🔥 Buckmaster Show: Police Chief Kasmar Navigates Trump's Immigration Crackdown While Tucson Burns
How local law enforcement walks the tightrope between federal enforcement and community protection during unprecedented heat and political pressure
Based on the Buckmaster Show for 6/13/25, a daily radio show in Tucson, AZ, interviewing local newsmakers. Analysis and opinions are my own.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
Tucson's getting really hot this weekend (🔥110°F!), but the political temperature is even hotter. Police Chief Kasmar talked about how someone shot at a Democratic politician's house, which is super scary for democracy 🏛️.
There are also protests happening because people are upset about immigration raids 🚫, though sometimes protesters mistake regular police work for immigration enforcement 🚔. The police department doesn't have enough officers and is using cameras everywhere to try to keep up 📹.
Meanwhile, lawyers who defend people in federal court ⚖️ might have to work for free because the government ran out of money to pay them, which seems pretty unfair 💸. It's like when your school says they can't afford art class 🎨 but still has money for new security cameras 🔍.
🗝️ Takeaways
🎯 Democratic congressional candidate Daniel Hernandez targeted in shooting incident at his residence
🚔 Chief Kasmar distinguishes between immigration enforcement (ERO) and legitimate federal investigations (HSI)
📈 Gun violence down 20% but homicides up, with victims mostly young men of color
👮♂️ TPD is severely understaffed, with fewer than 400 deployable officers versus the previous 150 per division
📹 Surveillance expansion continues with cameras feeding into 911 centers across the city
⚖️ 120 federal public defenders may work without pay due to the budget crisis
🌊 Project Blue data centers threaten water resources with massive infrastructure demands
🔥 Multiple protests planned for extreme heat weekend testing community-police relations
Buckmaster Show 6/13/25: Heat, Harassment, and Hard Truths
When Mercury Rises and Militarization Meets Main Street
Friday the 13th delivered its traditional dose of dark omens as Bill Buckmaster's airwaves crackled with the combustible combination of climatic chaos and community conflict. While Tucson prepared to bake like a forgotten burrito under its first heat advisory of the year—temps threatening a toasty 110°F—our desert democracy found itself equally overheated by escalating immigration enforcement tensions.
For those just tuning into this ongoing saga, we're living through the second Trump administration's reinvigorated assault on immigrant communities, where federal agencies conduct daily raids.
At the same time, local police departments navigate the treacherous terrain between constitutional policing and collaboration with what amounts to ethnic cleansing operations. Because nothing says "law and order" like terrorizing families who pick our food and build our houses.
Buckmaster welcomed Tucson Police Chief Chad Kasmar and Arizona Daily Star columnist Tim Steller for a revealing discussion that exposed the fault lines fracturing our community. The conversation careened from shooting incidents targeting Democratic candidates to the bureaucratic babel of federal agencies, while our Indigenous and Chicano communities—already bearing the brunt of border militarization—watch their neighborhoods become testing grounds for authoritarian tactics.
Chief Kasmar: Dancing Between Bullets and Badges
Democracy Under Fire: When Candidates Become Targets
Chief Kasmar opened with confirmation of what can only be described as domestic terrorism—a shooting incident at Democratic congressional candidate Daniel Hernandez's residence.
"I can tell you there was a reported incident there of criminal damage, which we did confirm was a projectile likely from a firearm that caused damage to a vehicle outside of his residence," Kasmar stated with the measured tone of someone who's grown accustomed to political violence.
Let's pause here to appreciate the euphemistic artistry: "criminal damage" from a "projectile likely from a firearm." In normal times, we'd call this attempted assassination or, at minimum, terrorist intimidation of a political candidate.
For readers unfamiliar with Hernandez, he's the former Arizona legislator who helped save lives during the 2011 Gabby Giffords shooting—ironic that he now finds himself targeted, possibly, by the same strain of right-wing violence that nearly killed his former colleague. This incident represents the logical escalation of Trump's rhetoric about "enemies within" and the constant dehumanization of anyone opposing the MAGA movement.
Kasmar pivoted to Tucson's broader gun violence epidemic, revealing statistics that would make any civilized society weep:
"We're about 27 homicides year to date, which is higher than we were last year. So while gun crime is down about 20%, you know, we've had some folks be more accurate with that and we've had more victims."
Translation: fewer bullets flying, but deadlier accuracy among our local lead-slingers. Progress, apparently, comes in reducing spray-and-pray tactics while increasing kill rates.
The victims, Kasmar noted, remain "young men primarily who are the victims and suspects of these crimes." These aren't random acts of violence—they're the predictable outcomes of a system that offers youth in communities of color few alternatives beyond survival economies that often turn violent.
Alphabet Soup Authoritarianism: Decoding Federal Doublespeak
The interview's most crucial segment involved Kasmar's careful parsing of federal enforcement agencies—a necessary skill when your community becomes a laboratory for immigration apartheid. The chief drew distinctions between ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), explaining TPD's selective collaboration philosophy.
"Tucson Police Department is not a federal arm of the immigration enforcement of ERO under ICE," Kasmar declared, before explaining that TPD does collaborate with HSI on "human trafficking, sexual predators, drug trafficking, and firearms trafficking."
Because apparently we need a decoder ring to understand which federal agents are hunting drug dealers versus which ones are hunting dishwashers and day laborers.
This distinction became critical when discussing recent protests at Country Club and Valencia, where community members rushed to defend what they believed was another ICE raid targeting immigrant families. Instead, it was a Pinal County Sheriff's drug operation—a case of mistaken identity that reveals how thoroughly immigration enforcement has militarized our daily landscape.
Kasmar's struggle with acronyms proved unintentionally revealing:
"The enforcement removal operations, not something that rolls off the ERO, which is why they called ERO. It doesn't go off the tip of your tongue." When genocide gets a bureaucratic rebrand, even the enforcers stumble over the sanitized terminology.
The Impossible Mathematics of Protest Policing
The chief delivered uncomfortable truths about crowd control in the Trump era, defending his department's measured response while acknowledging the no-win nature of modern policing. When criticized for insufficient aggression during the Country Club incident, Kasmar channeled pragmatic philosophy: "There's going to be no winning here and I'm not looking to win."
His explanation revealed the Catch-22 of protest policing: "If I had shown up with 100 officers and surrounded that area, then I would have been criticized for militarizing the police and having two levels of assured force."
Damned if you deploy, damned if you don't—the eternal dilemma of maintaining order in a fundamentally disordered system where capital's property rights consistently trump constitutional liberties.
The chief's prioritization philosophy deserves recognition: "Property damage can be fixed. There were minor assaults on a few security guards who engaged with the group." This represents a refreshing acknowledgment that buildings matter less than bodies, even when that conflicts with business interests demanding aggressive property protection.
For Indigenous and Chicano communities, this measured approach offers hope that local law enforcement might resist federal pressure to serve as immigration enforcement auxiliaries. However, history teaches caution—police departments often cave when federal funding threatens their budgets.
Staffing Shortages and Surveillance Solutions
Kasmar painted a portrait of purposeful poverty—a police department deliberately under-resourced while expected to solve society's structural failures.
With "less than 400 deployable police officers in the field" compared to previous levels of "about 150 police officers per four divisions," TPD has embraced technological band-aids and community conscription.
The department's 170 community service officers handled 60,000 calls for service last year—essentially privatizing police work while maintaining a public accountability theater. This "resulted in a 50% reduction in response times on our level four" calls, proving that investing in community-based solutions works better than traditional policing models.
Kasmar's "grow our own" recruitment strategy offers "pay more than the median income here in Tucson for a community service officers" with "amazing benefits package, parental leave, and we'll pay for their college degree."
While this sounds progressive, it's worth noting that these positions often serve as pipelines to sworn officer roles, potentially co-opting community members into the very system that oppresses their neighbors.
Meanwhile, surveillance expansion continues unabated.
"We've scaled technology around the community that when we have areas of gun crime... we're putting cameras up and those feed into our resources in the 911 Center." These cameras promise safety while delivering surveillance infrastructure that disproportionately monitors communities of color.
Tim Steller: Sharp-Eyed Star Gazing
Debunking the "Outside Agitator" Mythology
Steller brought crucial historical context to protest narratives, particularly challenging the recurring "outside agitator" mythology that conservatives deploy to delegitimize local dissent.
"Almost every time one of these incidents happens, there is a perception that there might be outside agitators. Looking back in time, I've seen that that's rarely been the case."
This mythbusting matters immensely for our communities, which constantly face accusations that our resistance to oppression must be manufactured by outsiders—because apparently Indigenous and Chicano people lack the intelligence or motivation to organize against our own oppression.
When Kasmar noted that "most of the plates that I saw leaving were from Arizona" and "the three folks that we did arrest were from lived in the metropolitan Tucson area," it confirmed Steller's observation while highlighting local investment in immigration justice.
Justice for Sale: The Public Defender Debacle
Steller illuminated a crisis exemplifying how budget politics impact constitutional rights. The Criminal Justice Act panel—comprising 120 lawyers who handle a significant portion of the criminal defense in federal court—faces the potential for unpaid labor from July through October due to federal budget shortfalls.
"They're private practitioners, all of them, but they're paid by the federal government for the work they do... The government has a budget for this, except it's expected to run out in July and will not be replenished until the new fiscal year, which in the federal calendar is October 1st."
So these essential workers in our justice system—many defending immigrants facing deportation—are expected to provide free labor to the same government prosecuting their clients. The irony would be delicious if the consequences weren't devastating.
This crisis particularly impacts immigrant defendants who rely on competent counsel to navigate increasingly complex immigration courts where deportation equals family separation and potential death sentences.
Heat Waves and Democracy's Fever Dreams
As Tucson braced for triple-digit temperatures, the meteorological metaphor proved apt for the political climate. Both represent environmental crises manufactured by systemic failures—climate change from capitalism's ecological destruction, political heat from authoritarianism's social destruction.
The chief's community collaboration call—"when there's one officer per thousand community members, we need the community's help to keep this community safe"—acknowledges policing's fundamental limitation while potentially opening space for community-controlled safety alternatives.
What This Means for You
For readers in Tucson's immigrant communities, these developments signal both threat and opportunity. Federal enforcement escalation threatens daily life, but local police resistance offers a potential source of protection. The key lies in building independent community power that doesn't rely on police benevolence.
For all residents, the discussions on surveillance expansion and protest policing reveal how constitutional rights erode during political crises. Today's immigration enforcement infrastructure becomes tomorrow's tools for suppressing any dissent that threatens corporate interests.
The public defender crisis demonstrates how austerity politics undermine justice for everyone—if federal courts can't provide adequate defense counsel, constitutional protections become meaningless for all defendants, not just immigrants.
Building Power in the Desert
Change requires sustained organizing beyond electoral politics. While Chief Kasmar's measured approach offers temporary breathing room, lasting protection comes from community power that makes authoritarian enforcement politically impossible.
Support organizations like No More Deaths, BorderKind, and COALICION, which provide direct support to immigrant communities while building resistance infrastructure. Attend city council meetings to pressure local officials into adopting sanctuary policies that limit police cooperation with federal agencies.
Most importantly, recognize that immigration enforcement affects all working people—today's raids target immigrants, tomorrow's target union organizers, environmental activists, or anyone challenging corporate power.
Hope lives in our collective resistance. The desert teaches patience and persistence.
To stay informed about these crucial developments and support independent journalism that centers community voices over corporate interests, consider subscribing to the Three Sonorans Substack. Your support enables this critical analysis to continue while building the media infrastructure our movements need.
What Do You Think?
The intersection of federal enforcement and local resistance will define our summer of struggle. As temperatures rise, so must our commitment to collective defense.
How can communities establish mutual aid networks that offer genuine alternatives to relying on police protection?
What strategies have you observed in your neighborhood that have been effective in resisting immigration enforcement while building community power?
Share your thoughts, experiences, and organizing insights in the comments below. Our liberation depends on learning from one another's wisdom and struggles.
The Three Sonorans remains committed to covering immigration justice, community resistance, and Indigenous sovereignty with the passion and precision these liberation struggles demand.
Quotes:
Chief Kasmar on gun violence accuracy: "While gun crime is down about 20%, we've had some folks be more accurate with that and we've had more victims" - Revealing that reduced shooting incidents doesn't mean reduced lethality
Chief Kasmar on federal agencies: "Tucson Police Department is not a federal arm of the immigration enforcement of ERO under ICE" - Establishing TPD's boundaries with immigration enforcement
Chief Kasmar on protest policing: "There's going to be no winning here and I'm not looking to win" - Acknowledging the impossible position of police during protests
Chief Kasmar on property vs. people: "Property damage can be fixed. There were minor assaults to a few security guards" - Prioritizing human safety over property protection
Tim Steller on outside agitators: "Almost every time one of these incidents happens, there is a perception that there might be outside agitators. Looking back in time, I've seen that that's rarely been the case" - Debunking conservative narrative about protest origins
Chief Kasmar on acronym confusion: "The enforcement removal operations, not something that rolls off the ERO, which is why they called ERO. It doesn't go off the tip of your tongue" - Struggling with federal bureaucratic terminology
People Mentioned:
Bill Buckmaster - Radio host: Sets up discussions about heat, protests, and community safety
Tom Fairbanks - Radio engineer/producer: Works "on the other side of the glass"
Chief Chad Kasmar - Tucson Police Chief: "We have what I have right now. In the event that I didn't have enough resources, that's when I depend on my local partners."
Tim Steller - Arizona Daily Star columnist: "Any act of criminal damage, violence, gun violence, is unacceptable in our town and we've tolerated it far too long."
Daniel Hernandez - Democratic congressional candidate: Vehicle damaged by a firearm projectile at his residence
Laura Conover - Mentioned in relationship context with Chief Kasmar: "We don't always agree. We agree about 95% of the things, and we have passionate debates about the things that we disagree on"
Sheriff Nanos - Local law enforcement partner referenced by Kasmar
Sheriff Riley - Local law enforcement partner referenced by Kasmar
Dylan Smith - TucsonSentinel.com leader mentioned in media shout-outs
Dan Shearer - Green Valley News mentioned in media acknowledgments
Caitlin Schmidt - Tucson Spotlight newsletter writer, mentioned in media shout-outs
Ken Carr - 101.7 The Drive radio host: Discussed weekend events including Juneteenth Festival and Pima Air Museum activities
Have a scoop or a story you want us to follow up on? Send us a message!
No mention of the deranged dictator?
You seem confident that Daniel Hernandez was “targeted” while reports, including by the police, are not clear about what exactly happened?