PHOENIX — Governor Katie Hobbs on Monday said her administration is taking steps after the arrest of a now-fired state worker on human smuggling charges.
Border Patrol agents arrested Joshua Castro, a produce inspector for the Arizona Department of Agriculture, in Nogales, Arizona, on April 10.
“The situation is absolutely unacceptable, and I'm outraged by it,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs said Castro was immediately fired.
“Action has been taken within the department to ensure that this is not a more widespread issue, and that things are in place to ensure that employees have the training that they need to recognize if this is something that's happening,” she said.
Hobbs also said her administration would cooperate with any criminal investigation of Castro.
In a statement, the Department of Agriculture said it strongly condemns Castro’s actions.
“Although this took place outside of work hours in the employee's personal vehicle and away from work, AZDA has taken proactive steps to deter this unacceptable behavior,” department spokesperson Rachel Andrews said.
The department is reviewing policies and procedures, she said, adding that “will include mandatory training for supervisors and employees” on signs of smuggling to watch for and how to report concerns.
Senator Jake Hoffman, who leads the Senate panel that vets the governor’s agency directors, criticized Hobbs’ handling of the incident.
“Hobbs’ response that she will implement new employee trainings to ensure this doesn’t happen again is clownish and laughable on its face,” he said. “If her employees need to be trained that human smuggling is against the law, then Hobbs’ administration is even more dysfunctional and chaotic than everyone thought.”
According to court documents, Border Patrol agents in Nogales found two Mexican citizens in the U.S. without authorization in the back seat of Castro’s car. His vehicle had been “previously identified as a vehicle that may be used for smuggling,” authorities wrote, and agents stopped the car when they noticed two passengers.
Castro told the agents the two men in his car had asked for a ride.
The passengers told Border Patrol they were Mexican citizens who had paid to be smuggled into the United States and said they were instructed to wait to be picked up near a house.
Incident could stall AZDA director’s nomination vote
Arizona Department of Agriculture Director Paul Brierley is still awaiting a Senate confirmation vote. Hoffman’s panel narrowly advanced his nomination earlier this month, and the senator told ABC15 in a statement Monday that he and his colleagues have a number of concerns about Brierley.
“The fact that one of his own employees was engaged in the human smuggling of illegal aliens into our country while wearing his official department uniform is certainly one of those concerns and highlights the very troubling mismanagement that seems to be occurring within the AZDA,” he said.
Hoffman, who voted against moving Brierley’s nomination forward, criticized Brierley’s negative comments on social media about President Donald Trump in 2020 during the April 3 hearing and said Brierley’s request for support during the nomination process from groups he regulates shows “a lack of judgment.”
All nominees must clear the Senate Committee on Director Nominations before getting a confirmation vote.
Hobbs said she is frustrated with Hoffman’s leadership of the panel, saying he is “holding director nominations hostage over his political agenda.”
"And I think the actions taken since this incident should be considered as addressing the situation,” Hobbs added.
