Border state law enforcement to shoot down 'weaponized' drug-smuggling drones
A newly-minted law allowing Arizona law enforcement officers to shoot down drug-carrying drones along the U.S.-Mexico border has taken effect after sailing through the state's legislature with bipartisan support.
HB 2733 was signed into law on April 18 and grants officers the ability to target drones suspected of carrying out illegal activity within 15 miles of the state's international border.
"Cartels are increasingly using drones to survey the border to locate [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] officers' locations and to transport illegal drugs from Mexico into our state," state Rep. David Marshall, the bill's sponsor, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Law enforcement tools at [our] disposal will be electronic jamming devices, as well as using shotguns with bird shot to bring down these drones."
Between October 2024 and April 2025, approximately 113,000 pounds of illegal drugs have been seized along the U.S.-Mexico border, with methamphetamine accounting for the majority of findings, according to data from CBP.
Prior to the bill being passed, officers were unable to intercept drones suspected of participating in illegal activities, including transporting drugs such as fentanyl, across the southern border.
The law also protects officers from being held civilly liable for any damage caused by intercepting the drone.
"A public entity or public employee is not liable to an unmanned aircraft operator for any injury to personal property caused by a peace officer intercepting, capturing, disabling, shooting, destroying or otherwise rendering inoperative an unmanned aircraft within 15 miles of the state's international border if the peace officer had a reasonable suspicion that the unmanned aircraft was being used to commit a violation of Title 13, Chapter 23, 34 or 34.1," the bill states.
"Giving law enforcement the tools that they need to protect Arizonans is and should be a bipartisan effort," Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said at a news conference. "It is a necessary step in the fight against international drug trafficking and critical to our effort to protect all Arizonians."
Mayes' office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
However, the law is in direct conflict with the Federal Aviation Administration's regulations surrounding drones. Federal law prohibits interfering with a drone while it is in the air, with violators risking criminal and civil penalties.
"Federal law generally prohibits the damage, destruction or disabling of an aircraft," the FAA said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "In addition, anyone shooting at any aircraft – including unmanned aircraft – creates a significant safety hazard. Discharging a weapon at an unmanned aircraft could cause damage to persons or property on the ground or could cause the aircraft to collide with other objects in the air."
CBP did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
"It goes without saying that these cartel actions directly threaten the livelihood of Arizonans," Marshall said. "In 2024 alone, Arizona saw 1,479 opioid-related overdose deaths. That is 1,479 lives taken too soon and countless families changed forever because of these deadly drugs. But when we give law enforcement the tools they need, like House Bill 2733, they are able to capture these drugs before they cause irreparable harm to our communities."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
39 minutes ago
- Fox News
Massachusetts Governor demands answers after ICE arrests Milford High School student
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey took to social media Sunday evening to demand answers after ICE agents arrested a high school student heading to volleyball practice over the weekend. The student, 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes, is a junior at Milford High School in Milford, Massachusetts. In her post, Healey says she is "disturbed and outraged" and that she wants answers immediately explaining why the student was taken into immigration enforcement's custody. "I'm demanding that ICE provide immediate information about why he was arrested, where he is and how his due process is being protected," she s. In the post she blames the Trump admin for what she describes as an attempt to create fear. "The Trump Administration continues to create fear in our communities, and it's making us all less safe," her post states. In her statement, Healey claims that the student was detained on Saturday without any warning or subsequent explanation provided to state officials. "Yet again, local officials and law enforcement have been left in the dark with no heads up and no answers to their questions," she said. The community gathered to protest outside of Milford on Sunday. Hundreds demanded Gomes be set free and that ICE stop harassing members of their community. U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a Democrat who represents Milford in Congress, attended the protest and made note on X that Gomes was "enrolled in honors classes, a coaching assistant for girls volleyball [and] player for boys volleyball, and a member of the school band." "This administration has its public safety priorities backwards. It pardons cop-beaters from Jan. 6 but detains high-school volleyball players. It makes gun-purchaser background checks harder while pushing for tax breaks to buy silencers for pistols. This reckless behavior does not make the residents of Milford safer, and I stand with the community in support of law [and] order," he wrote. Milford School District Superintendent Kevin McIntyre says that Gomes' detention is one of many apprehensions to take place in the southern Massachusetts community. McIntyre says the district cannot take any role in immigration enforcement, but they will "support all of our students and families, including those who are immigrants to the United States." "They are members of the community, students in our classrooms, athletes that compete representing Milford, musicians, artists, friends, and neighbors. We will do everything in our power to support our students and families during these difficult times," he said in his statement. Sunday morning was Milford High School's graduation and Healey says a day of celebration has now been tarnished. "My heart goes out to the Milford community on what was supposed to be a celebratory graduation day," she said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Multiple people injured in stabbing in Salem, Oregon, police say
Multiple people were injured Sunday night in a stabbing in downtown Salem, Oregon, local police said. "The suspect is in custody," the Salem Police Department said in a short update posted to social media. The incident occurred at Union Gospel Mission, a men's shelter, police officials told ABC News affiliate KATU, adding that 11 people were reportedly transported to Salem Health hospital for medical care. Police have not yet released official information about the number of injuries. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Multiple people injured in stabbing in Salem, Oregon, police say originally appeared on
Medscape
an hour ago
- Medscape
ED Work Environment Discord Affects Patient Outcomes
In a recent study, emergency nurses and physicians in approximately half of the study hospitals disagreed on the quality of the work environment. An environment rated "unfavorable" by both groups was significantly associated with worse clinician and patient outcomes. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional analysis included emergency department (ED) clinicians (1190 nurses and 414 physicians) from 47 Magnet hospitals who completed the 2021 US Clinician Wellbeing Study. Researchers classified hospitals into profiles according to the level of agreement between nurses and physicians regarding the hospital work environment. Researchers assessed clinician job outcomes (burnout, job dissatisfaction, and intent to leave), patient safety, and quality-of-care metrics. TAKEAWAY: Hospital profiles revealed three distinct patterns: "Agree, Unfavorable Environment" (10 hospitals); "Agree, Favorable Environment" (15 hospitals); and "Disagree, Less Favorable Environment Among Nurses" (22 hospitals). Compared with hospitals where clinicians agreed on a favorable environment, hospitals where clinicians agreed on an unfavorable environment had significantly higher rates of burnout (β, 25.8), job dissatisfaction (β, 32.5), intent to leave (β, 31.7), and unfavorable patient safety grades (β, 29.1), after adjustment for hospital characteristics ( P < .001 for all). < .001 for all). Hospitals where nurses rated the environment less favorably than physicians demonstrated increased burnout (β, 15.4; P < .001) and poorer patient safety grades (β, 11.9; P < .01), after adjustment for hospital characteristics. < .001) and poorer patient safety grades (β, 11.9; < .01), after adjustment for hospital characteristics. Compared with physicians in hospitals with an "Agree, Favorable" profile, those in hospitals rated as having an "Unfavorable" work environment showed significantly higher rates for all outcomes except burnout and patient-care quality. Similarly, nurses in hospitals with a "Disagree, Less Favorable Among Nurses" profile experienced higher rates across all job-related and patient-care outcomes. IN PRACTICE: "This cross-sectional study found that ED nurses and physicians in close to half of study hospitals disagreed on the quality of their work environment. Clinician job and patient outcomes were worse when both clinicians rated their work environment unfavorably and when nurses only reported their work environments as unfavorable," the authors wrote. "The implication of these findings is that, if two essential partners in emergency care within the same institution do not agree on the deficiencies in ED work environments, significant interdisciplinary research is needed to bridge these gaps and disparate experiences," they added. SOURCE: The study was led by Jane Muir, Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. It was published online on May 16, 2025, in BMC Health Services Research . LIMITATIONS: The study included only Magnet hospitals, which are known for favorable work environments and good physician-nurse collaboration, suggesting the findings may have underestimated the variation in clinician work environment agreement across all hospitals. The cross-sectional design prevented causal inference, and the sample had more nurses than physicians. DISCLOSURES: The research was funded by the Clinician Well-being Study Consortium and the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, it was supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institute of Nursing Research, the National Clinician Scholars Program, and the Emergency Medicine Foundation/Emergency Nurses Association Foundation. The authors reported having no relevant conflicts of interest.
