10 March 5th-March 11th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | the unauthorized use of a national criminal database overseen by the Department of Public Safety — to Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes for possible investigation. Whether Mayes will take up that investi- gation is not yet clear. She recently suggested, rather lamely, that her office might have a conflict if Miller said mean things about her on Signal, a standard by which Mayes would be disqualified from investigating any Arizona Republican. Mayes spokesperson Richie Taylor told New Times that “no final determination has been made” regarding whether or not the AG will investigate. “But if a conflict exists that prevents the AG’s office from investigating the allega- tions, the matter would be referred to another County Attorney’s office for investi- gation,” Taylor said. Meet the entourage Meanwhile, Mueller has become a constant presence by Miller’s side, part of his regular retinue. Mueller joined Miller for a trip to Washington, D.C., to attend a prosecutors’ conference and meet with far- right Arizona Reps. Andy Biggs and Abe Hamedeh. Both Mueller and Brosowske were along for the ride, appearing in photos and videos posted by Miller’s office to social media. In one video, Miller talks of meeting with an official with the Department of Homeland Security, who assured him that his eight investigators “are able to partner with federal law enforcement.” That, Miller claims, is why his office needs a 287(g) agreement with ICE, which cross-deputizes his investigators so that they can lawfully detain and question individuals about their immigration status. “This is what we’re fighting for,” Miller said in the video. “To share intelligence and to share information with our federal partners.” The agreement is the source of great controversy in the county. Miller inked the ICE deal in June without the approval of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors, announcing the agreement at a press conference in December with two ICE agents — and Mueller, in dark glasses — by his side. The GOP-led board of supervi- sors sued Miller over the contract, declaring it void, and scored a temporary restraining order from a local judge that bars Miller from implementing the agree- ment. A Feb. 25 hearing on the matter was recently scrapped after Miller success- fully sought a change of venue to Maricopa County. The supervisors say that Miller is a prosecutor, not the county’s “top law enforcement officer,” as he’s often styled himself, and that he should stay in his lane. Pinal County’s actual top cop is Sheriff Ross Teeple, who has a decades-old board- approved 287(g) agreement with ICE relating to the county jails. Teeple is also party to the suit against Miller, and the suit states that “unlike the County Attorney or the PCAO – the Sheriff is responsible for enforcement actions in Pinal County.” Which should make sense to anyone who’s ever seen an episode of “Law & Order,” wherein the cops do the investi- gatin’ in the first half and the prosecutors do the prosecutin’ in the second half. Perhaps Miller never caught the show. Dun dun. Notably, no other prosecutor in Arizona has a 287(g) agreement with ICE. In fact, ICE has only 10 such agreements with pros- ecutors nationwide out of more than 1,400 287(g) pacts listed on its website. Local county attorneys do not prosecute federal crimes, so it stands to reason that 287(g) agreements with them would be rare. If information-sharing is Miller’s goal, though, he doesn’t need an ICE agreement to achieve it. Volkmer told New Times that his office held bimonthly intelligence meet- ings that were regularly attended by federal law enforcement agencies. Romley called Miller’s justification “ridiculous” because law enforcement already shares information. “You don’t need to have 287(g) status for that,” Romley said. “Not at all.” Romley claimed Miller’s effort to make his investigators part-time ICE agents created a host of issues for the supervi- sors, such as financing and civil liability. Per the agreement, the county would be on the hook for salaries, benefits and over- time. There’s also always the possibility of being sued for racial profiling, and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office could tell Miller all about the price tag for that. Then there’s the matter of jurisdiction and authority. According to state law, county supervisors are responsible for any agreements made by county entities and must say grace over them. “I was a civil attorney for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors,” Romley pointed out, adding that Miller is “abso- lutely wrong” on the law. Romley noted that county attorney investigators usually have their arms full as it is, interviewing witnesses and doing follow-up investigative work to assist local prosecutors in preparing their cases for trial. “If your investigators have so much time that they could do this,” Romley said, “then maybe you don’t need so many investigators.” Nonetheless, Miller has successfully used this bogus ICE issue to garner beau- coup earned media. In one op-ed published by several outlets, Miller insisted that, by gum, his office does do law enforcement via the “sworn peace officers” he uses as inves- tigators, all of whom have been certified by AZPOST. Miller neglected to mention that Mueller’s indiscretions caused AZPOST to suspend his peace officer certification for two years, from 2013 to 2015. Miller won’t be able to avoid the subject forever, though. Should any of Mueller’s investigative work wind up in court, defense attorneys are sure to bring it up. This story is 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. Tainted Resume from p 9
