(The Center Square) – Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs spoke against newly-enacted immigration reforms but stopped short of saying whether she’ll take action to stop it from being enforced.
Prop. 314 which passed with 62.59% of the votes according to the Secretary of State’s unofficial results, requires state police and border patrol agents to use the e-verify program to determine immigration status if they have “probable cause” to believe they are in the country illegally.
Then, local police can arrest the individual and a state judge can order deportation. The proposition also makes it a Class 6 felony for those who submit false information or documents and it raises the sale of fentanyl to a Class 2 felony if the sale results in the death of another person.
However, the Arizona Latino Legislative Caucus is calling for Gov. Katie Hobbs to step in and prevent Prop. 314 from being enacted.
“As Latino lawmakers, we understand that people of color will be targeted if this new law goes into effect, and we will do everything in our power to mitigate the negative effects of this racist, unfunded policy,” reads a written statement from Sen. Anna Hernandez and Rep. Mariana Sandoval. “In anticipation of the upcoming second Trump term, we call on Governor Hobbs to join us in this fight. Outside of the dire social fallout that harmful immigration policy like Prop. 314 will undoubtedly cause, the economic impact would be devastating. Undocumented immigrants paid nearly $100 billion in federal, state and local tax revenue in 2022 alone. We can and must do better to protect the most vulnerable among us and keep our economy strong.”
The legislators likened the legislation to SB 1070, which required law enforcement to ask for proof of documentation if they had “reasonable suspicion” of someone being in the country illegally, which was decided to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court due to racial profiling.
Hobbs answered questions about Prop. 314 during her visit to the border in Nogales, AZ, on Monday.
“I will not tolerate misguided policies that don’t actually help with the critical work we are doing here today that actually keeps our communities safe and secure,” Hobbs said.
She also noted that local border control and law enforcement agents were against Prop. 314 because it does not have any funding attached to it.
“The sheriffs’ offices are underfunded,” Hobbs said. “They have a job already and this just compounds that and will make it harder for them to respond to other law enforcement needs in their communities.”
However, Hobbs declined to comment on what she is specifically against in Prop. 314 because the legislation has not been enacted and may not ever be completely enacted due to the portion of the law that is contingent on the constitutionality of a similar Texas law – SB 4.
Prop. 314 was modeled after SB 4, but the Texas law is currently blocked while the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans determines if the law violates the supremacy clause of the constitution.
The specific language that is under consideration is the addition of a state penalty on top of the existing federal penalties for entering the country outside of the legal ports of entry and in order for Arizona to enact that part of the proposition, Texas would have to put this law into practice for at least 60 days.
However, the parts of the legislation that will be able to go into effect following the certification of the election results are adding a felony for the sale of fentanyl that results in a person’s death, adding misdemeanor felonies for individuals who submit false documentation and requiring federal, state and local agencies who administer public benefits to verify immigration status.
