A now-fired employee of the Arizona Department of Agriculture is out on bail after being charged with a felony tied to profiting from smuggling migrants into the country. Republicans appear ready to use the arrest to deny Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ pick to run a state department a permanent job.
Joshua Castro was arrested in Nogales, Arizona, by Border Patrol agents on April 10, after he was seen transporting what agents suspected to be migrants in the country illegally. He wasn’t working at the time, but border patrol agents say he was wearing his state-issued uniform when he was arrested.
Castro has worked for the Arizona Department of Agriculture as a food inspector since 2017, according to state employment data.
Court documents show Castro was later released on his own recognisance, but the damage to his career –– and potentially that of acting Department of Agriculture Director Paul Brierley –– was already done.
Multiple news outlets reported that Hobbs had terminated Castro’s employment shortly after learning of his arrest and directed the department to review policies and train employees to ensure it didn’t happen again.
The arrest
According to court documents, agents saw Castro’s car traveling in Nogales after previously suspecting it of human smuggling.
Agents observed the car traveling at a high rate of speed the day before, getting off of and back onto the local interstate in a maneuver they say is a common tactic for smugglers to check if they’re being tracked by law enforcement.
After pulling over the car, Castro said he didn’t know the two men in the back seat and that they had just asked for a ride. The two men admitted that they were Mexican nationals and had paid thousands of dollars to be transported into the U.S., adding they were instructed to wait at a location in Nogales for a car matching Castro’s to pick them up. One of the witnesses heard Castro call someone and confirm that he’d picked up the two men.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona had announced charges for 329 individuals suspected of human smuggling shortly after Castro’s arrest.
Republicans could use the arrest in appointment process
Hobbs and Republicans who run both chambers of the Arizona Legislature have been at odds over the governor’s picks to run state departments. GOP leaders formed the Committee on Director Nominations, known as DINO, in 2023 to vet Hobbs’ appointments before they must be voted on in the Senate for confirmation. The committee has shot down several nominations, accusing one of plagiarism and grilling others for political affiliations.
Hobbs eventually side-stepped the nomination process, calling it a “political circus.” Committee Chairman Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, sued, forcing Hobbs to reach an agreement with Republicans to resume sending her picks to the committee.
After news of Castro’s arrest came to light, Hoffman said Hobbs’ pick of Brierly to run the Department of Agriculture was now a question mark.
“It’s no wonder Hobbs vetoes every piece of meaningful border security legislation when on her watch her own state employee is being arrested and prosecuted for the human smuggling of illegal aliens,” Hoffman posted to X on April 25. “As for Brierly, Hobbs’ nominee to lead the Department of Agriculture, the Nominations Committee and Senate Republicans had serious doubts about him already, this profound lack of management certainly won’t strengthen his case before the full senate.”
