Arizonians will vote in November whether to allow local law enforcement to conduct arrests on potential unlawful immigrants near the border with Mexico, as the state Supreme Court allowed such a proposal to move forward.
The court paved the way for Proposition 314 after rejecting a challenge from Latino groups, who have been highly critical of the measure and sought to take it down by arguing the state constitution only allows single-subject legislative proposals to appear on the ballot. These groups have said the law would lead to racial profiling and could have a detrimental effect on the demographic's relationship with law enforcement.
If approved, the proposal would make it a crime to cross the state's border with Mexico through anywhere other than a port of entry. State and local law enforcement would in these cases be allowed to make arrests and state judges could order they be returned to their home countries. They would be immune from any resulting lawsuits. The law would also make it a felony to sell fentanyl that leads to a person's death, with sentences going up to 10 years in prison.
Proponents of the bill say the involvement of local troops is needed to remedy inaction by the federal government, which has not done enough to stem migratory flows through the border. Republicans have been using the argument in the political sphere for months, before figures started dropping throughout the year, especially since an executive action cracking down on asylum-seeking after a certain threshold of crossings is met.
Opponents, however, say the bill won't deter migrants and will generate distrust between the Latino community and law enforcement, something that already happened when the so-called "show me your papers law" was enacted in 2010. 32% of the state's population is Latino.
State Republicans had already tried to pass the measures as a law earlier this year, but Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs blocked the motion. In her veto, Gov. Hobbs said the measure "does not secure our border, will be harmful for communities and businesses in our state and burdensome for law enforcement."
She added that it could also potentially violate the U.S. Constitution by claiming what has been the federal government's exclusive power: to arrest and deport immigrants. Republicans then voted to put the measure on the ballot, bypassing Hobbs.
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