Local opinion: Ciscomani is funding chaos, not security

I believe in the rule of law. I believe in public safety. And I believe that the men and women who enforce our laws deserve clear rules, serious training, and accountable leadership. After 20 years of military service in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, several combat deployments and long days molding the next generation of leaders as a Drill Instructor at Quantico, I learned the lesson that still guides me today: Authority without discipline is dangerous, and force without accountability does not create security.

That is true overseas, and it is true here at home.

As a mom raising an elementary schooler in Southern Arizona, I want every child to grow up safe. That means drug-free neighborhoods, safe schools, and a border that is orderly and enforced. It means stopping fentanyl traffickers, human smugglers, and violent criminals who take advantage of desperate people. And it means supporting the police officers, border personnel, and immigration agents who serve honorably and risk their lives to protect the public.

Southern Arizonans know how important it is to secure the border and protect public safety. Organized criminal enterprises that smuggle fentanyl, narcotics, and people across the border must be stopped. We depend on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enforce the law, secure the border, and preserve public trust. We also need lawful trade and travel, and an immigration system that works.

That’s why so many Arizonans have been alarmed by the breakdown in accountability at DHS and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has been operating without the discipline, adequate training, or oversight necessary to protect the public.

It is unacceptable that masked, heavily armed ICE agents are running rampant in our neighborhoods, pepper-spraying, shooting, and rounding up U.S. citizens. As a Marine Corps Drill Instructor, I taught the fundamentals of marksmanship and, if facing imminent, life-threatening danger, how to use a weapon. We've seen too many devastating consequences when ICE agents don't have the same critical training, including the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

When ICE enforcement operations are chaotic or poorly supervised, local law enforcement is forced to deal with the fallout. Police officers who are already stretched too thin face greater risk. Communities grow less trusting. And our neighborhoods become less safe.

The answer is not to defund law enforcement – it’s to fund law enforcement with intention. That includes ICE. That means supporting the officers who serve honorably while insisting on training, body cameras, clear identification, lawful conduct, and meaningful oversight.

True security doesn’t come from writing a blank check to a leaderless agency. That’s why I was outraged when our current Congressman, Juan Ciscomani, voted last year via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to hand DHS a $150 billion slush fund designed to evade congressional oversight — paid for by gutting Arizonans’ health care.

Instead of pushing for accountability, Ciscomani chose to fund chaos — not security.

Neglecting public safety isn’t new for Ciscomani. In his first year in DC, he voted to slash billions in federal law enforcement funding intended to get fentanyl off our streets, fight crime, and support local police. To make a bad situation worse, that same bill called for slashing nearly $6 billion for border security.

Southern Arizonans deserve security, not chaos. No law enforcement agency should be allowed to function without clear standards and real accountability. But sadly, Ciscomani is part of the problem, not the solution.

I understand the call to serve and the responsibility that comes with stepping forward. I have a deep respect for our police officers, immigration and border agents, and their families who sacrifice to protect us. They deserve leadership worthy of their sacrifice. Our families do too.

Since our current congressional representative won't step up to keep our communities safe, I'm prepared to do so — with the same commitment to duty that guided me throughout my 20 years of military service.