Guests - Mary Ann Mendoza, Betsy Smith, Leslie Corbly, Joel Strabala

Mesa's 287G Program: A Critical Tool in the Fight Against Illegal Immigration

The Importance of ICE Cooperation in Mesa, Arizona

The safety of Mesa, Arizona residents is at risk as local Democrats push to dismantle a crucial program that allows police to coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Mary Ann Mendoza, an advocate and angel mom who lost her son to an illegal immigrant, is speaking out about efforts to end Mesa's 287G program.

The 287G program allows the Mesa Police Department to work in coordination with ICE. While Mesa Police do not actively seek out illegal immigrants in the community, if someone who is in the country illegally commits a crime and is booked into the Mesa jail, officers can contact ICE for deportation proceedings.

Mesa Police Department is the only police department in Arizona that maintains the 287G program. While various sheriff's departments across the state, including Cochise County and Maricopa County, cooperate with ICE, Mesa stands alone among municipal police forces in this critical partnership.

For Mendoza, this issue is deeply personal. "Had the 287G program been in place up in Colorado where my son's killer was committing crimes, he would have been deported and maybe my son would still be alive today. So I definitely want to see this remain in Mesa," Mendoza explained.

Fortunately, Mesa's current leadership supports maintaining the program. After concerns arose, Mendoza reached out directly to Mesa Mayor Mark Freeman, who assured her that "as long as he is the mayor of Mesa, this will never be put on the agenda of the city council because he supports it 100 percent." Mesa Police Chief Dan Butler has also confirmed that the department will continue working with ICE.

Political Challenges and Radical Opposition

Despite this reassurance from current leadership, there are concerning political developments that threaten the program's future. State Representative Lorena Austin, who represents Legislative District 9 in Mesa, is described by Mendoza as "a true communist radical" who regularly shares information on social media about how to avoid ICE and protect illegal immigrants from enforcement. There are indications that Austin may be planning to run for Mesa City Council.

"This will be the agenda that Lorena Austin will be bringing to the Mesa city council. I'm sure she'll be pushing for Mesa to be a sanctuary city," Mendoza warned. "This is where the citizens of Arizona, even if you live in Tucson, you need to be fully aware of what's happening in Mesa because that can spread very quickly."

The political landscape in Mesa has been shifting over the years. Once considered a conservative stronghold, Mesa has experienced significant political changes in the past decade with a growing liberal influence. The recent redistricting divided the city, with West Mesa (LD9) becoming increasingly liberal while East Mesa (LD10) remains conservative.

The city council currently appears to be evenly split politically. A recall effort against councilmember Julie Spillsbury is underway, with an election scheduled for November. The seat that Austin may be targeting is currently held by Jen Duff, a "very tough liberal" who has termed out. Mendoza expressed concern that given the district's political makeup, "I don't even see how any Republican could possibly win in that district of Mesa."

Personal Impact and National Security Concerns

Mendoza's advocacy stems from her personal tragedy. As an angel mom who lost her son to an illegal immigrant driving the wrong way, she understands firsthand the devastating consequences when illegal immigrants with criminal histories remain in the country.

Through her Angel Family Facebook page, Mendoza regularly documents cases of individuals who have been deported multiple times only to return and commit more crimes. She argues for stronger consequences: "I really think there needs to be a change in Congress towards making it a felony the first time you cross our border illegally. I don't think it should be a misdemeanor."

Mendoza pushed back against politicized narratives about immigration enforcement, referencing a recent article about claims that immigration enforcement is racially motivated. "It's not anybody's fault that the people coming into our country are foreigners. Of course, they're going to have different skin color from Africa, from South America, from everywhere. And that is not the issue... You're here illegally, you've committed a crime, you need to go regardless of your skin color, regardless of your religion, regardless of anything else."

The issue, Mendoza stresses, is about public safety, not race or ethnicity. "We're a very welcoming country. We welcome in how many immigrants a year, legally? A lot," she noted, emphasizing that legal immigration from all countries and backgrounds continues to be supported.

Texas Flood Tragedy Highlights First Responder Heroism

The devastating floods in Texas have resulted in a tragic loss of life, with at least 82 confirmed deaths and rescue efforts continuing. Over 850 people have been rescued so far across four different counties, with a total of seven counties in Texas affected by the disaster.

The epicenter of the disaster is Kerr County, Texas, outside of San Antonio along the Guadalupe River. The area, known for its beautiful wooded landscape, has been devastated by the flooding.

The flooding resulted from an unusual weather pattern where the storm "sat like a hurricane sometimes sits and just dumped so much water on an already wet area." This led to rapidly rising water levels that caught many residents by surprise, particularly those who were asleep when the flooding began.

The first flash flood warning was issued to Bandera County at 11:40 p.m., while the warning to Kerr County that would trigger cell phone alerts wasn't sent until 1:14 a.m. on July 4th. Among the victims was the owner of Camp Mystic, who perished while trying to help evacuate others from the Guadalupe River.

First responders face enormous challenges in both rescue and recovery operations. Beyond water rescues, they must search through mud-covered vehicles and campers to locate victims. "It's not just a matter of getting into the water to find people, but there are vehicles and campers and things that are just buried in mud. And these first responders have to go in there with poles and they have to poke around and try to recover bodies... It's an awful, awful job."

Local communities are mobilizing to help, with volunteers from Arizona planning to drive supplies to Texas. Needed items include paper products, women's hygiene products, non-perishable food, water, and protein drinks and bars.

Father's Rights in Family Law

Family law attorney Leslie Corbly advocates for fathers' rights, particularly in custody matters. Her practice focuses on divorce, custody, modification, and parental rights cases, with special attention to the challenges faced by unwed fathers who often face additional hurdles in securing their rights. Unlike married fathers who benefit from the presumption of paternity, unwed fathers must prove parentage, which complicates their legal standing.

When asked if courts favor mothers in custody decisions, Corbly acknowledged that fathers typically face more challenges: "Generally speaking, it's a little more uphill battle if you're a man, especially here in Utah." This is particularly true for unwed fathers and cases involving younger children. While specific circumstances like mental health issues or other factors are considered, the younger the child, the more difficult it can be to modify custody arrangements that favor the mother.

Corbly noted an important pattern in her practice: "Most dads, even if they're able to be strong custodial parents, are less likely to be stay-at-home parents. They're less likely to be invested in sort of maybe messing with the affections of the child as it relates to their mother."

Unlike what she sometimes sees with mothers, Corbly rarely encounters fathers who actively try to alienate children from their maternal figure: "I haven't had a single client that really has any expressive interest in sort of disturbing and disrupting that bond."

The most successful approach in custody matters is focusing genuinely on the child's best interests. When parents can put aside their conflicts and truly focus on what benefits their children, the outcomes are much better for all involved. One practical approach is establishing household rules about not discussing the other parent negatively, which helps create healthier environments for children caught in the middle of parental conflicts.

Understanding "Progressive Prejudice" and Toxic Femininity

Leslie Corbly, who describes herself as the "Maverick Millennial" attorney, is also an author with a forthcoming book titled "Progressive Prejudice: Exposing the Devouring Mother." The book explores the concept of toxic femininity, which she defines as "the feminine proclivity towards malevolence" - similar to how we discuss toxic masculinity but focused on harmful feminine patterns.

Corbly argues that the Democratic Party "embodies that toxic femininity" and her book combines autobiography with cultural commentary to highlight how "female perpetrated abuse is very real and it has very real damaging effects."

A key issue Corbly identifies is that progressive ideology struggles to critique groups they perceive as victims: "They're really good at critiquing religious conservatives or those who are traditional, but they don't really have any concept of how to critique those cultures that they perceive as being victimized." This creates a binary view of victims versus perpetrators that doesn't reflect reality, where "you can move from being a victim in one arena of life to later becoming a perpetrator in another."

She noted that progressive spaces often lack tolerance for diverse viewpoints: "It tends to be incapable of viewing other perspectives as legitimate. And instead super focused on saying my way or the highway is really morality. So they talk about relativism, moral relativism, but that's not at all what you see practiced in progressive cultural spaces."

Drawing from her personal experience with an abusive mother, Corbly explains that discussing women as perpetrators, particularly mothers, creates "cognitive dissonance" for progressive thinkers because it contradicts their established narrative and "warped view on the value of a child in relation to their mother."

Corbly observes that progressives struggle with "humanizing stories that don't fit their narrative," pointing to abortion debates where only certain narratives receive attention: "You don't see the stories of those who are damaged by abortion, you only hear the edge cases that fit the abortion narrative."

Her upcoming book "Progressive Prejudice: Exposing the Devouring Mother" will be available on Amazon starting October 21st, and can also be found through her website at LeslieCorply.com.

Local Election Updates for Pima County

Joel Strabala, an election observer for Pima County, provided updates on the special election happening in Congressional District 7. As of the previous Thursday, the county recorder had sent out 131,259 ballots, with 35,062 (approximately 26.7%) returned. Of those returned ballots, nearly 31,000 have been verified and turned over to the elections office for processing.

About 4,000 ballots were reported as undeliverable. These ballots are handled by a "curing team" that attempts to contact voters using information on record. If voters don't respond by the deadline, the ballots are sequestered and never entered into the tabulation process.

While July 15th is the primary election day, several early voting centers are already open across Pima County. Additional centers will open throughout the week, with more locations becoming available in Western Pima County by Friday.

The first batch of ballots processed through tabulation machines included 28,500 ballots - 6,200 Republican ballots and 22,000 Democratic ballots. With 35,000 registered Republican voters in Pima County, Strabala encouraged Republicans to return their ballots promptly to increase participation in the primary.

Strabala is currently seeking volunteers to observe ballot processing and signature verification at the recorder's office. Those interested in volunteering can contact him via email. He also mentioned that ballots for the upcoming City Council election will be mailed on Wednesday, coinciding with the political party logic and accuracy test for voting machines.