Arizona’s IMMIGRATION Battleground: Senate Passes Measure for Ballot Consideration

The Arizona Senate adopted a proposed ballot initiative in November that would make it a state criminal for noncitizens to enter the state via Mexico at any site other than a port of entry.

The proposal, approved Wednesday on a 16-13 party-line vote, would directly involve Arizona in immigration enforcement by allowing state and local police to arrest people crossing the border without authorization and giving state judges the authority to order people convicted of the offense to return to their country of origin.

The legislation, which is similar to a Texas law that has been stayed by a federal appeals court while it is being challenged, now moves to the Republican-controlled Arizona House. If adopted by the whole Legislature, the legislation would skip Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who vetoed a similar proposal two months ago, and instead be placed on the November 5 ballot for voters to decide.

Before the vote, a handful of immigrant rights activists chanted, “Stop the hate, stop the hate,” interrupting the debate and profanely referring the measure backers as racists before walking out.

While federal law already outlaws unauthorized immigration into the United States, supporters argue that the measure is necessary because the federal government has not done enough to prevent people from crossing illegally over Arizona’s porous border with Mexico. They further said that some people who visit Arizona without authorization commit identity theft and take advantage of public services.

“We are being invaded,” declared Republican Jake Hoffman of Queen Creek. Opponents argue that the proposal will harm Arizona’s commercial reputation, impose massive unfunded expenditures on law enforcement agencies that lack experience implementing immigration law, and lead to racial profiling of immigrants, permanent residents, and US citizens.

“This bill is going to create all sorts of chaos,” said Democratic Sen. Catherine Miranda of Phoenix. According to the proposal, a first-time conviction for violating the border-crossing provision would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, and state judges would be able to order people to return to their country of origin after serving a sentence, though they would also be able to dismiss a pending charge if the person agreed to return to their home country.

Last week, the measure was blocked over an exception to the unlawful crossing provision for participants of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a government program that protects thousands of young people from deportation.

A previous version of the legislation would have subjected DACA recipients to prosecution if their deportation protections were revoked or found illegal by a court, drawing concerns from a prominent Republican lawmaker who argued the recipients should not face such legal consequences.

On Wednesday, the component dealing with DACA recipients was removed entirely from the proposal. Republican Sen. Ken Bennett of Prescott, who voted for the proposal while urging that the DACA element be eliminated, said the language was inserted to emphasize that the law does not apply to anyone who illegally entered Arizona before enforcement began on the proposed ballot issue.
“I know this is not perfect, but this is a vast improvement of where it was a week ago,” Bennett stated.

Supporters of the proposed ballot proposal dismissed worries about racial profiling, stating that local cops would still need to demonstrate reasonable cause to arrest persons who enter the nation between ports of entry.

The supporters also claim that the measure focuses just on the state’s border region and, unlike Arizona’s historic 2010 immigration law, does not target residents throughout the state. Opponents point out that the proposal contains no geographical restrictions on where it can be applied.

Hobbs made a statement condemning the proposal after the Senate voted in favor. “Business leaders, border law enforcement, and bipartisan local leaders throughout the state who oppose this bill know it will not make us safer, instead it will demonize our communities and lead to racial profiling,” Hobbs stated.

Other measures in the ballot initiative that are not included in the Texas plan include making it a crime punishable by up to ten years in jail for supplying fentanyl that causes death. This is not the first time Arizona Republican lawmakers have attempted to penalize undocumented migrants.

When passing its groundbreaking immigration reform in 2010, the Arizona Legislature explored amending the state’s trespassing legislation to criminalize the presence of immigrants and inflict criminal penalties. However, the trespassing wording was removed and replaced with a provision that authorities, while enforcing other offenses, inquire about people’s immigration status if they are considered to be in the country illegally.

Despite critics’ concerns about racial profiling, the US Supreme Court ultimately upheld the questioning requirement, while courts restricted enforcement of other provisions of the legislation.