10 Jan 15th-Jan 21st, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | A major component of implementing these plans, according to documents, was to be a drastic expansion of 287(g) participation. The group also worked to craft “stra- tegic communications” strategies for the advancement of their objectives, including 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 posi- tion to serve as a prime evangelist. The rural Arizona sheriff is the chair of Arizona’s law enforcement certification board and is a member of Trump’s Homeland Security Advisory Council. He has also long held leadership positions with a host of influential law enforcement groups — including sheriffs’ associations dedicated to Arizona, the Southwest, the Western U.S. and the country at large. Many of these associations hold confer- ences each year, at which members hobnob with fellow sheriffs, policymakers and private sector vendors. (The latter often underwrite the conferences and are rewarded with market access.) CCSO’s “terrorism prevention” grant provides a quarter of a million dollars for “travel,” seemingly to include expenses related to such conferences, which are often held at resorts, casinos and luxury hotels. For example, in September, the Southwestern Border Sheriffs Coalition held its “Annual Fall Cooperative Meeting” at the Gila River Resort and Casino in Chandler. The National Sheriffs’ Association winter conference is to be held Jan. 31 through Feb. 4, at the luxury JW Marriott in Washington, D.C., right down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. The Western States Sheriffs’ Association — which Dannels leads as president — will host its next conference a month later at “the beautiful, modern Peppermill Resort and Casino” in Reno, according to a statement signed by Dannels himself. This event is explicitly marketed as a “trade show” and the group solicits spon- sorships from private vendors to under- write the event. According to WSSA materials, an official “conference sponsor- ship” (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 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,” Dannels wrote. “If you would like to obtain maximum exposure to the Sheriffs in the Western United States - this is your chance!” 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 and New Times repeatedly asked Capas, the CCSO spokesperson, if the $250,000 in grant money is indeed earmarked — in full or in part — for Dannels’ travel to such conferences. She did not respond. DHS did not respond to similar questions. The subject of the travel money barely came up when the three-member county board of supervisors approved the grant on Oct. 21, with a CCSO representative offering only that the money would 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.” CRN and New Times asked all three Cochise County supervisors — Kathleen Gomez, Tom Crosby and Frank Antenori — whether any portion of this $250,000 in “travel” funds was to be spent on Dannels’ travel to conferences, as the grant letter seems to indicate. None responded. Given the strong appearance of cronyism — or, at the very least, frivolous use of taxpayer money — we provided those privy to the details of CCSO’s grant with ample, and repeated, opportunity to explain the purpose of these funds. And yet, no explanation has been given. This article is a continuation of the Big Takeover investigative series CRN and New Times began last year. This story is also a part of the Arizona Watchdog Project, a yearlong reporting effort led by New Times and supported by the Trace Foundation, in partnership with Deep South Today. Cochise Cronyism from p 9 The $250,000 in Cochise County’s ICE grant earmarked for travel would seem to allow Sheriff Mark Dannels to attend resort- and casino-set conferences using federal money. (Gila River Resorts & Casinos)
