A week before mandatory budget cuts go into effect across the government, the Department of Homeland Security has started releasing illegal immigrants being held in immigration jails across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday.

Once, the barren mesas and shrub-covered canyons that extend east of the Pacific Ocean held the most popular routes for illegal immigrants heading into the U.S. Dozens at a time sprinted to waiting cars or a trolley stop in San Diego, passing border agents who were too busy herding others to give pause.

Sen. John McCain is defending his proposed immigration overhaul to angry residents in suburban Arizona.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will be in southern Arizona this week to see security operations at the border.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told a Senate committee Wednesday that the border is as secure as ever and it  should not be an impediment to the comprehensive immigration reform.

The border with Mexico won't be secure until the people living near there feel safe from drug and human trafficking, said Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer Tuesday after touring the region just hours before President Barack Obama championed his immigration plan in the State of the Union address.

Pinal County’s conversion to a new way of choosing judges is off to a rough start as Democrats show no interest in applying for the bench and volunteers are lacking for a nomination committee.

The state’s highest election official concluded that Gov. Jan Brewer can’t seek another term, an idea she has floated a few times.

The growing field of candidates eying the Ninth Floor in 2014 almost certainly can’t include Gov. Jan Brewer, according to election attorneys and other experts.

Incoming Republican leaders in the Senate have made overtures to the Democratic caucus, indicating they’re interested in working with the minority.