Analise Ortiz

DINO-sore spot: The state Senate’s Director Nominations Committee was back in action this week, this time with Republican senators grilling Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ nominee to lead the Arizona National Guard for hours, KJZZ’s Camryn Sanchez reports. Republican Sens. Wendy Rogers and Jake Hoffman accused John Conley of being “quibblistic” and “lawyerly” as Conley fielded questions about the U.S. war on Iran, vaccine mandates in the military and whether the National Guard should support ICE. The committee ended up advancing Hobbs’ nomination, but only after Senate Democrats objected to the contentious lines of the questioning, per the Arizona Mirror’s Caitlin Sievers. “There’s a difference between vetting and being disrespectful jerks, and they were disrespectful jerks,” Sen. Analise Ortiz said. (May 13, 2026)

Would it apply to newsletters?: The Arizona House signed off on a bill that would criminalize letting people know they are about to be arrested by ICE agents, Capitol scribe Howie Fischer reports. The somewhat watered-down version of SB1635, which Republican Sen. John Kavanagh drafted after Democratic Sen. Analise Ortiz posted on social media about ICE activity in her neighborhood, was narrowed to only apply to notifying a specific person you know is being sought by law enforcement. But Democrats pointed out the bill still categorizes as an illegal warning everything from whistles to emails to hand gestures. (April 16, 2026)

Unlawful freedom of speech: A bill from Republican Sen. John Kavanagh ostensibly deals with tipping off suspects that law enforcement is nearby, but the “unlawful alerting” in the bill would outlaw acts that are protected by the First Amendment, the New Times’ Morgan Fischer reports. Kavanagh says telling your neighbors that ICE is nearby wouldn’t be a violation, but rapid response groups (like those that appear to have stopped the federal occupation of Minneapolis) that post about ICE activity on social media (like Democratic state Sen. Analise Ortiz did last year) could spend six months in jail. (February 13, 2026)

Suuuure, Wendy: The Arizona Senate followed the House and approved a bill that would require hospitals to ask patients whether they’re in the country legally, per Capitol scribe Howie Fischer. The bill sponsor, Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers, says the patients’ responses won’t be reported to federal immigration agencies. Democratic Sen. Analise Ortiz wasn’t buying it. “Right now, we know that no personal information is safe from being given over to ICE, who is killing people in the streets, including United States citizens,” Ortiz said. (February 12, 2026)

Who gets to talk?: GOP lawmakers said it would be “unprecedented” to censure Rep. John Gillette for spewing racist rhetoric at Muslims, saying the House Ethics Committee doesn’t police lawmakers’ speech. But as the Capitol Times’ Jakob Thorington points out, that’s not entirely true. Lawmakers are trying to censure Democratic Rep. Analise Ortiz for posting on social media about ICE raids. Last year, a House ethics panel said Ortiz and Rep. Oscar De Los Santos engaged in disorderly behavior by leading a chant opposing the state’s abortion ban. And in 2017, Sen. Mark Finchem filed an ethics complaint against former Rep. Mark Cardenas over a Facebook post. (September 22, 2025)