Arizona to pass Texas-inspired law authorizing state police to arrest migrants

Arizonans will vote on a statewide ballot measure in November to determine whether state police should have the power to arrest people who cross the U.S. border illegally and Mexico, the state Legislature decided Tuesday.

The GOP-backed ballot measure is intended to override the veto of a similar bill filed by Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) in March. The state Senate approved the proposal in a 16-13 vote last month, and the House passed it by an even tighter margin of 31-29 on Tuesday.

“I am an immigrant. It’s not anti-immigration. It’s anti-anarchy,” House Speaker Ben Toma (R) said Tuesday in casting his final “yes” vote. “This is about securing our border because the federal government has failed to do its job. Arizonans will have the final say on this issue. And I’m proud to send it to them.

Texas was the first state to pass a similar bill allowing state police to make border arrests earlier this year. This law marks a major change in immigration enforcement and did not take effect due to legal challenges.

Arizona law also allows state judges to order evictions. Under the proposal, a first conviction under the border crossing provision would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison.

Hobbs, in his previous veto, warned that a similar measure could result in significant legal costs for the state, and predicted that it could be found unconstitutional by the courts.

“This bill does not secure our border, will be harmful to our state’s communities and businesses, and will be a burden on the state’s law enforcement and justice system,” Hobbs wrote in his veto statement Of March.

Federal law already prohibits unauthorized entry of migrants into the United States. However, Republicans in Arizona and Texas say the U.S. government is not doing enough and needs additional state powers.

Critics, including Hobbs, have warned that the proposal could increase racial profiling in the state and recall Arizona’s controversial 2010 immigration law, which allowed police to question people suspected of being in the country illegally. the country. This law was later scaled down by the Supreme Court for violating the jurisdiction of the federal government.

“The bipartisan business leaders, border enforcement, and local leaders across the state who oppose this bill know it will not make us safer, but will demonize our communities and will lead to racial profiling,” Hobbs said in a statement last month.

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