important work that surely warrants up to a quarter of a million dollars in federal taxpayer revenue.
CRN/New Times repeatedly asked CCSO Public Information Officer Capas if, as the description provided in the FEMA grant letter suggests, this money is earmarked-- either in full or in part-- for Dannels’ travel to such conferences. Capas did not respond to this question.
CRN/New Times asked DHS if any portion of this award of “terrorism prevention” monies was intended for Dannels’ travel to conferences, and how that fits into the objectives of the TVTP program. DHS did not respond to these questions.
In a public hearing held on October 21, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve CCSO’s acceptance of this grant relating to their 287(g) partnership with ICE. Not much information was provided in this public meeting by CCSO relating to how this quarter of a million dollars in “travel” money was to be spent-- other than a terse statement offered by a CCSO representative, saying: “$250,000 will be for travel, training, conferences, and expenses associated with, ah, promoting, ah, er, talking about the border and the border issues that we face on a daily basis.”
During this meeting, supervisors indicated that the board had been briefed on the grant award during a private work session prior to the October 21 public meeting. CRN/New Times asked all three Cochise County supervisors (Kathleen Gomez, Tom Crosby, Frank Antenori) whether, to their knowledge, any portion of this $250,000 in “travel” funds was to be spent on Dannels’ travel to conferences, as the FEMA letter seems to indicate. None of the supervisors responded to this question.
CRN/New Times repeatedly submitted multiple written questions to CCSO Public Information Officer Capas regarding the million dollar FEMA award associated with the agency’s involvement in 287(g). Among other things, we asked if any portion of the million dollar award would be spent in relation to Dannels’ travel, salary, or any benefit/expenses of any kind. Capas did not respond to any of these questions.
Beau Hodai, Cochise Regional News and Phoenix New Times-- January 13, 2026
Read Part 2 of “Cochise Cronyism.”
This article is a continuation of the “Big Takeover” series of investigative reporting, detailing plans created by the Project 2025 Border Security Workgroup and the individuals involved in crafting them. The series is jointly published by Cochise Regional News and Phoenix New Times.
This joint CRN/New Times reporting is part of Phoenix New Times’ Arizona Watchdog Project, which receives support from the Trace Foundation.
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