Kelly, Gallego, Grijalva to Indian Health Service: Don’t Shut Down Tucson’s Tribal Health Office

Arizona lawmakers demand answers before the Trump administration eliminates the only health office serving 28,000 Native patients in Southern Arizona

Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), alongside Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ-07), sent a letter to the Indian Health Service (IHS) demanding it halt plans to shut down the Tucson Area Office and halt any merger with the Phoenix office until tribal communities have been properly consulted.

The Tucson Area Office is the primary point of contact for health services serving nearly 28,000 patients from the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and Tohono O'odham Nation. The Trump administration's plan would fold it into the Phoenix Area Office, leaving patients and staff with a drive of up to two hours to reach the nearest office and putting specialized services like dedicated diabetes care at risk of disappearing entirely.

"We write to express our serious concerns regarding the recently announced proposal to eliminate the Tucson Area Office by merging it with the Phoenix Area as part of the Indian Health Service's broader realignment initiative," the lawmakers wrote. "We ask that you immediately suspend implementation of the merger until you have clarified any impact this consolidation will have on the tribal nations in Southern Arizona and have completed meaningful, formal tribal consultation."

The lawmakers noted that the Tucson office is the only one being eliminated through this realignment and questioned whether IHS had fully thought through the consequences. "It remains unclear how the Tucson Area Office, the only office that would be consolidated through this initiative, was selected for consolidation and whether the repercussions of this decision have been fully considered," they wrote.

The letter echoes concerns raised directly by the Tohono O'odham Nation in a February 2026 tribal consultation response and demands IHS explain by June 15^th how it chose Tucson, what consultation it conducted with the affected tribes, and what steps it will take to protect patients' access to care.

The lawmakers called on IHS to demonstrate "how your agency plans to ensure continued quality of care, support tribal self-determination and self-governance, and uphold its trust obligations to the tribes of Southern Arizona."

Click here to read the full letter.